Prince William Called Out Billionaires' "Space Race" Amid Climate Crisis

Prince William is not at all impressed with the "space race" instigated by billionaires Elon Musk (opens in new tab) and Jeff Bezos (opens in new tab). In a new interview with the BBC (opens in new tab), the future king implied that we clearly have bigger fish to fry right here on planet Earth, and that those billionaires (opens in new tab) would be better off turning their attention to the climate crisis (opens in new tab) instead.

"The idea that space race is on at the moment, we've seen everyone trying to get space tourism going, it's the idea that we need some of the world's greatest brains and minds fixed on trying to repair this planet, not trying to find the next place to go and live," the Duke of Cambridge (opens in new tab) said.

This comes after William Shatner of Star Trek fame flew out to space on a trip facilitated by Amazon founder Bezos. Shatner came home with a newfound appreciation for planet Earth, which he called "this sheet, this blanket, this comforter of blue that we have around us" compared to the "black ugliness" of space (via the Guardian (opens in new tab)).

But Bezos himself sees things differently, and wants to create "space colonies (opens in new tab)." Founder of SpaceX Musk, meanwhile, wants to make humanity a "multi-planet species" (via BBC (opens in new tab)).

For Prince William (opens in new tab), their priorities are all wrong. "I want the things that I've enjoyed, the outdoor life and the sort of nature and environment, I want that to still be there for not just my children but everyone else's children," he said. "If we're not careful, we're robbing from, you know, our children's future [with] what we do now. I think that's not fair."

The royal also spoke about how a passion for the environment has run through four generations of his family, with Prince Philip's (opens in new tab) involvement with the WWF, Prince Charles (opens in new tab) advocating for eco-friendly practices for decades even when it wasn't mainstream, and Prince George (opens in new tab) going "litter picking" with his school.