Europeans are acutely aware of the effect flying has on one's carbon footprint. Flying is the fastest growing source of greenhouse gases in the United Kingdom. As the Guardian reported, greenhouse gas emissions from flying more than doubled from 1990 to 2004, to 5.5 percent of the United Kingdom's emissions. It would not surprise me if someday Great Britain legislates a limit on short flights -- say, London to Edinburgh or Paris, trips you can make in a car or train about as fast as flying. That would be bad news for Virgin Express.
In California, Branson has a soul mate in Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Critics hit the governator for signing global-warming bills while owning four Hummers, but his biggest green sin is dibs on a private plane.
Flying is my biggest item in my carbon footprint calculation, and I don't own a jet. Flying is probably the biggest personal polluter for people who take more than 10 roundtrips a year. So all those Hollywood stars who preen about their Priuses can see themselves as eco-virtuous only by ignoring their plane travel.
They are in a pickle. How can they be beautiful people if they don't jet to an island for a week or two of eco-tourism?