Taylor Swift "Needs to Calm Down" With Her Carbon Footprint
The billionaire Taylor Swift is being scrutinized for her excessive carbon emissions from her personal use of her jet. Her private jet is estimated to have released 8,300 tonnes of carbon emissions in 2022, which is about 1,800 times the average human’s annual emissions.
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With a recent rise in concerns over climate change, many people have been asking the question: Who is a major contributor to carbon emissions in our atmosphere? Well, according to Taylor Swift, “I’m the problem, it’s me.”
Taylor Swift has been a prominent American singer and actress in the music industry since the 2000s. She is beginning to encounter a lot of backlash because of her excessive number of personal-use flights on her private jet. She recently started dating Travis Kelce, a popular football player for the Kansas City Chiefs. After their win against the Baltimore Ravens, the Chiefs advanced to the Super Bowl in Las Vegas.
Media and fans have developed a sudden “epiphany” about Taylor Swift due to her excessive production of carbon emissions.
Taylor Swift has been going back and forth to watch her boyfriend’s football games and, as a result, has released thousands of carbon emissions into the air from her private jet. She has taken the line, “grab your passport and my hand” too literally. In addition, Taylor Swift is on her Eras Tour and is touring in Tokyo. Her attendance at the 58th Super Bowl in Las Vegas meant that she. traveled from Los Angeles to Tokyo, and then to Las Vegas, which is more than 19,400 miles. This means that her jet released more than 200,000 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions. That is 14 times as much as the average American household emits in a year, yet she did this in just 2 weeks.
What are Carbon Emissions?
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Carbon dioxide emissions are the result of burning fossil fuels. Most of these greenhouse gas emissions are a result of human activities, which is the number one cause of climate change.
Even though flying is becoming more efficient than driving, air travel accounts for about 4 percent of human-induced global warming and is statistically slightly worse than driving.
However, the use of a commercial plane is a better alternative than a private jet. Unfortunately, Taylor Swift uses a private jet. Private jets emit 10 times more pollutants than commercial planes per passenger. She is making unnecessary trips via jet, which is only adding to the problem.
The continuous act of burning fossil fuels generates gas emissions that act like a blanket around the Earth. This “blanket” traps the sun’s heat, which leads to abnormally high temperatures that have detrimental effects on human health, the environment, and wildlife.
Sending Mixed Signals
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The famous singer has been an ongoing advocate for climate change and speaks out against the topic. However, she does not practice what she preaches. She has called climate change one of the “horrific situations plaguing the world,” yet she continues to contribute to the problem.
Her private jet is estimated to have released 8,300 tonnes of carbon emissions in 2022. To put that in perspective, that is about 1,800 times the average human’s annual emissions. According to Yard, Taylor Swift is the biggest celebrity CO2 polluter of this year so far.
Swift often incorporates nature-based imagery into her lyrics. However, with the rate of her carbon emissions released into the atmosphere, she will have no imagery to reference.
Legal Action
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21-year-old Jack Sweeney, who attends The University of Central Florida, has become well-known for his social media accounts, on which he tracks famous people’s jets. He has been tracking the different cities Taylor Swift visits, causing many people to realize the extent of her private jet usage. He states that he only posts about the cities Swift travels to which are already publicized by anyone following her Eras Tour and her attendance at Chiefs games this season.
Sweeney revealed that Swift traveled on a 13-minute flight to another part of St. Louis that would have taken just 30 minutes by car. This short trip could have been easily driven and would have offset less carbon emissions into the atmosphere.
Sweeney’s posts about Taylor Swift’s private jet usage have caused her attorneys to threaten legal action against him, even though he uses publicly available data from the Federal Aviation Administration to track private jets and their carbon offset. According to Swift’s lawyers, Sweeney has “engaged in stalking and harassing behavior, including consistently publishing real-time and precise information about our client’s location,” and “it is a life-or-death matter for our client.”
He has been sent two cease and desist letters from her lawyers stating that legal actions will be pursued if he does not stop tracking her jet. Sweeney’s lawyer, James Slater, feels as though “the letters are an effort to quash negative publicity over her emissions.”
Buying Carbon Offsets
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Taylor Swift has claimed that she has bought carbon offsets or carbon credits to balance the environmental damage produced by her private jet. Before she began her Eras Tour, she had purchased more than double the carbon credits needed to offset and accommodate for her world tour, and additionally cover the mileage she’s racked up traveling to see Travis Kelce.
Carbon offsetting is the practice of putting out more greenhouse gas emissions while not technically damaging the environment. Carbon credits do not get rid of environmental damage that has already been done. However, they are used to reduce emissions which will allegedly “balance out” the effect. This is done by engaging in reforesting projects or investing in renewable energy projects. While her previous damage on the environment can not be reversed, at least she is making an effort to fix other areas and instill new energy-efficient programs.
Recap
According to Yard, Taylor Swift is the biggest celebrity CO2 polluter of this year so far. The billionaire Taylor Swift is being scrutinized for her excessive carbon emissions from her personal use of her jet. Her private jet is estimated to have released 8,300 tonnes of carbon emissions in 2022, which is about 1,800 times the average human’s annual emissions.
Swift does see a detrimental problem with her absurd carbon footprint and is trying to balance the effect by buying carbon credits. These credits do not erase the environmental problem, but instead encourage reforesting projects and investments in renewable energy projects. Lastly, the 21-year-old Jack Sweeney has been tracking Swift’s private jet, and has been calling her out for her short flights. He is being threatened by her attorneys for “stalking.”