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Live Earth
File:Paul Kidby Discworld.jpg
Genreall
DatesJuly 7, 2007
Location(s)Coca Cola Dome, Giants Stadium, Copacabana Beach, Rothera Research Station, Makuhari Messe, Tō-ji, Oriental Pearl Tower, Aussie Stadium, Wembley Stadium, HSH Nordbank Arena, National Mall
Years active2007
FoundersAl Gore, Kevin Wall
Websitehttp://www.liveearth.org/

Live Earth is the name for a series of multi-venue concerts of pop and rock music featuring various artists currently taking place today, July 7th 2007, aimed to raise awareness about climate change and to encourage people live greener lives. The concerts have the intent of bringing together more than 150 of the world's most popular music acts and drawing a worldwide audience of 2 billion people, making it one of the largest global events in history. The umbrella organization for the event is Save Our Selves, a group was founded by Kevin Wall, and includes as major partners former US Vice-President Al Gore, the Alliance for Climate Protection, MSN and Control Room, a concert production company producing Live Earth. Their logo/trademark is SOS written in Morse Code. Unlike the similar multi-venue rock music concert Live 8, which was free, Live Earth is mainly a ticketed event.

Background

Live Earth-initiator Al Gore giving a global warming talk on April 7, 2006

The plans for the Live Earth concerts were announced at a media event in Los Angeles on February 15[1], 2007 by Al Gore and other activist celebrities. The inspiration for promoting the cause using the vehicle of benefit concerts comes from many similar events over the past 25 years including the 1985 Live Aid concerts and the 2005 Live 8 concerts and it will be the longest show ever to be recorded in the world records. The event is claimed to be carbon neutral, but organizers admit that carbon credits would have to be purchased to offset the environmental impact of the flights associated with the events.[2]

In addition to raising awareness of global warming[3], on June 28, 2007, it was revealed that Live Earth is to be the launch event for the Live Earth Call to Action.[4] During the concerts people will be asked to support the following 7-point pledge:[4]

  1. 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;
  2. 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;'
  3. 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;
  4. To work for a dramatic increase in the energy efficiency of my home, workplace, school, place of worship, and means of transportation;
  5. To fight for laws and policies that expand the use of renewable energy sources and reduce dependence on oil and coal;
  6. To plant new trees and to join with others in preserving and protecting forests; and,
  7. 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.

In subsequent interviews Al Gore indicated that the concerts would mark 'the beginning of a three year campaign worldwide to deliver information about how we solve the climate crisis'[5][6] and that 'the prospects for every future generation depend on us understanding, hearing and acting upon this information.'[5]

Further information on the issues raised by the concerts are published in The Live Earth Global Warming Survival Handbook, written by environmentalist David Mayer de Rothschild.[7][8]. Profits from the book will be donated to the Alliance for Climate Protection, as will some of the profits from the concerts.[9]

Locations

File:Cities participating in Live Earth.png
Countries and cities participating in Live Earth.

The organizers intend to present concerts on all seven continents. They have stated that the venues will utilize on-site power generation, efficient methods of energy utilization and sustainable facilities management in an effort to minimize environmental impact.

Africa


North America

South America


Antarctica

*Played via satellite in Wembley Stadium, London


Asia


Australia


Europe

Broadcasting

According to the organizers, the concerts will be broadcast on over 120 television networks around the world. [11] So far, it has been stated that the concerts will be broadcast on the following media outlets:

Schedule

Concerts listed in order by time UTC.[13]

Location (Venue) Local start time UTC start time
Sydney, Australia (Aussie Stadium) 11:10 7/7 01:10 7/7
Chiba, Japan (Makuhari Messe) 12:00 7/7 04:00 7/7
Amsterdam, Netherlands (Westerpark) (Live Earth Alert) 12:00 7/7 10:00 7/7
Shanghai, China (Oriental Pearl Tower) 19:00 7/7 11:00 7/7
Hamburg, Germany (HSH Nordbank Arena) 14:00 7/7 12:00 7/7
London, United Kingdom (Wembley Stadium) 13:30 7/7 12:30 7/7
Kyoto, Japan (To-Ji Temple) 23:00 7/7 14:00 7/7
Washington, D.C. (National Mall) 10:30 7/7 14:30 7/7
Johannesburg, South Africa (Coca Cola Dome) 18:00 7/7 16:00 7/7
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (Copacabana Beach) 16:00 7/7 19:00 7/7
East Rutherford, New Jersey (Giants Stadium) 14:30 7/7 19:30 7/7
Rothera Research Station, Antarctica TBA TBA

