Day 82: Global Warming

The following is an extract from The Weather Channel blog:
July 9, 2007

LIVE EARTH TARGETS YOU AND ME Andrew Freedman, Environmental Writer

In case you were unaware of the Live Earth concerts this past weekend, you
missed out on a prime opportunity to get your inner green on. According to its
organizers, led by Al Gore, the shows on seven continents added up to the
largest single global entertainment event in history.
As in: "ever." As in: "wow."
As in "really?" And: "so what?"
Ok, maybe the event didn't actually bring global concentrations of greenhouse
gases below pre-industrial levels (the observations haven't come in yet), and in
fact the concerts contributed to the climate crisis through emissions associated
with the shows themselves, but it was still a turning point in the fight for
climate change containment. Here's why:
Live Earth was the boldest attempt yet to galvanize the collective worldwide
conscience to focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. It was not the
culmination of a movement but rather a sometimes artistically mediocre
beginning.
This is now Day Three of the global movement to solve the climate crisis that
the concerts kicked off. Proceeds from the shows - which drew an estimated
audience of about two billion people worldwide - are being funneled into Al
Gore's Alliance for Climate Protection, a group that's planning an advertising
blitz during the '08 elections in the U.S. to make sure climate change is at the
top of the political agenda.
The performances were notable for sticking to the message of thinking globally
and acting locally. Artists and celebrity MCs spoke of the benefits of billions
of people making tiny changes in their lives that would add up to a substantial
reduction in the global carbon footprint.
Key items on the agenda were encouraging people to change light bulbs in their
homes from traditional incandescents to compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs) and
advocating driving less and biking more. Attendees and viewers were asked to
sign a detailed pledge to combat climate change at home, on the road and in the
workplace.
Focusing on the small scale seemed odd at first. My parent's generation went to
Woodstock to listen to bands sing about peace on Earth, yet people my age now
groove to CFLs and fully inflated tires. How lame is that?
At times it appeared that the bands from the 1970s and 80s who played Live
Earth, such as Genesis, Crowded House and The Police, didn't understand the
logic behind the small scale focus. I imagined awkward green room conversations.

"Um, Mr. Sting, please remember to mention compact fluorescent lightbulbs. Mr.
Collins forgot to mention them."
"Compact what in the who now?"
"Compact fluorescent light bulbs."
"You brought me here to sing about light bulbs? Do I look like GE to you? I'm
going to sing about the bloody rain forests instead."
Comedian Chris Rock tapped into the dichotomy between holding the biggest
entertainment event ever and using it to talk about light bulbs when he told
concert goers at Britain's Wembley Stadium: "Every day in Jamaica a baby bursts
into flames, so let's do something about this."
The concert's emphasis on inspiring small scale actions in the near term could
prove to be a brilliant move. Gore and company are betting that people will be
more likely to support large scale actions on climate change, including measures
that may cost them money at the gas pump for example, if they're already working
to reduce their own carbon footprint. Gore said as much in a recent interview
with Rolling Stone magazine. "... when people make changes in their own lives,
they are much more likely to become part of a critical mass of public opinion
and to support the bigger policy changes that are going to be needed to really
solve the problem," he said.
Live Earth took Gore's social science framework and beamed it around the world,
although it was unclear whether the performers, attendees and viewers at home
understood that CFLs and driving less won't be enough to solve the problem.
The big question now -- with millions of lives riding on the outcome -- is
whether Live Earth will succeed in jump starting the massive change in public
opinion that Gore and company believe is necessary to rapidly push forward with
mitigating climate change.
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