Sunday, July 8, 2007

Live Earth: The Concerts For A Climate In Crisis



After what seemed a lifetime the Live Earth concerts were finally held today and I must say all and all well worth the wait. My son and I watched it on the Sundance Channel (of course) and rocked out! Of course some of our faves were there as great as ever - John Mayer, FooFighters, Red Hot Chili Peppers, even Cat Stevens - and we heard some new faves like James Blunt, Blues Nation and K.T. Tunstall. We missed Madonna and unfortunately did see The Police (sorry, but I've just never been a fan).

Will Live Earth get the message out and start a revolution? Al Gore et al are certainly off to a good start. The concerts, many powered with renewable energy and featuring recyclable stages, were carried by 120 television networks around the world and streamed live on the Internet. By 0200 GMT some 150,000 persons had pledged to decrease their use of fossil fuels, according to the Live Earth website. Over 2 billion people worldwide tuned in and Live Earth has broken the record for most downloaded entertainment event ever with more than 9 million internet streams.

The proceeds from the Live Earth concerts will create the foundation for a new, multi-year global effort to combat the climate crisis led by the Alliance for Climate Protection and its Chair, former Vice President Al Gore. If Live Earth proves nothing else it shows Al Gore is someone to reckon with politically and there is still power in music and in our voices.

And, as Leonardo DiCaprio said, "Our actions from this day forward will help determine just what sort of future we pass on to our children and to their children. As we all face this together, we cannot afford to fail those future generations, or to fail ourselves. What once seemed like science fiction is now an inconvenient, if undeniable, truth."

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