Confirmed performers for Live Earth

The intention of the organizers is to invite over 150 of the world's most famous artists to perform on the concerts. So far, the artists who have confirmed their performances are the following:

Friends of Live Earth

All over the world, there will be 7112 concerts[20], associated with Live Earth. Some Friends of Live Earth[21] concerts, held at capital cities:

Old Port of Montreal (Quebec, Canada)

The Montreal show entitled "Montréal sur terre" (Montreal on Earth) is hosted by former head of Greenpeace Quebec Steven Guilbault and will also feature environmentalist Jean Lemire. Playing at the event are the following artists.[3]

Concept

Early 2007 Al Gore among others came up with the concept of Live Earth. But other organisations and people had adopted earlier likewise idea's/concept to organise worldwide something on July 7th 2007.

Controversy and criticism

Much of the controversy and criticism has been from critics skeptical of Al Gore's motives. The event has been sarcastically called Gore Aid by skeptics,[22] (derived from Live Aid + Al Gore), and also viewed as a possible way for Gore to promote himself for the 2008 U.S. Presidential election.[23] Al Gore has vehemently denied having presidential aspirations, and chose not to run in the 2004 Presidential Election despite support for a bid by Democratic party members, but his tone has softened a bit more recently and currently denies any plans to run for the presidency, but does not rule it out.[24]

Further information: [[:Al Gore controversies]]

The event has been also been criticised by a few as ineffective, including Dr. Patrick Michaels, senior fellow in environmental studies at the libertarian Cato Institute who called it "the largest political rally in history, yet they will accomplish nothing but feel-good environmentalism".[25]

Then there is the criticism that the events hypocritically are wasting energy, such as the criticism over the use of private jets. One of the people criticizing the concerts is Muse frontman Matthew Bellamy, who told BBC 6 Music, that it seems hypocritical to support an event that could have an opposite effect on the climate. "Private jets for climate change, not sure about it that seems to be a bit on edge really – that’s an issue really, so we need to think about it!" [26] Organizers have defended the use of jets on the music events by saying that the concerts will have eco-friendly electricity and sustainable lighting. Ashok Sinha, the director of Stop Climate Chaos, a group involved in the event, said that criticizers should not put the finger of blame towards the music stars taking part in the event. "They have to reduce carbon emissions, we have to reduce carbon emissions, and in just the same way that we may look at a pop star and say, ‘you use more carbon than I do,’ then people from Africa could look at us and think we don’t go flying around everywhere, I have met people in Africa who haven’t even made a phone call let alone get on a plane."[26]

At the London Live Earth Concert, Simon LeBon asked the audience to raise their hands who had not flown there by private jet. The crowd, as well as Duran Duran all raised their hands.[citation needed]

At least two of the artists appearing at the event have left themselves open to potential media criticism due to their involvement in commercials advertising SUVs. R&B singer John Legend is featured in a new Lexus SUV commercial while Sheryl Crow's song Everyday Is A Winding Road is heard playing in an advertising campaign for Subaru SUVs. The Daily Mail said the only thing more massive than Madonna's carbon footprint was her ego. At an estimated 1018 tonnes, the pop star's footprint is 100 times the British average. [27]

In New Zealand, climate change activists in the Climaction Coalition have called people to protest on the day instead.[28] (The group previously organised a protest when Al Gore came to Auckland, accusing him of "greenwashing".)[29]

Before the goals of the concerts were announced on June 28, the concert was criticized by Live Aid organiser Sir Bob Geldof and Roger Daltrey of The Who about a lack of a final goal. Geldof said in an interview on May 15th, that the concerts are a waste of time.[30]

I hope they're a success. But why is Gore actually organising them? To make us aware of the greenhouse effect? Everybody's known about [the greenhouse problem] for years. We're all fucking conscious of global warming. Live Earth doesn't have a final goal. I would only organize [a gig like this] if I could go on stage and announce concrete environmental measures from the American presidential candidates, Congress or major corporations. They haven't got those guarantees. So it's just an enormous pop concert or the umpteenth time that, say, Madonna or Coldplay get up on stage.

