Anyone have a take on this Live Earth thing (besides the ever-reliable Mr Duff who surely doesn't like the idea at all)? Those not in the favored locations can always watch it at local events on TV.
I figure I'll go to the local one that seems to have some momentum. I'll probably make myself unpopular by saying something pronuclear or insufficiently anti-corporate. My stunningly Austin-hip collection of vinyl records from the early 70s will obviously avail me naught. We'll see.
Anyway fellow Cintral Tixens who might want to see me make a damn fool of myself in a crowd most of whom are about half my age can join the party on Centennial Trail. Live bands, too! I'd be thrilled if an In It reader recognized me.
Cringe factor be damned! Let's turn out for the planet and see if there's some way to get some popular momentum behind changing things a little!
If, as I suspect, Mr. Tobis, "Live Earth" is some sort of rock concert, you are right, I shall not attend but not *solely* for the reason you might suppose.
ReplyDeleteI am reminded of a wartime story concerning Noel Coward. One of his coterie who regularly drank at the cocktail bar in the Savoy, had volunteered when war broke out and thus found himself, along with the remainder of the British Expeditionary Force, on the sand at Dunkirk being bombed by Stukas. He was one of those plucked to safety and on reaching London immediately made for the Savoy. Noel and all his theatrical friends, darling, made a huge fuss of him and asked what it had been like. "Awful", the chap replied, "The heat, the noise, the smell - the people!"
I rather imagine a rock concert to be like that, er, less the Stukas, I suppose!
My take on it is that anything that raises awareness of the plight of our fragile Earth, and encourages people to take Live Earth’s 7-point pledge on the climate crisis is good, whatever the cynics say. I have taken the Live Earth Pledge (via Avaaz, with whom I had previously signed the G8 climate petition), and I would have loved to have been at Wembley Stadium if I had been organised to buy tickets in time!
ReplyDeleteThe 7-points are:
• 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.
P.S. "Live Earth marks the beginning of a multi-year campaign led by the Alliance for Climate Protection in the US, We’re in This Together and I Count in the UK, and other international organizations, to drive individuals, corporations and governments to take immediate and lasting action to solve the climate crisis."