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It’s annoying enough watching green-preaching, limousine liberals go public and demand ordinary people scale back their lives to protect the environment and climate, and then scoot away on a private jet – or mega-yacht. For example, see here, here, here, here, here and here.

Mega-yachts at the port of Porto Cervo, Sardinia. Photo credit: Heinz-Josef Lücking; CC BY-SA 3.0 de

But what is really infuriating is seeing billionaires recklessly and senselessly rip up and destroy coral reef as they indulge in the forbidden profligacy. Coral reefs, after all, are said to be crucial for the very survival of the world’s ecosystem – or something like that.

Democrat Jeff Greene

Back in 2010, while reporting on John Kerry’s environmental hypocrisy, NTZ mentioned how billionaire Democrat Jeff Greene’s three-story, 145-foot luxury yacht, Summerwind, maneuvered above the famous barrier reef along the coast of Belize and dropped anchor, causing irreparable damage. Despite all the (little people) witnesses, Greene denies the incident. Read about it here as well.

The tampabay.com reports that Greene’s Summerwind had a fuel consumption of 50 gallons an hour, adding:

Greene bought Summerwind in 2003, registering it in the Marshall Islands, a well-known tax haven. The yacht has traveled across the world, hosting Greene, family members and celebrities including Lindsay Lohan.

Now, just days ago, Reuters here reports that Greene may be not alone in the suspected, ultra-exclusive billionaire mega-yachting coral reef destruction club. Hat-tip DirkH.

Paul Allen’s yacht alleged rips up 14,000 sq. ft.

Allegedly joining Greene is billionaire Microsoft Corp co-founder Paul Allen, whose “massive luxury yacht…destroyed most of a protected coral reef during a visit to the Cayman Islands in the Caribbean earlier this month”.

And why on earth was the yacht on its way to the Cayman Islands? Gee, what a mystery. That aside, Reuters reports on the yacht belonging to the environmentally active Allen:

An anchor chain from the vessel damaged nearly 14,000 square feet (1,300 square meters), or about 80 percent, of reef near two scuba diving sites in the West Bay”.

According to the report, Allen’s yacht is a 300+ foot 5-deck unit, with helicopter pads for ferrying passengers and guests.

Environmental cheapskates

You’d think the deep-pocketed billionaires would feel a bit beat up about the damage and simply pay out the pocket-change dimensioned fines and be done with it. But Reuters writes that the billionaires are also environmental cheapskates: “…the Cayman government has been unable to collect fines after a number of similar incidents over the last few years.”