He also criticized the choice of the name of the event, Live Earth.

It sounds like Live 8. We're getting lots of responses from people who think we are organizing it.[31] Daltrey told The Sun on 19 May

Bollocks to that! The last thing the planet needs is a rock concert. I can't believe it. Let's burn even more fuel. We have problems with global warming, but the questions and the answers are so huge I don't know what a rock concert's ever going to do to help. Everybody on this planet at the moment, unless they are living in the deepest rainforest in Brazil, knows about climate change. My answer is to burn all the fucking oil as quick as possible and then the politicians will have to find a solution.

[32] A spokesman for Live Earth has hit back on the comments, saying that the concerts are intended to raise awareness about the dangers of climate change. "People are aware of global warming but millions are not doing anything about changing their lifestyles."[33]. Al Gore responded to the criticism in an interview with The Sun on June 18th, saying that the concerts have specific goals, but they haven't been announced yet.

We will have specific goals that will be very significant and hard-hitting. We will announce those before the concert then emphasise them heavily during the concert. What Bob Geldof did with Live Aid and Live 8 was fantastic and he has followed up very diligently, as many of the others involved with Live Aid and Live 8 have. I’ve nothing but good things to say about them. These concerts would not be possible in any way without the pioneering and creativity of Geldof and those who helped him. But he has said in the aftermath of those efforts how important it is to have specific goals and a continuing follow-on effort and we have designed the Live Earth concerts in just that way.[34]

On June 21st it was reported that the Istanbul leg of Live Earth has been cancelled due to lack of sponsors and government support. Cengizhan Yeldan from Purple Concerts, the company organizing the event, denied these reports in a phone interview with Today's Zaman the same day, saying that while the organizers have faced financial problems, the concert will be held but there will be some slight changes to it. "The event might be smaller than we initially planned. But it is not canceled. The reports that appeared in newspapers today (Thursday) are not based on an official statement. … I would never let such a fiasco happen. We will go ahead with our plans. … We have already put a lot of investment in this task. Even if we do not have any sponsors, we will carry on with what we started and assume the rest of the costs."[citation needed] Yeldan added that the organizers are planning to make the concert free of charge, and that the lineup will include both international headliners and local acts. Also they will find a new venue for the event. "There are artists who've told us they will come and sing at the event even if they have to sing from a balcony." Yeldan said that official statements will be made at a later date when the details of the event become clearer.[35] On Tuesday June 26 the organizers announced they are pulling the Istanbul show out of the schedule due to lack of time.[36] Just days before the event, the concert in Rio De Janiero was reportedly canceled because of a lack of security for the concert, but was later revived.[37]

One research organization has accused the organizers of being worryingly uncommunicative over where the profits from the concerts will go: UK donor advisory service Intelligent Giving concluded, "This is at best, the most confused, and at worst, the most secretive charitable outfit we've come across."[38]

Though falsely reported to be performing, Arctic Monkeys refused to play at the Wembley Stadium Live Earth show. Drummer Matt Helders says, "It's a bit patronizing for us 21-year-olds to try to start to change the world, especially when we're using enough power for 10 houses just for stage lighting. It would be a bit hypocritical."[39]

Several prominent animal rights organizations have criticized the event for entirely overlooking the huge effect that the livestock industry has on global warming (as outlined in the 2006 United Nations report, 'Livestock's Long Shadow') [40]. One such organization reported that the organizers of the South African event refused to supply them with a stall for the day as they didn't want to 'dilute the message'.[citation needed] Stall applicants in South Africa have also expressed outrage at what they view to be an unfairly high cost for hosting a stall (approx. $1,300), even for charities and non-profit organizations.[citation needed]

And it was only hours before the Washington DC concert was scheduled to begin that organizers were able to secure a venue for the last-minute addition to the schedule. The Washington Post reported the U.S. capital had been Gore's first choice for the main concert, but the National Mall was booked, and even an Act of Congress wasn't enough to keep Republican opponents from blocking attempts by Democratic lawmakes to secure a venue.[41] The main concert was moved to New York (actually New Jersey), but Gore made a surprise announcement during a July 6 media interview that a concert would take place on the plaza of the Museum of the American Indian. "Some naysayers tried to keep us off the Mall, but here we are. ... And it wasn't the cavalry that saved us; it was the American Indians," Gore said during brief opening remarks carried live on the website.

