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LiveEarth concerts July 7th - global warming awareness
Live Earth concerts
Date: 7/9/2007 2:27:28 PM ( 17 y ) ... viewed 2123 times Al Gore was the MC for the world-wide 24hr spectacle of music and some speaches in support of efforts to raise awareness of global warming. It ran for 24hrs because there were cities around the world that were hosting the concerts, and the numbers of people watching set a record for the largest ever global event of any kind.
So it was all very big, and it 'shrunk our world' a little more because now we are feeling like neighbors of communities far away, as it should be. It helps a growing awarensss that we do, or what they do, affects the air we all breathe, and the climate we all live in. We help each other with our love, and we hurt each other with our sins.
There was also some gentle persuasion for people to do 'the little things that add up to so much" like changing lighbulbs and driving hybrids and so on.
WHAT WAS MISSING is now becoming evident. Nothing changed in our world when the new week began this morning. We had heard all that before, there was nothing new, there was no announcment of direct action against the biggest polluters, and thats the one thing that WILL ignite the type of people who went to the concerts and saw them on TV.
The best this can be is that "If we do these little things [7 point pledge], then THEY have to do something too", ['they' is referring to corporations, big polluters, governments]. That aspect didn't even come out at the concerts.
It was, after all, a big 'corporate' event. There were 'big money people' involved who cannot afford to have too much controversy, like Al Gore who might still run for President. Al Gore may have been the one guy who should NOT have been associated with the organising of it, because that means there will be no big protest against the big polluters. He will stay 'on message'.
Although there was mention of shutting down the coal-fired electrical generators that do the most polluting per unit of energy, there was nothing about the public demanding it happen.
There was nothing about corporations making changes that would have HUGE impact compared to one person's actions. Thats what people would have really cheered about. Did you notice that the crowds never took over with chants or cheers over one of the points made in any of the speaches? - no, there was nothing to get excited about. They had heard it all before.
What would help the most is to acknowledge that to reduce our emissions, a shift in our economy could take place, and nobody has to come out poor for it. Some of the wealthiest might not enjoy the same monopolies on energy they used to as we embrace alternative energy sources, but they will not have to give up any of their wealth.
Or, if we stiay with fossil fuels, lkest at least do it 'the best way';
One simple idea is this:
- burning gasoline in our cars only uses about 3% of the energy that is in the original oil that made the gasoline. If we had central refineries that changed the oil into hydrogen, and then used the hydrogen in our cars, we would be getting about 50% of the energy used. Also, the pollution can be more easily and effectively controlled in those hydrogen refineries....
but it won't happen - LOW efficiency means selling MORE barrels of oil, and they do not want that. We could reduce the consumption to about half, but any plans to do that are kept quiet. The solutions are there, but they are being blocked.
If Gore had said something like that, the crowds would have cheered for an hour. The world would have had something to chew on as the new week started today.
He missed an opportunity, that these concerts gave him, to get around MEDIA CONTROL of messages that reach billions of people.
We will not have many more opportunities like this was, because by 2020 there will be so much climate upheaval that solutions to reducing our greenhouse gas emssions from burning fossil fuels will be meaningless. We will be dealing with crisis after crisis by then. It is the vision for a better world that must come about soon, and it cannot involve energy monopolies even if our economy is based on them. If Al Gore spoke that truth, we would have had something to cheer about.
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For what it is worth, and it is good to do all these that apply to you, here is Gore's '7 points pledge plan':
7 point pledge from Live Earth concerts:
* Take personal action to help solve the climate crises by reducing my own C02 pollution as much as I can and offsetting the rest to become “carbon neutral”.
* Plant new trees and to join with others in preserving and protecting forests.
* Buy from businesses and support leaders who share my commitment to solving the climate crises and building a sustainable, just and prosperous world for the 21st century.
* Work for a dramatic increase in the energy efficiency of my home, workplace, school, place of worship, and means of transportation.
* Fight for a moratorium on the construction of any new generating facility that burns coal without the capacity to safely trap and store the C02.
* Fight for laws and policies that expand the use of renewable energy sources and reduce dependence on oil and coal.
* Demand that my country join an international treaty within the next two years that cuts global warming pollution by 90 percent in developed countries and by more than half worldwide in time for the next generation to inherit a healthy earth.
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