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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, 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.

The event has raised some controversy and criticism, notably of Al Gore's participation, which some see as a possible way for Gore to promote himself for the 2008 U.S. Presidential election, which he currently hasn't ruled out. The event has therefore been sarcastically called Gore Aid by skeptics. The event has also been criticised for inefficiency and for wasting energy, such as the use of private jets, and at least two of the artists appearing at the event have been involved in commercials advertising SUVs.

Background

The plans for the Live Earth concerts were announced at a media event in Los Angeles on February 15, 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.

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

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' and that 'the prospects for every future generation depend on us understanding, hearing and acting upon this information.'

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.. Profits from the book will be donated to the Alliance for Climate Protection, as will some of the profits from the concerts.

Locations

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

• Coca Cola Dome, Randburg near Johannesburg, South Africa

AMERICA:

North America

• Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States
• National Mall, Washington DC, United States

South America

• Copacabana Beach, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Antarctica

• Rothera Research Station

Asia

• Makuhari Messe, Chiba (Greater Tokyo), Japan
• Tō-ji, Kyoto, Japan
• Oriental Pearl Tower, Shanghai, China
• Rabin Square, Tel Aviv, Israel

Australia

• Aussie Stadium, Moore Park, Sydney, Australia

Europe

• Wembley Stadium, London, UK (Main article)
• HSH Nordbank Arena, Hamburg, Germany
• Westerpark, Amsterdam, the Netherlands (Live Earth Alert) - (Live Earth Alert.nl) Template:Nl icon

Broadcasting

According to the organizers, the concerts will be broadcast on over 120 television networks around the world. 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.

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, associated with Live Earth. Some Friends of Live Earth concerts, held at capital cities:

• Lisbon, Portugal - Atlantic Pavilion: Expensive Soul, Xutos & Pontapés, David Fonseca, Blind Zero, Boss AC, Oioai, Viviane, Teresa Salgueiro, Sam The Kid, Cool Hipnoise, Tito Paris, Anjos, Sérgio Godinho, Ala dos Namorados, Mundo Cão, Filarmónica Gil and Mercado Negro.

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.

• Daniel Boucher
• Dan Bigras
• DJ Champion
• Garou
• Éric Lapointe
• Zachary Richard

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

Political campaigning

The event has raised some controversy and criticism, notably, of Al Gore's participation being a possible way for him to promote himself for a 2008 U.S. Presidential election bid, which he has not ruled out. It has also been sarcastically referred to as the Gore Aid (derived from Live Aid + Al Gore) by skeptics. Al Gore has vehemently denied having presidential aspirations, and chose not to run in the 2004 Presidential Election despite popular support.

Efficiency

The event has also been been criticised by some professionals as being ineffective, particularly by Dr. Patrick Michaels, a 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". Some critics accused the event of a hypocritical waste of energy, notably, the use of private jets. One critic, Matthew Bellamy, frontman for Muse, reportedly told BBC 6 Music "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!" 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."

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.

SUV's

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. Furthermore, Madonna is estimated to have a carbon footprint of 1018 tonnes, 100 times the British average.

Protests

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

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.

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 for years. We're all fucking conscious of global warming. Live Earth doesn't have a final goal. I would only organize 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. 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.

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.". 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.

Cancellations

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." 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. On Tuesday June 26 the organizers announced they are pulling the Istanbul show out of the schedule due to lack of time. 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.

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."

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."

Animal Rights

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') . 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'. 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.

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. 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.

Favoritism

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. 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

Template:EnergyPortal

• Global warming
• Politics of global warming
• Climate change
• Action on climate change
• An Inconvenient Truth - documentary film about current climate change presented by Al Gore

External links

• Live Earth online broadcast
• Official Live Earth website
• Live Earth Blog
• BBC's Live Earth website
• NBC's Live Earth website
• CTV's Live Earth website
• Live Earth (2007) (TV) at IMDb

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. ^ Al Gore, Kevin Wall issue far-reaching Live Earth Call To Action, Live Earth, published 2007-06-28, accessed 2007-07-03
5. ^ 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
14. http://www.nme.com/news/29460
15. ^ Live Earth Fact Sheet
16. Yusuf (Formerly Cat Stevens), Xzibit and Kenna to Join Live Earth Line-Ups in Hamburg, Tokyo & New York
17. ^ 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. Gore campaigning for environment, not presidency
23. 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)
24. "Gore: 'I've fallen out of love with politics'", CNN, 6 July 2007
25. Live Earth concerts blow hot air
26. ^ Live Earth - is it green?
27. http://xrrf.blogspot.com/2007/07/environmental-impact.html
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
41. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/06/AR2007070600684.htm

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