Playing off the popularity of its "Ends of the Earth" jet-setting extravaganza in November, the "Today" show on January 22 kicked off a four-day series called "Today Goes Green" to encourage viewers to be more environmentally friendly.
In a segment supposedly meant to encourage carpooling, Matt Lauer, Meredith Vieira, Ann Curry and Al Roker submitted to the degradation and humiliation that is a carpool - even if it is chauffeured. Vieira later admitted they carpooled only once, and Lauer never seemed too happy about it.
And unfortunately for environmental types (and Lauer), the crew would have to carpool every work day for more than eight years to offset the estimated carbon footprint left by November's "Ends of the Earth" series, when hosts jetted to the far reaches of the earth to show the alleged effects of global warming.
That series pumped an estimated 25 tons of carbon into the atmosphere. If the hosts lived an average of 10 miles from the office (Vieira reportedly lives 30 miles away in White Plains, N.Y., while the others live much closer) and it were perfectly efficient for them to carpool, they might save
At 19.4 pounds of CO2 emitted for every gallon of gasoline burned, their carpooling would save the atmosphere from a whopping 23.28 pounds of CO2 every morning. At a rate of 5 work days, 50 weeks a year, it would take Matt, Meredith, Ann and Al more than eight and a half years of carpooling to offset the "Ends of the Earth" series. That doesn't even factor in Lauer's "Where in the World" segments!
And don't expect them to do their part. No, it's not convenient for the "Today" hosts to carpool, so they'll just do their part by encouraging you to carpool. And showing you how much "fun" it can be.
When Vieira proposed that "we could do this every day, guys," Lauer sarcastically added, "We could also live in a tree for the rest of our lives." Roker suggested, "Let's eat some Grape Nuts."
When Curry suggested that long-time carpoolers engage in good conversations on their way to work, Lauer retorted, "I hope we never get to that point." He was opposed to the idea for good reason, it seems, as the foursome experienced many of the reasons people don't like to carpool.
For starters, all the hosts except Lauer had to get up earlier than usual. A chauffeured car picked Vieira up first around 3:30 a.m. The lucky Lauer was picked up last, around 4:45.
Lauer experienced another problem associated with carpooling: being at the mercy of fellow carpoolers' punctuality. At one point he called Curry's cell phone to find out if they were running late.
Curry, Vieira and Roker were crammed into the back seat. And Roker exemplified the annoying carpooler by playing loud music and tooting on noisemakers during the segment, prompting Vieira to note, "There's always one, and that's why carpools eventually fall apart."
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Thank you for providing the
January 22, 2008 - 14:38 ET by Chris NormanThank you for providing the carbon footrint of celebrity hypocricy.
When are they going to tell
January 22, 2008 - 14:42 ET by shannon20When are they going to tell everyone that their parent company, GE stands to make a killing off of the going green bullshit. I want like I'm sure most people want a cleaner Earth, but I will never buy into their carbon offsets. That is a joke.
I'll make sure to use my
January 22, 2008 - 14:47 ET by rbosqueI'll make sure to use my gas-guzzling truck more often by making unneccesary trips, smoke more cigars, and have more red meat on my charcoal grill. That should off-set those liberal jerk-wad "green" idiocy.
LOL! That reminds me of a
January 22, 2008 - 19:40 ET by motherbeltLOL! That reminds me of a lady that called in to Rush Limbaugh a couple of years ago. telling him that in protest she was at that moment driving around town, for no reason at all, in her big old Suburban that got 4 miles to the gallon, with underinflated tires and the AC running... and to top it all off, to annoy the libs, she had her kids in the car too, listening to Rush....she had him in stitches...
All she needed was a cigar.....
jokesters
January 22, 2008 - 14:47 ET by SeptemberThose guys are a hoot.
And to think, they get paid to be this inane.
No, it's not convenient for
January 22, 2008 - 14:56 ET by motherbeltNo, it's not convenient for the "Today" hosts to carpool, so they'll just do their part by encouraging you to carpool.
That's the whole point of this "offsets" swindle (and swindle it is). They got their "carbon indulgences" by encouraging others to carpool. Carpooling is OK for the hoi-polloi....but simply not "convenient" for the elite.
Who cares if the peasants are inconvenienced? After all, convenience is for the "privileged."
Matt doesn't care about the environment!
January 22, 2008 - 15:14 ET by landsharkLauer sarcastically added, "We could also live in a tree for the rest of our lives."
Right on!
Don't get me wrong; I have no love for Matt Lauer but this is pretty much what I would have said. The difference between him and me is that I don't have advocate that everyone else make lifestyle changes that I wouldn't.
yes
January 22, 2008 - 15:28 ET by dans0622You're right. At least some honesty and "reality" made its way into the discussion.
Carpooling
January 22, 2008 - 15:44 ET by Emma GrumpBut isn't this the mission of the MSM elite, to preach to us about how WE should live our lives, and fill us with guilt when we choose otherwise? As far as I'm concerned, these hypocrites have lost any shred of credibility they ever possessed.
You got it all wrong...
