Ryanair, European Parliament in War of Words Over Green Travel
Travel Blog • Eva Holland • 12.03.07 | 9:47 AM ET
The rhetoric was cranked up a notch late last week in the ongoing debate over air travel and climate change. The Times of London reports that Michael O’Leary, chief executive of the Ireland-based European budget carrier Ryanair, has demanded an apology and a retraction from a British MEP (Member of European Parliament) who accused him of neglecting the climate change issue. Chris Davies, MEP for north western England, had stated in a debate that O’Leary “says that he does not give a toss for the environment so long as he can stuff his pockets and those of his company full of gold.”
O’Leary is a long-time favorite of mine, and of many British journalists on the air travel beat, for his colorful personality and immense quotability. His outrage over Davies’ comments comes as a surprise, since he has in the past called climate change activists “eco-nuts,” “environ-mental headbangers,” “hairy environmentalists” and “half-witted loons.” He has also called the recent concern over climate change a “middle-class mid-life crisis,” and suggested that six billion people breathing in and out every day is probably as much to blame as anything else: “Why don’t environmentalists just shoot all the humans?”
The reaction of Mr. Davies, in a written reply to O’Leary’s demand for an apology, was understated: “I am surprised but delighted that you wish to be considered a tree-hugger.”
Related on World Hum:
* Leo Hickman: In Search of the True Cost of Travel
* Carbon Offsets: Serious Solution or Eco-Hype?
Photo by dmealiffe via Flickr, (Creative Commons).
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