On
Saturday July, 8, over 150 of some of the best known musicians from John Mayer
to the Police will be splashed across the internet via msn.com and on the
television via the NBC arsenal of channels. The cause? Raising awareness of the
global warming crisis. The Live Earth
series of concerts is the brainchild of Al Gore and Kevin Wall. But thus far,
the effort has been wrought with problems and has been widely criticized. It
appears that concert organizers have far more to worry about than getting Akon
to not throw kids
off of the stage and keeping up with Madonna’s concert
rider demands.
At
the time of this post, Live Earth was fighting a court ban in hopes of keeping
alive the Rio leg of the tour (coverage
here). And the concert’s potential impact is already being called into
question.
While
Live Earth is focused on all causes green, it is a cousin of sorts to a Live 8
concert that was viewed by many as a failure. Although
Live 8 was focused on a different cause – the endemic African AIDS crisis –
Saturday’s concert may face some of the same problems. Many have speculated as
to why Live 8 was not as successful as envisioned before the first chord was
struck. One widely circulated theory was posited in the extensive study “The
Other CSR”: the cause suffered from a scattered focus (African poverty in
general) that did not readily pair with the message medium (music):
For
example, the rather prominent failure of Bob Geldof’s Live 8 concert was due,
in part, to the breadth of the issues being addressed – poverty, debt relief,
AIDS, and so on – and the lack of relevance of music to these issues.
While
Gore has been quoted as saying he has heeded Bob Geldof’s advice and the
lessons learned from Live 8, Geldof himself has not-so-prviately expressed
doubts about Live Earth. Via the AP:
Geldof has been
critical of Live Earth. In May, he told a Dutch newspaper: "Live Earth
doesn't have a final goal."
"I would
only organize this if I could go on stage and announce concrete environmental
measures from the American presidential candidates, Congress or major
corporations," said Geldof.
So here is the
million dollar question: Will Live Earth raise awareness of global warming?
Will it escape the problems experienced by Live 8? My first instinct is to say
that pre-concert naysayers will view the effort as a failure no matter what the
result. We live in an instant gratification world and global warming will still
exist when the last act leaves the stage. As well, I believe that many will
have a hard time believing that all of the slated music acts are sincere. The
Arctic Monkeys, who declined to perform at Live Earth, were quoted as saying
the following, via the blog Wizbang:
"Especially
when we're using enough power for 10 houses just for (stage) lighting. It'd be
a bit hypocritical [to participate]...And we're always
jetting off on aeroplanes!"
It’s also no
secret that a number of the performers have no qualms about maintaining 20 car
garages stocked with muscle cars.
But the “green”
credentials and true intentions of some of the participants and other glitches
aside, one has to give the organizers credit for apparently learning from at
least some Live 8’s other failures.
First
off, the name Live Earth more readily fits with the cause – in wisely naming
this undertaking, it can be assured that someone listening to Justin Timberlake
belt “Sexy Back” will still make the connection as to why they paid $300 for a
ticket or are devoting time to watching online.
As
well, Live Earth will be regularly interrupted to remind people of why they are
ultimately watching the music acts. Also via the AP:
Sixty
short films and 30 public service announcements have been produced, which will
be broadcast between performances.
Live
Earth even urges viewers to make concrete promises to take action via a seven
point “pledge.”
So
will it be successful in fighting global warming? For one, I don’t know that
the organizers mean for that question to be answered on Saturday. Gore and Wall
have repeatedly stated that this concert is not intended as the end goal but
rather the first shot in a multi-year effort to raise awareness of global
warming.
The
more relevant question is will it effectively influence viewers? The answer is
probably yes for one sad reason. The cause will more readily hit home: African
poverty is viewed as a concern to Africans while global warming affects us all.
Accordingly, I think that those who are impressionable will leave the concert
and think twice before throwing a soda can, lithium battery or Commodore 64 in
the trash. The concert will no doubt raise awareness in some people’s minds and
for some, the heightened awareness will translate into action. So I think the
short answer is yes, the concert will move the needle – if only modestly.
That’s
as long as people aren’t impressionable enough to listen to Snoop Dogg when he
breaks out his classic song, Brake Fluid (Pump Yo Brakes).
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