I’ve gotten some very interesting remarks about my rant on Live Earth ranging from supportive to informative to even a naysayer or two. I will deal with the latter later but remember … anyone who thinks the climate issue is fiction is a fool. For now I’m going to talk about two commentaries in particular that actually opened my eyes to a few facts I was unaware of.
I would love to say that I wrote what I did in order to play Devil’s advocate and to spark a debate. And while I’m happy that a debate has been sparked by my words, it was purely accidental. I still stand by most of what I said, with a few new exceptions thanks to right good journalistic spankings I received from my friends Ziggy Nix of Ashville, NC and Dave Calamoneri of Hoboken, NJ.
Both of them were in agreement that this event was one of the most environmentally friendly ever staged and that the point of the day was to raise awareness. Some of the things I learned from reading their emails—and subsequent research—were the use of alternative fuels to power much of the shows as well as the use of biodegradable products at the food concessions and even the wristbands.
They each also pointed out various cases where the artists either understood the need for living green or at least learned about it by the end of the day. This was impressive to me because I respect people willing to learn and act. Akon didn’t know what the term ‘green’ meant until he arrived at Giants Stadium. Kelly Clarkson confessed to being way more aware now than before. Wolfmother’s singer proved his dedication by taking a public bus to the venue in Australia.
Of course there are still stories about artists such as Madonna who in no way altered their entourage to accommodate the stringent ‘green’ guidelines. But I suppose that is to be expected among such a large field of players. Plus, if the point of this was to raise awareness then a few bad apples should not spoil the bunch.
The real stars of the day were the speakers. Especially Al Gore and Robert F Kennedy Jr. who tried to spread the passion they have for the environment. Yes, folks like my friends got the message mainly because they’ve been plugged in to causes such as these for many years. Others I spoke to only remembered the bands and made me wonder about how effective these huge extravaganzas are at getting simple messages across.
The concept seems solid. Put messages out to the masses by any and all means all at the same time and something will sink in. Various accounts however spoke of the lack of real information being passed around where it is most effective—one on one. Some were disappointed that they could see more about Ford (not one of our more environmentally friendly car manufacturers) who were a major sponsor for the day. Still, the message was there and could be found if you knew where to look. The problem is, not everyone did.
