Greener Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous
By(Organic) Champagne Wishes and (Farmed White Sturgeon) Caviar Dreams
Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous was a television show that ran from 1984 to 1995 hosted by Robin Leach. Every episode ended with Robin wishing viewers “Champagne Wishes and Caviar Dreams”. The show (for the most part) would feature the lavish lifestyles of wealthy entertainers, athletes and business moguls. Lifestyles was one of the first shows to capitalize on viewers interest in the lives of the wealthy. The lavish parties on monstrous yachts, private jets, furs, diamonds, gold and countless cars parked in each driveway. Keep in mind this was before it was hip to be green. At the time, people watched in awe and envy. Now that we’re living greener lifestyles, we’d see things a little different.
Huge Yacht or private jet? Might have been oohs and aahs back in the day but not anymore. Now we look and see pure selfishness. How could you use all that fuel and energy on temporary travel? Temporary convenience? You see a lot more stars trekking through public airports now-a-days and it’s a good green thing.
Furs. PETA has been throwing red paint at them since I was in high school and that was in 198….never mind. They’re barbaric and anti-revolutionary to greener lifestyles. Why anyone would want to walk around ensconced in the fur of an animal is beyond me.
Diamonds? Well all I see is blood. Nothings says love and success like the sight of the stone that represents generations of death. I know they sell the “cruelty free” variety now but the cruelty still exists, don’t kid yourself. They’ve got a long way to go before they come out from under that particular cloud. Not this girl’s best friend, that’s for sure.
Gold. What can I say about gold? The image of the panhandler fishing for gold nuggets couldn’t be farther from the truth. Gold is more about chemical solvency than anything else. In fact, cyanide is the main component used in mining for gold which is then leached into the surrounding earth and water. In 2000 in Romania heavy rain, ice, and snow caused a breach in a tailings dam (tailings are the cyanide-treated ore wastes, from which gold has been removed) at a gold mine in Baia Mare, Romania resulting in the release of 100,000 cubic meters of cyanide-rich waste into the surrounding watershed. Drinking water supplies were cut off for 2.5 million people and nearly all of the fish in the surrounding waters were killed. That’s what I think of when I see gold.
Cars. Now you’ll see more and more celebs opting for a green alternative. Cars have become a statement about your environmental enlightenment rather than your financial status. During the “Lifestyles” days if they had a car that looked like the Prius, they would have hidden it. Now it’s proudly worn on the sleeve of every eco-celebrity as a statement of their greener lifestyle.
How are the rich supposed to flaunt and show off their wealth to us commoners now? All that was good is bad now. In this age of greener lifestyles, what is eco-bling?
2 Comments
July 8th, 2009 at 12:24 pm
The answer is an obvious one. Almost every celebrity has a great cause now that allows them to contribute their name and their fame to helping the planet.
Instead of bling, celebrities are now espousing ging, ding and shing.
(giving, doing and sharing).
Betsy S. Franz
http://thenaturelady.blogspot.com/
July 18th, 2009 at 5:25 am
Very true Betsy. Thanks for the comment. I checked out your blog and it’s great. You are quite the green crusader. Thanks for stopping by, reading and dropping a note. I will be sure to return the gesture.