Prince Charles' journeys by train to push sustainable lifestyles
06 Sep 2010
The Prince of Wales has come in for some pointed criticism as he sets to embark on a campaign to promote sustainable living in the UK. According to commentators as he is the second most senior member of one of the highest-consuming families on the planet the message of his campaign for the masses may seem to be misdirected.
The campaign starts off with a five-day tour of the country and is being looked upon as a 21 st-century version of the old Royal Progress. Critics point out that while Elizabeth I used to need around 400 carts and carriages to carry her, the prince would be using the Royal Train. The train has been adapted to use waste vegetable oil and unlike the Virgin Queen who was rather keen on showing herself to the masses, the prince intends to showcase what others have been doing.
Some experts accuse Charles of hypocrisy as it has emerged that the train would carry only the prince and a handful of staff. They have also questioned the environmental wisdom of traveling by train instead of a car wondering if car travel had not been better for the environment.
Climate change experts say the super rich like the prince with their highly energy intensive life styles seem to be totally unaware of the discrepancy between what they preach and what they do.
They point out that even with biofuels, the train journey was still questionable as the use of biofuels is morally obtuse given the grains are specifically used for energy, and not food as agriculture is meant to be.
They say with millions of people starving, world-wide biofuels only end up pushing the price of food.