January 22, 2008 - 15:15 ET by TuariNo no no, you got it all wrong. People like Al Gore, Matt Laurer, and the like can't be bothered with carpooling and the other eco measures they're taking. It's meant for us little people whose schedules with multiple jobs, bringing kids to and from school, clubs, shopping, etc. can easily support carpooling. :P Oh the hypocrisy... I really can't stand when someone's economic good fortune makes them think they're better than everyone else.
I'll make sure I call my
January 22, 2008 - 15:37 ET by DaBirdI'll make sure I call my limo service tonight and explain to them that we need to.............wait a minute, I don't have a limo service. I have to drive myself to work. On my lunch break on some days I have to get one of my kids from school. Or take him to the doctor or.........or a lot of reasons that carpooling doesn't work for a lot of people. It's called freedom to choose!
What's good for you little people...................
January 22, 2008 - 16:09 ET by connmanMust be good for me! These hypocritical a$$hats have limos pick them up every morning with makeup people and others to help them be their BEST!! They are such idiots that apparently none of them can figure out how to drive the car! They're helpless self centered ninkimpoops! Thanks for letting me get that off my chest. The real BS story that needs reporting on is the "fair and balanced" guest reaction to the Dem Debate last night on this same program this morning. Representing the Clintons we have Paul Begalla and for Obama Katrina something or another from The Nation. All each one of them did was spin for their guy, this stuff is getting real old!!
Why?
January 22, 2008 - 16:33 ET by okiehawk44Why do Matt and Meredith et al need to go to parties or gallery openings or to dinner parties? If suffering and life redesigns are necessary to save the polar bears from manmade global warming, then these are just some of the little, tiny measures these people can take to chip in. Now, for the rest of us little people we can freeze to death in our unheated homes and watch from afar as our older relations die and are buried (or not) without our presence since we can't afford to drive there -- of course we're not allowed to fly -- that's only for Matt and Meredith. I wonder if Al Roker had walked to work more often if he would have had to have his stomach cinched with a rubber band? Stop this idiocy!
Had it
January 22, 2008 - 21:16 ET by SeptemberYou know, it's one thing to have Hollywoodites, NBC, the Today Show and libs preaching to us how bad we are but tonight Bill O'Reilly, Mr. Independent, added his own chastisement to Americans because he says we haven't cut down on gas/oil consumption and pointed out that Exxon paid way too much to a top exec. Then he praised ethanol.
The Exxon exec did get a phenomenal amount but I resent Old Bill telling me I haven't cut down on gas consumption because we are doing what we can, out of financial necessity, to cut down and we're still struggling to make ends meet. And ethanol! How many problems is the increased demand creating, huh, Bill? How clean a burner is it?
I blame all this--hypocrites pushing car pooling, to banned light bulbs, to the mistaken belief that ethanol is the perfect solution, to our Governor suing the EPA, on the constant harping from the LMSM on the dangers of Co2, etc., and the global warming hysteria spread by Gore, et al.
Even Mr. Independent can't see the big picture, how could a bunch of pretty faces driving around in a car for the cameras making wisecracks do any better?
Thank you politicians, thank you AGW scientists, thank you media, for nothing. The American people have a very big bone to pick with all of you.
That pissed me off, too...
January 23, 2008 - 09:26 ET by shannon20I was listening to BO last night and in his talking points, he basically said that the coming recession was part our fault for not cutting back on gas consumption. WTF??
Just like you said, we would love to cut down... my husband spends like $160 a week to go to work and I spend $30 just taking my son to school and back.
I thought to myself this jerks got alot of nerve. I normally like O'reilly, but he's pissin' me off lately.
I guess I'm just tired of the media telling me that I'm killing the earth, that I'm a racist, sexist, anti-brown people and bigoted, (because I don't like gay men on every show telling me how to dress and put on my make-up), and that I'm wasteful with water and gasolline. On top of that telling me Who I need to vote for(as a rep.) because I'm just too stupid to figure it out on my own.
I used to watch Bill O on a
January 23, 2008 - 10:57 ET by misterbee241I used to watch Bill O on a regular basis but it's gotten to where I only watch him if there's nothing else interesting on tv to watch. I wonder what price he is personally willing to pay to "stop" global warming. And I dont mean just money. I ask the same question of all the other warmingists. It's not going to come cheap - it will have a cost.
There is none so blind as they that won’t see. Jonathan Swift 1667-1745
Walk to Work
January 23, 2008 - 08:18 ET by allanfI think Curry should walk to work each morning, taking great care not to exhale to much. After all, she lives close to the studio in Manhatan.
Just like the 55 mph speed limit, Curry should find the optimal walking speed to minimize her carbon dioxide output.
I did the carpool thing
January 23, 2008 - 10:50 ET by misterbee241I did the carpool thing back in the 70's when the Arabs cut the oil off and gas prices shot all the way up to 60 cents a gallon.
I hated it. I much preferred my personal time on the way to work. The carpool I was in didnt last very long.
I think they should all move to the city and walk to work.
There is none so blind as they that won’t see. Jonathan Swift 1667-1745