In the last month we have been bombarded with the front cover of Vogue where fifteen supposed celebrity influencers are presented in the September issue. Not surprisingly, given that most of us don’t even know of most of them it is difficult to believe that they are true influencers.
At the same time we are expected to bow down to the celebrity altar of climate change as people with little academic background in the subject fly 114 private jets across the world to tell us of the dangers that aircraft travel imposes upon the world.
Even governments try and join the bandwagon by banning single use plastic straws, despite paper straws disintegrating and not being able to be recycled, whereas the plastic ones will recycle.
What has become clear with all of this is that this is not about influencing or concern for the planet, but a major PR exercise for celebrities in the hope of burnishing their credentials.
That does not mean that the world does not need heroes or that climate change is not real. It just means that we don’t need the rich hypocrites of celebrity to talk down to us peasants.
I would just mention two people of many thousands that are real heroes and who we can identify with far easier than with those whose only skill appears to be able to learn lines to say to camera.
Firstly, I read recently of the problems of micro-plastic getting into the food chain through wastewater. These particles are the real plastic found in marine life and come from cosmetics, toothpaste and washing of synthetic fabrics. Indeed, washing a synthetic fleece can release as many as 700,000 such particles.
However, using the principles of magnetic oil such as one produced by NASA, a young man has identified a way of removing these particles where the wastewater enters the rivers and oceans so as to stop the particles reaching marine life and into the food chain.
Secondly, last week I went to collect an award from my old university in the UK. Whilst there I visited a social enterprise that won an award that I funded and which works to improve the lot of homeless people.
They started this by getting the homeless interested in photography and then producing their own calendar to prove that there was a way to generate income. My award funded further photographic equipment and mentoring at an art studio.
The result of this was an exhibition in the town’s Arts Festival with further exhibitions to follow. Being based in the art studio the people were also exposed to other creative media.
Last Thursday I had the privilege to meet the people doing this work and one of the people that benefited from the work. Through the project she has been able to move from homeless to emergency accommodation and then on to her own small flat.
This creative and inspiring young lady has achieved this through the confidence provided by the project, the opportunities that were available and her creative abilities that now includes art works as well as photographs. She now gets paid work in studios to support her new independent life.
These people are just some of thousands that get on and solve problems and create a better planet for us all. Unfortunately, the PR departments of celebrities and some Royals are too far removed to be able to see the real heroes.
However, for all those people with private jets, expensive baby showers and designer clothes in their guarded homes could us peasants please say’ For those of you that keep telling us how it should be done, get out of the way of those of us that are doing it!