The BBC's coverage was criticised for cutting away from rock bands on the bill such as Metallica and Spinal Tap for coverage of pop acts such as Katie Melua and Rihanna. Further criticism came from when presenter Jonathan Ross praised performances that didn't actually get shown to the TV audience. [4] Many people also complained about how Madonna got promoted at nearly every TV link.

Acts got their performances shortened to stop the show over-running. However,as a result, by 9.15 (With over an hour left in the schedule) only Madonna & Foo Fighters were left to take the stage. This led to some filling by presenters and the showing of performances from around the globe.

See also

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References

  1. ^ "Live Earth revealed", Reuters
  2. ^ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/04/11/ngreen11.xml
  3. ^ "Live Earth Aims to Cause Lasting Change". Washington Post. 2007-07-02. Retrieved 2007-07-05. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ a b Al Gore, Kevin Wall issue far-reaching Live Earth Call To Action, Live Earth, published 2007-06-28, accessed 2007-07-03
  5. ^ a b Live Earth a climate 'SOS', BBC, published 2007-07-03, accessed 2007-07-03
  6. ^ Moving Beyond Kyoto, New York Times, published 2007-07-01, accessed 2007-07-03
  7. ^ The Live Earth Global Warming Survival Handbook: 77 Essential Skills To Stop Climate Change, author: David de Rothschild, publisher: Rodale Books, ISBN 159486781X
  8. ^ Rodale Books to publish the official Live Earth Global Warming Survival Handbook, Live Earth, published 2006-05-16
  9. ^ Live Earth switch-off is vetoed, BBC, published 2007-06-04, accessed 2007-07-03
  10. ^ Gore gets last-minute D.C. venue for Live Earth
  11. ^ "Live Earth UK unveiled", Liveearth.org
  12. ^ Template:Nl BNN: Live Earth op Nederland 3 en 3FM
  13. ^ [1]
  14. ^ http://www.nme.com/news/29460
  15. ^ a b c Live Earth Fact Sheet
  16. ^ Yusuf (Formerly Cat Stevens), Xzibit and Kenna to Join Live Earth Line-Ups in Hamburg, Tokyo & New York
  17. ^ a b c www.liveearthhamburg.de
  18. ^ 'Live Earth' Hamburg's Special Guest: Yusuf Islam
  19. ^ Quick Hits: Britney Spears, Live Earth, Queens of the Stone Age, Ozzfest, The Cult, Travis
  20. ^ http://www.digitallyobsessed.com/showrelease.php3?ID=8668
  21. ^ http://friendsofliveearth.com/ Friends of Live Earth
  22. ^ Mike Stark (17 February 2007). "Gore Aid". CounterPunch. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |accessdaymonth= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  23. ^ Gore campaigning for environment, not presidency
  24. ^ "Gore: 'I've fallen out of love with politics'", CNN, 6 July 2007
  25. ^ Live Earth concerts blow hot air
  26. ^ a b Live Earth - is it green?
  27. ^ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/femail/article.html?in_article_id=466775&in_page_id=1879&ICO=FEMAIL&ICL=TOPART
  28. ^ CLIMACTION
  29. ^ Corporate Greenwashers exposed at AL Gore meeting!
  30. ^ Live Earth? It's a waste of time, Geldof tells Gore
  31. ^ Geldorf criticizes Gore's Live Earth
  32. ^ Who c-cares about Live Earth?
  33. ^ It’ll be Live Dearth
  34. ^ Al Gore - man with a mission
  35. ^ Live Earth İstanbul organizer: Concert not canceled
  36. ^ Istanbul Won't Hold Live Earth Concert
  37. ^ Rio Live Earth to go on after ban revoked
  38. ^ What on (Live) Earth is going on?
  39. ^ Arctic Monkeys slam Live Earth Yahoo News
  40. ^ ContactMusic.com : PETA BLASTS MEAT SALES AT LIVE EARTH [2]
  41. ^ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/06/AR2007070600684.htm

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