08 July 2007

'We would have to plant 100,000 trees to offset the effect of Live Earth'

In a 24-hour music marathon spanning seven continents, everyone from aboriginal elders to famous scientists to country singers called on the world to turn interest in the Live Earth events into environmental activism.

With other shows in London, Sydney, Tokyo, Kyoto, Shanghai, Hamburg, Johannesburg, Rio de Janeiro - and even a performance by a band of scientists at a research station in Antarctica - organizers called Live Earth the biggest musical event ever staged, dwarfing the Live Aid and Live 8 concerts.

Organizers promised that the huge shows were made green by using recycled goods, shuttling some concertgoers from distant parking lots in biodiesel buses and using biofuels for generators.

Critics have faulted the Live Earth concerts for lacking clear-cut, achievable goals, and for lauding rock stars whose jet-setting, high-consumption lifestyles can often send a different, less environmentally friendly message.

  • BBC panics and cuts back to the studio after a bombing Chris Rock curses on stage

  • In a TV interview earlier this week, Matt Bellamy of Muse mocked the event as "private jets for climate change" That's my boy.

  • John Buckley of Carbon Footprint, an organisation that helps companies reduce their carbon dioxide emissions, said Saturday that Live Earth will produce about 74,500 tons of the gas. "We would have to plant 100,000 trees to offset the effect of Live Earth," he said, speaking by telephone. But, he added, "if you can reach 2 billion people and raise awareness, that's pretty fantastic." Indeed.

  • Will the event make a difference after the last burger in biodegradable packaging is eaten and the stage made of recycled oil drums and used tires is packed away? Naturally, Steve Howard, CEO of the Climate Group, a partner in Live Earth, said that it would.

  • 48-yr-old Madonna looked and sounded great writhing around on stage like the good old days. And a little black spandex cameltoe never hurt anyone, right? Certainly, on the way into the show, some of the 65,000 people who'd spent $110 on a ticket appeared unaware of the seven-point pledge that Al Gore, the event's chief impresario, had asked all spectators to make. Asked about it, they offered blank looks and said they were there for Madonna (whose annual carbon footprint is 1,018 tons -- about 92 times the 11 tons an average person uses per year) I simply love this "carbon footprint" term. I'm gonna run with it.

  • Dave Matthews was awful and played some tune where he screams like a frat-banshee.

  • Carson Daly gushed backstage over Keith Urban's opening rendition of "Gimme Shelter" with Alicia Keys. Carson lobbed a softball at Urban with the prompt: "Hey Keith, aren't all your tour buses running biodiesel?" and Keith sort of paused and looked at Carson and said "uh...yeah...yeah they are...but you know its hard touring..." Real smooth, Keith.

  • The beginning montage showed close-ups of all these cute freckle faced kids talking about what they can do to help global yawning but then one of them starts crying talking about how she hopes "her children" will be able to see a "blue sky" someday. Surrrrrre, ok, child actor. No six-year old is worrying about the next generation. They ARE the next generation. Dolts.

  • Lining up at the merch booths selling $40 organic cotton T-shirts proclaiming "Green Is the New Black," Andrea Covic, 26, was also optimistic. "I've come because I'm sympathetic to the message," she said. "Of course I want to see the Beastie Boys." No, totally Andrea, I hear you.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Dave Matthews is always awful. but i heard him and other carbon footprinters give Eco Energy companies money to buy back the damage the do. even mother nature gets payed off.