'We're living on
borrowed time', claims Charles
Prince
Charles: The heir to the throne is determined to reduce his carbon footprint on
the world
Prince Charles launched his 'green
revolution' with a stark warning that we are all 'living on borrowed time' if
we don't stop eating up the world's resources.
In a forthright speech in
front of leading figures, including Prime Minister Tony Blair, the Prince said:
'We are consuming the resources of our planet at such a rate that we are, in
effect, living off credit and living on borrowed time.
'It is our children and
grandchildren who will have to pay off this debt and we owe it to them and
ourselves to do something about it before it is too late.'
The Prince launched his
Costing The Earth — The Accounting For Sustainability project at a forum
at St JamesÔs Palace attended by politicians and business and faith leaders.
They included the
Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams, Lord Browne, chief executive of BP,
and former US vice president Al Gore, a leading environmentalist whose film An
Inconvenient Truth warns the world must act now to save itself.
The former Democratic US
presidential candidate praised Charles's green initiative in a video message to
the forum. He said it may be 'one of the most important initiatives' and
stressed: 'We need to continue the effort to solve the climate crisis.'
The heir to the throne is
determined to reduce his carbon footprint on the world. He encourages his
staff to make
trips around the capital on bicycle instead of taking cars or cabs.
Actor Stephen Fry and
comedian Al Murray have teamed up to make a film in support of the Prince. Fry,
a close friend of Charles, plays Planet Earth while Murray, otherwise known as
the Pub Landlord, stars as the Moon in the appeal.
The Prince is set to
label all his Duchy Originals range with details of greenhouse gases made
during their production. The Queen has already gone green at Windsor Castle
with a plan to use hydroelectric power.
The Duke of Edinburgh
uses a taxi cab fuelled by liquid petroleum gas to travel around London, while
water in a bore hole at Buckingham Palace is used to supply air conditioning to
the Queen's gallery before topping up the water levels in the Palace lake.
Mr Gore visited Britain
in September to promote his film. Charles is said to have met him privately at
Highgrove to discuss their mutual passion for the environment.
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Reader views
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I'll start believing the sincerity of these high polluting
individuals when I see them setting examples by getting rid of their oppulent
homes, cars and lifestyles and living like common folk!
- Henr, Bellevue, WA
It would be nice to have scientific proof of all this
before we start letting government usurp personal freedoms.
- Jon D, Detroit, MI. USA
Nice, how he asked his staff to ride around on bicycles.
What about him? I love how the rich tell us how we need to live our lives when
they ride around in private planes and big, heavy, gas guzzling cars.
- Greg, Houston