Live Earth

A stage lined with car tires and set with thousands of twinkling LED lights rotated between acts to move the show along quickly and as it did, actors from Leonardo DiCaprio and Alec Baldwin to Cameron Diaz and Zach Braff (who came out correcting acts by telling them they were in New Jersey and not New York) took to the microphone to talk to the crowd about their pledge to combat the climate crisis and how we all should to. The speakers were not all entertainers. Al Gore took the mic several times, garnering huge applause every time. Jane Goodall and Jim Hansen, the man who blew the whistle on bushco.'s editting of climate reports, dropped science on the crowd. And Robert Kennedy Jr. gave a rallying speech calling out "the oil industry and their indentured servants" on Capitol Hill and unlike most of the other speakers went further than just the small, yet significant changes you can make in your daily habits by saying instead "the most important thing you can do is get involved in the political process and get rid of these corporate toadies" "This is treason" Kennedy said with authority "and we need to start treating them like traitors".

Not everyone in attendence was there "for the cause". Some were there for the show, the party. There was a good vibe in the stadium, and I'm not just talking about when Jersey jumped for Jovi. Ludacris, Akon, and Kanye West (who killed!) got the crowd dancin'. I never thought I'd see "Smack That" Live. Melissa Etheridge took on the role of protest singer, and nailed it by playing her pointed political song "Imagine That" chock full of on the money commentary on "what happened to US". Alicia Keyes brought the soul. Smashing Pumpkins brought the volume. The Police sent "out an SOS" (one of the events major coordinators was S.O.S. or Save Our Selves) with help from Kanye and John Maher, and the mighty Roger Waters brought the grand ol' classic rock with screens showing lil' george during "Brain Damage", Eclipse", and "Us and Them".

Before getting on an Acela Train from DC, where he opened the show, to New Jersey, Al Gore called this international concert a "launch event" not a victory party. No one claimed, or thought, that Live Earth would solve the climate crisis. What it did do was rally the troops, and maybe open a few more eyes. Raising money for groups like the Climate Project and SOS so they can continue to lobby Capitol Hill isn't such a bad thing either. From the recycling, garbage and Compost bins that were manned with volunteers to ensure proper separation to the special veggie dogs, shish kabobs, the brown paper wrapping around the food, and the alternative fuel used for the electricity for the show, Live Earth was the most environmentally conscious concert I have ever been to. Even the beer cups were bio-degradable in Giants Stadium. Check out their "green guidelines". The anti's had a plane circling the stadium's air space most of the day demanding "debate". I guess their "debate" pits 1% of the World's scientists against the other 99%. Performers took commercial flights (Were the beastie boys supposed to get to England by boat?), used bio-diesel fueled trucks, and were selected because of their proximity to the event they participated in. Not that I agree with the "changing a light bulb is too inconvenient" anti-crowd, when they pick apart those who believe and/or participate in a cause because they are not perfectly aligned with it in every aspect of their lives. You don't have to be poor to advocate for the poor, and you don't have to have a carbon neutral footprint to be an advocate for reducing greenhouse gases and energy consumption. This concert event was there to say Wake Up! Change is possible! And even small changes can make a difference. A point that was well made and well taken. My only regret was not seeing every bassist in London playing "Big Bottom" with Spinal Tap LIVE! Damn you Al Gore for giving London Tap and the Beasties! But thanks for everything else.

I pledged. Why don't you?

"I am not Different! I am an American" - Melissa Ethridge

UPDATE: Since attending the concert, I have changed the six light bulbs in my apartment to compact fluorescent light bulbs, reducing their electricity usage by 75%. I've declared Monday "No Meat Monday" reducing greenhouse Gas output, through animal farts, (my favorite Live Earth video) produced to feed me. And I'm trying to shut the lights and fans in rooms I'm not in. I'll let you know if my Energy bill drops.