Climate sinners: Billionaire Steyer and O’Malley flee green confab in gas-guzzler
STEYERMOBILE: Green pals Tom Steyer and Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley left the Superdome in this gas-guzzling SUV.
By Dustin Hurst | Watchdog.org
NEW ORLEANS — Forgive them, Al Gore, for they have sinned.
Just minutes after extolling the virtues of green living to thousands gathered in the Superdome in New Orleans, climate change pals Tom Steyer, a hedge fund billionaire, and Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley left the confab in the least environmentally friendly vehicle possible — a Chevrolet Suburban.
Steyer, the man pouring money into the 2014 election, and O’Malley, a possible presidential pick in 2016, spent Wednesday night in the Big Easy discussing politics and climate change at the 2014 Greenbuild conference, with both men stressing the need to continually educate the public about the need for aggressive action on climate change.
O’Malley, when asked by the event’s moderator how he would act on the issue if elected president, suggested he’d wage a public relations offensive to drill into the minds of Americans the importance of green living.
Yet, as the two men left the Superdome, they did so in a black Suburban, registered in Louisiana but sporting a sign on the dash identifying it as under control of the Maryland State Police.
The pair, or the security detail handling travel, may not have been too comfortable being seen jumping in the gas-guzzler. Originally, the driver parked the truck near one of the dome’s exit doors, waiting to whisk away the two politicos. Seeing cameras rolling, the duo’s security chief asked Superdome staffers to close the main garage door to obscure the view.
The driver also backed the vehicle away from the exit, again to shield the view.
According to the federal government’s online database, a Suburban notches 15 miles per gallon in the city when using regular unleaded gasoline, and 11 when burning E85 fuel.
Steyer and O’Malley were joined by at least one other person, so at least the crew qualified to use the environmentally friendly carpool lane.
Here’s the video, with two minor edits to remove offensive language:
