Eco warrior Katy Perry is being slammed as a ‘hypocrite’ after it was revealed Monday’s Blue Origin space launch released tons of greenhouse gases.
Climate experts said the 11-minute trip was enough to ‘alter the atmosphere.’
Online, a resurfaced video of Perry lecturing people on climate change in 2015 has gained new attention.
‘Hi, I’m Katy Perry. Let’s take a journey to see how man-made climate change is hurting children around the world,’ she said in the clip filmed for UNICEF.
Perry said carbon emissions were causing devastating tropical weather in the Philippines, destructive flooding in Bangladesh and deadly malaria in Africa, which hit around the time the video was released.
The clip was posted on X after Perry returned from her trip to space, sparking outcry because she said the mission was for the benefit of Earth.
‘Protecting the planet begins by refusing to produce hundreds of tons of CO2 for a ridiculous flight organized by one of the biggest polluters on this same planet,’ one user shared on X.
While Jeff Bezos‘ rocket releases water vapor as a byproduct, resulting in virtually no direct carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions, scientists said it is still an ozone-depleting greenhouse gas.
Eloise Marais, a professor of Atmospheric Chemistry and Air Quality at University College London, told BBC: ‘It alters the chemistry of the stratosphere, depleting the ozone layer, and also forms clouds that affect climate.’
Katy Perry has spent years banging the climate change drum. She did a weather report in 2015 for UNICEF, warning how children are suffering from man-made climate change
While Perry said we need to protect Earth after her launch to space, the mission released ozone-depleting greenhouse gas emissions. She returned from the mission and kissed the Earth in a display of appreciation
Many X users said they never want to see another celebrity lecturing about climate change and saving the planet.
‘Katy Perry kissing the ground and saying, ‘We need to save Mother Earth’ after she went to space for 30 seconds to promote her album, probably opened a hole in the ozone layer & promoted one of the companies responsible for the destruction of earth…..is a choice,’ one user shared.
Blue Origin boasts that its New Shepard rocket, which took the women to space, ‘is fueled by highly efficient liquid oxygen and hydrogen.’
The company’s website states that during spaceflights, ‘the only byproduct of New Shepard’s engine combustion is water vapor with no carbon emissions.’
While the rocket does not release carbon, water vapor injected into the stratosphere, located six to 31 miles above the surface, persists for years.
It traps heat more effectively than at lower levels, contributing to global warming.
There is also the ground and manufacturing process that release carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases.
While Blue Origin has released official numbers, data from a 2023 UN report suggested that building a small rocket like New Shepard (which carries about 1,100 pounds of payload) results in around 42 tons of carbon emissions per vehicle.
(L-R) Kerianne Flynn, Katy Perry, Lauren Sanchez, Aisha Bowe, Gayle King and Amanda Nguyen in front of Blue Origin capsule following a short mission into orbit Monday
Perry, Bezos’ fiancée, Lauren Sanchez, TV presenter Gayle King, civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen, former NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe and filmmaker Kerianne Flynn reached 62 miles above Earth’s surface during Monday’s launch.
Perry sang ‘What a Wonderful World’ by Louis Armstrong while she and the crew were taking in the views of Earth from space.
When asked why she chose that song, Perry said: ‘It’s about this wonderful world we see out there and appreciate. This is all for the benefit of Earth.’
Perry has spent years banging on the climate change drum. She became a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in 2013 to highlight the effects of climate change on the world’s most disadvantaged populations, mainly children.
She warned that the climate change will only worsen, pleading with the world to ‘please change the forecast with me.’
While she was praised for the campaign five years ago, the Blue Origin launch appears to undermine it.
During liftoff, the rocket’s single BE-3PM engine fired and began blasting the crew into space at 9:30am ET.
Burning a mixture of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen, the engine generated around 110,000 pounds of force.
Within minutes, the rocket hit speeds exceeding 2,000 miles per hour – over twice the speed of sound.
The forces on both the capsule and the crew will be intense as the rocket hits its point of maximum stress, known as Max-Q in aerospace engineering.
According to Blue Origin, Perry and her fellow astronauts experienced three times the force of gravity as the booster accelerates.
The capsule landed just a few miles from the launch point safely, returning the group after a successful flight just after 9:40am ET.
It’s the first all-female space mission since Russia’s Valentina Tereshkova embarked on a solo spaceflight in 1963.
