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As ‘Live Earth’ Plays, Millions to Work for Climate Protection
Caitlin G. Johnson, OneWorld US
As global concerts raise the profile of climate protection among viewers on all seven continents this weekend, some 10,000 “satellite” events are expected to bring millions of individuals into the action to help stop climate change.
Live Earth 7/7/07 — former U.S. vice president Al Gore’s high-profile call to action on global warming, in partnership with his organization the Alliance for Climate Protection, MSN, and the production company Control Room — will rock some pretty big houses this Saturday.
A series of nine global concerts will kick off in Sydney, Australia and feature more than 100 artists, including big-name rockers like Madonna, the Police, Kanye West, Snoop Dogg, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. The artists are performing for free, according to a statement released by Gore, and ticket proceeds will benefit the Alliance for Climate Protection in its work to reverse global climate change.
“The concert is designed to launch an ongoing three- to five-year national campaign,” says Live Earth spokesperson Yusef Robb. “We’re trying to jumpstart a massive audience and form a critical mass of people around the world who make the climate crisis a priority in their lives. This will create the market and political forces necessary to drive change, as well.”
…At each of these events, large and small, the focus will be on understanding the issue and what individuals, communities, and governments can do to reduce global climate change.
…Lewes, England — one of a growing number of “Transition Towns” around the world that model a more sustainable environment in the face of peak oil prices and climate change — is hosting a Powerdown Party at 7pm that will feature solar-powered music by Southern Sailor, viewing of the Live Earth performance, and an exclusive address from Al Gore.
(5 July 2007)
Live Earth Pledges
Live Earth
Join the global movement and take action against the climate crisis – click one or all of the boxes below and enter your email. Enter your name and look for it on screen during Live Earth!
- I will change four light bulbs to CFLs at my home.
- I will shop for the most energy efficient electronics and appliances.
- I will shut off my equipment and lights whenever I’m not using them.
- I will ride public transit or carpool one or more times per week.
- I will forward a Live Earth email message to 5 friends.
- Add my name to the Live Earth pledge.
[EB: So far, nice but not very exciting. But if you click to see the Live Earth Pledge, the pop-up has something much more interesting:]
I pledge:
- To demand that my country join an international treaty within the next 2 years that cuts global warming pollution by 90% in developed countries and by more than half worldwide in time for the next generation to inherit a healthy earth;
- To take personal action to help solve the climate crisis by reducing my own CO2 pollution as much as I can and offsetting the rest to become “carbon neutral;”
- To fight for a moratorium on the construction of any new generating facility that burns coal without the capacity to safely trap and store the CO2;
- To work for a dramatic increase in the energy efficiency of my home, workplace, school, place of worship, and means of transportation;
- To fight for laws and policies that expand the use of renewable energy sources and reduce dependence on oil and coal;
- To plant new trees and to join with others in preserving and protecting forests; and,
- To buy from businesses and support leaders who share my commitment to solving the climate crisis and building a sustainable, just, and prosperous world for the 21st century.
(7 July 2007 – dated “7.7.07”)
Why rock won’t save the planet
George Marshall, The Guardian
Live Earth concerts will take place around the globe this weekend. Their aim is admirable, but if we are serious about climate change, then telling concert-goers to take the bus once a week is not enough.
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This Saturday, Live Earth, a series of huge concerts around the world, will use music and modern media, in the words of the organisers, to “trigger a global movement to solve the climate crisis”.
I sincerely hope that it works, but I fear that our refusal to acknowledge climate change has very deep roots – too deep to be addressed by feel-good concerts. After all, we have known about climate change for a surprisingly long time. The first serious warnings came in 1965 and climate change has been at the top of the political agenda for 15 years.
(5 July 2007)
Could This Be the Global-Warming Generation?
Peter Ford, Christian Science Monitor
BEIJING – It’s billed as the biggest show on earth: eight pop music concerts spanning 15 time zones and an expected TV, radio, and Internet audience of 2 billion people.
The “Live Earth” shows that start Saturday in Australia are meant to be more than a planetary party. Event founder Al Gore hopes they will kick-start a global civic crusade to combat climate change and to inspire individuals everywhere to do their part.
Will the event mark the debut of a “Global Warming Generation” – a significant shift in attitudes and behavior? Or will it simply be a fun, musical follow-up to Mr. Gore’s film, “An Inconvenient Truth,” that resonates little beyond the current advocates?
Reporting from eight countries indicates that today the issue is most relevant to residents of the US and Europe. But in the developing countries where the concerts are being held, such as China, South Africa, and Brazil, few citizens appear to see global warming as a pressing personal problem. In Turkey, the concert was canceled because it couldn’t get enough local support.
No matter, say organizers. “These concerts are a way to engage individuals who have not been engaged before,” says Andrea Robinson, in charge of gathering support from nongovernmental organizations worldwide for the event. “Music can have a definitive effect on a culture at a particular moment.”
In industrialized nations, where more people say they are worried by climate change, surveys indicate that not many of them are yet doing much about it in their daily lives.
Eighty-eight percent of Americans believe individual actions can have a positive impact on climate change, according to a poll carried out in anticipation of the “Live Earth” concerts, and 51 percent of those who had heard about the event expected it would inspire them to do more.
(5 July 2007)
Also at Common Dreams.
