To Protest CO2 Emissions, Bloomberg Ships 220,000 Pounds of Ice 2,000 Miles for Art Project
It would be easier to take global warming alarmists seriously if they weren’t such massive hypocrites.
Take Al Gore. (No, please, take him.) Despite being one of the loudest mouthpieces shrieking about man-made climate change, the former vice president lives a jet-set life when he’s not enjoying one of his mansions near the coast. Yes, the same coast that he insists will be covered in seawater unless we act soon — which means handing him money and supporting his political allies.
That hypocrisy is just the tip of the iceberg, if you’ll excuse the expression. This week, another stunning example of liberal tone-deafness took place in Europe, and it clearly shows that the global warming crowd is more interested in attention than consistency.
On Tuesday, a project called Ice Watch London kicked off on the other side of the pond. Its goal? Painstakingly transporting giant blocks of ice from Greenland to London via fuel-sucking ships and semi-trucks and watching them melt.
No, really.
Ice Watch has landed and the sun is up in London – come join us!@WWF @KlimaWWF @350 @Greenpeace @GreenpeaceUK @Connect4Climate @AmazonWatch @GoodEnergy @Peoples_Climate @EcoWatch @climatevisuals @LittleSun @Pathway2Paris @ClimateCentral @ClimateOutreach @BloombergDotOrg pic.twitter.com/cF9ixGyUec
— StudioOlafurEliasson (@olafureliasson) December 11, 2018
In a plan that only could have come from bubble-living elitists, “artists” teamed up with former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg to mark the third anniversary of the Paris agreement, the famous climate change initiative that the United States wisely declined to join. (Spoilers: It hasn’t worked out well for Paris.)
For no reason other than creating feel-good photo ops, the entire project is literally to move the ice chunks 2,000 miles from Nuuk, Greenland, to London so that people can gawk at them as they turn to slush. This is supposed to “raise awareness.”
“The blocks of glacial ice await your arrival. Put your hand on the ice, listen to it, smell it, look at it — and witness the ecological changes our world is undergoing,” the official Ice Watch website breathlessly urged.
The billionaire Bloomberg, who is funding Ice Watch, said he hoped it would “inspire new action on climate.”
Public art reminds us that it’s possible to think differently and boldly. With #COP24 underway in Poland, our hope is that #IceWatchLondon, a public art piece by @OlafurEliasson with support from @BloombergDotOrg, will inspire new action on climate. https://t.co/FhikCUzM7v pic.twitter.com/nDhq4y6nIw
— Mike Bloomberg (@MikeBloomberg) December 11, 2018
“This sculpture will capture the imagination and help Londoners of all ages to understand first-hand the environmental challenges we all face,” echoed Justine Simons, London’s deputy mayor for culture.
Those “environmental challenges” apparently include the shocking fact that, er, ice melts when it’s above freezing. Who knew?
Sure enough, the weather is only about 25 degrees Fahrenheit in Nuuk, but it’s currently closer to 40 degrees in London, and forecasters say it will be into the 50s within the next week.
But what about climate change? It turns out that 118 years ago, it was … well, about the same in London, and actually a bit warmer back then. December in London was well over freezing in 1900, and about the same today. Ice melts above 32 degrees. What exactly is this proving?
Then there are the carbon emissions. While lecturing the world about “going green,” organizers of this melting ice publicity stunt have pumped at least 28,000 kilograms of carbon dioxide into the environment — all so they can feel smug about watching ice melt.
Ice Watch is coming to London! #icewatchlondon
24 blocks of glacial ice will be arranged in a circular grove on Bankside outside @tate, and six additional blocks outside Bloomberg’s European headquarters @BloombergDotOrg
Follow the journey of the ice: https://t.co/t10pSyxsvH pic.twitter.com/MgNSFQfaWq— StudioOlafurEliasson (@olafureliasson) December 6, 2018
“The ice was collected by divers and dockworkers from the Royal Arctic Line and then shipped in nine refrigerated containers from Nuuk to Aalborg, Denmark, and then to Immingham, UK, where it was loaded on to trucks and brought to London,” Ice Watch said.
Ice Watch organizers hired a company named Julie’s Bicycle to estimate the environmental impact of the asinine project. While the group won’t release the carbon output numbers until after the ice has melted (Julie and her bicycle are apparently indisposed), it did link to a 2015 estimate of a similar exhibit.
By even the likely understated numbers from this group, over 28,000 kilograms of CO2 was needlessly put out by the project — including some 4,324 kg from the oceangoing ship, 6,416 kg from trucking the giant ice blocks over land, and 16,295 kg just to keep the ice refrigerated before it reached London, where it … uh, is left outside to melt.
Glacial ice astray – why are these blocks of ice appearing in London? Displaced. Strangers. Nature at the heart of civilisation and capital. The blocks have travelled from afar. What happens in the Arctic, doesn’t stay in the Arctic. #Icewatchlondonhttps://t.co/IW5v3KLc4k pic.twitter.com/fC83eRTVJc
— StudioOlafurEliasson (@olafureliasson) December 10, 2018
Those numbers could be very low. “The true scale of climate change emissions from shipping is almost three times higher than previously believed,” The Guardian reported.
“Governments and the EU have consistently played down the climate impact of shipping, saying it is less than 2% of global emissions and failing to include shipping emissions in their national estimates for CO2 emissions,” the outlet continued.
Once again, the hypocrisy of global warming alarmists has been put on display for everyone to see. There is one set of rules for elitists and another that they want to impose on everyone else. It would be hilarious if it wasn’t wrecking economies and livelihoods at the same time.
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