Earthly Entertainment
One of the world's largest musical events was held last Saturday and televised to billions of people around the world. Live Earth came and went, this being the third "Live" concert on such a massive scale.
The series of concerts, from Rio de Janeiro to Tokyo and even Antarctica, aimed at raising awareness for global warming. It was initiated by former US Vice President Al Gore and supported by dozens of big names in the entertainment industry. Despite this big media splash, the whole thing somehow fell short of its primary intention. The event was certainly successful in getting a massive audience. But that, unless I was misled, was not the main goal.
The effort to stage concerts on such a massive scale would already have a negatve effect on the environment because of transportation requirements alone. Add to that the manufacturing and setting-up of various equipments, supplies and souvenirs and you get a sizable carbon contribution for our world.
This is not to downplay the good intention of Live Earth, but there certainly could have been a better way of raising awareness. Most people already have at least a vague idea of the need to protect the environment. Everyone knows that. The media has been successful in getting that basic message across during the past decades. We are beyond that stage of awareness and we need something else. The crucial things we need to look into are the solutions to eliminate carbon emissions. In this regard, focus should be on research and innovation - both in the scientific and business community. Find ways to produce the same amount of goods or services which would generate a lesser amount of carbon emissions. That could be a case which people can put their efforts on, rather than on a concert that everyone will just forget the next day.
