It’s easy to assume that if your ride on two wheels, you’re doing good things for the environment. The calculation is simple: if you’re on a bike, you’re not in a car. But being a cyclist certainly doesn’t make you green, as shown recently by Lance Armstrong.
The New York Times revealed last week that the seven time Tour de France champion used 330,000 gallons of water at his home in Texas…. just for the month of July! That’s 38 times the amount that a single household consumes during one summer. And it’s not just last month that’s shocking; since January 2007 Armstrong’s home has used an average of 158,000 gallons per month. I guess if you own a mansion — click here to see a photo of his digs — with a swimming pool and an acre of gardens that’s what it takes.
“I’m a little shocked,” Armstrong told The Statesman. “There’s no justification for that much water.” He added, “I need to fix this.” Umm… yes, and fast, because considering the this season’s Texas dry spell, there really is no justification for that much water usage (or should I say waste?).
[Via Ecorazzi]
Also, it was report this month that Theresa Heinz, who is married to former presidential hopeful John Kerry, is the biggest water consumer in Idaho’s Blaine County (Sun Valley). Good job.
No excusing Lance here but I am glad to hear he at least is shocked and will likely do something about his high water use. In my neighborhood in La Jolla I have to take the junk mail from most of my neighbors out of the garbage each day and put it in the recycle bin 4′ away! That combined with all these same folks parking and idling for a few mins each day in the adjoining handicap parking space (instead of in their parking spot 100-200′ away) to get their mail has me worried about how little people even notice the environment here. I won’t even get into the excessive car washing and preponderance of SUV’s!