Gore Announces Star-Studded Concerts on Climate Change (Earth, attend, America)

[Green Gaia]

http://www.enn.com/globe.html?id=1494

LOS ANGELES -- Al Gore announced on Thursday a series of worldwide concerts to focus on the threat of climate change, with a powerhouse lineup from the Red Hot Chili Peppers to Snoop Dogg to Bon Jovi.

The 24-hour event on July 7 is part of a campaign, Save Our Selves -- The Campaign for a Climate in Crisis, that promoters hope will trigger a broad movement to address what the former vice president calls a global climate crisis.

"In order to solve the climate crisis, we have to reach billions of people," the environmental activist, filmmaker and 2000 Democratic presidential nominee said in a statement. "The climate crisis will only be stopped by an unprecedented and sustained global movement."

Gore is often mentioned as a possible presidential candidate in 2008 despite his repeated statements that he's not running. Recently, some former aides met in Boston to discuss a campaign to draft the former vice president.

The concerts on seven continents will bring newfound publicity to Gore, who already is enjoying celebrity status with his Oscar-nominated documentary, "An Inconvenient Truth." Gore said he was thrilled that the film, on the perils of global warming, was nominated for best documentary and for best song, the latter nod coming for Melissa Etheridge's "I Need to Wake Up."
The Academy Awards are Feb. 25.

More than 100 performers are scheduled to appear at the July concerts, including Etheridge, the Foo Fighters, Lenny Kravitz, Sheryl Crow, John Mayer, Duran Duran, Korn, Pharrell, the Black Eyed Peas, Akon, Enrique Iglesias, Faith Hill and Tim McGraw.

Promoters said the Live Earth concerts will take place in Shanghai, China; Johannesburg, South Africa; Sydney, Australia; London and cities to be announced in Japan, Brazil and the United States.

Promoters said the concerts -- dubbed Live Earth -- could reach 2 billion people through attendance or broadcasts. Proceeds will create a foundation to combat climate change led by The Alliance for Climate Protection, which is chaired by Gore.
The Save our Selves campaign was founded by Kevin Wall, who won an Emmy as Worldwide Executive Producer of Live 8.

[MaddLlama]

Not that I don't support the idea, but have any of these "concerts for a cause" actually led to a breakthrough on the issue? What do these concerts actually accomplish?

[Green Gaia]

To bring further awareness of the issue, possibly raising funds for the issue. I don't know how successful it will be since we're still up against big oil and corporate interests before any major changes are made. I would really like to see energy generated (haha) from it at a grassroots level that encourages people all over the world to demand change from their governments and companies.

[YmirGF]

Originally Posted by Maize

To bring further awareness of the issue, possibly raising funds for the issue. I don't know how successful it will be since we're still up against big oil and corporate interests before any major changes are made. I would really like to see energy generated (haha) from it at a grassroots level that encourages people all over the world to demand change from their governments and companies.

One very effective way to get through to those big nasty oil companies would be for people to throw away their car keys to their gas-guzzling SUV's. Heaven forbid that people actually walk places or get on a bicycle. My god, people might actually get into shape and then they wouldn't need to worry so much about health care. Heck, it could also curtail the boatloads of cash going to countries whose national sport is chanting "Death to America", which is I suspect another source of CO2 emissions. Similarly all the blather about the "global warming" generates copious amounts of very lethal CO2. Perhaps an end to discussions about Anna Nicole Smith may also lower levels of CO2... but it's just a guess. Not to mention all those flatulent cows.

Me? I'd advocate lifestyle change rather than band-aid (pun intended) solutions. The oil companies are not interested in yours or my opinions. They are however, very interested in their profits. Hit 'em hard and hit 'em where it really counts. A boycott of driving would send the exec's into a lather rather rapidly. "Just say no, to driving."