The Little People

Further to Jeremy Irons and his embarrassment of houses, here’s a refreshing moment of celebrity honesty. CNS reporter Nicholas Ballasy asks the actor, musician and environmental campaigner Dave Matthews what he’s done to reduce his own environmental impact. The full rambling reply may be of interest, but for brevity’s sake, here’s the money quote:

My carbon footprint, I think, I can say confidently, is much bigger than most people’s...  but I think trying to raise awareness has, you know, maybe offset that a bit... What I try and do is try and, with the knowledge that I have, is offset my contribution to [carbon emissions]. I think people that don’t move around as much as me can take a bike when it’s a nice day. Or walk. 

You heard the man. You should walk to offset his celebrity lifestyle. Because,

We’ve got to change the way that we’re living.

Though some more than others, it seems.

The attitude above is perhaps symbolised by an incident in August 2004, when the Dave Matthews Band was sued by the state of Illinois for dumping 800 lbs of raw human sewage over a bridge and into the Chicago River. The human waste not only violated water pollution laws but also, unhappily, landed on over 100 tourists in a boat passing below. The victims of Mr Matthews’ fallout included, “persons with disabilities, senior citizens, a pregnant woman, a small child and an infant.”