Background
The plans for the first Live Earth concerts were announced at a media event in
Los Angeles on
15 February 2007 by
Al Gore,
Kevin Wall and other celebrities.
[1] The inspiration for promoting the cause using benefit concerts comes from many similar events over the past 25 years including the 1985
Live Aid concerts and the 2005
Live 8 concerts and it was to be the longest show ever to be recorded in the world records. The event was claimed to be
carbon neutral, and organisers said they would purchase
carbon credits to offset the environmental impact of the flights associated with the events.
[2]
In addition to raising awareness of
global warming,
[3] on
28 June 2007, it was revealed that Live Earth is to be the launch event for the
Live Earth Call to Action
.
[4] During the concerts people were asked to support the following
7-point pledge:
#To demand that my country join an international treaty within the next 2 years that cuts
global warming pollution by 90% in
developed countries and by more than half worldwide in time for the next generation to inherit a healthy earth;
#To take personal action to help solve the climate crisis by reducing my own
CO2 pollution as much as I can and
offsetting the rest to become '
carbon neutral;'
#To fight for a
moratorium on the construction of any new
generating facility that burns
coal without the capacity to safely
trap and store the CO2;
#To work for a dramatic increase in the
energy efficiency of my home, workplace, school, place of worship, and means of
transportation;
#To fight for laws and policies that expand the use of
renewable energy sources and
reduce dependence on
oil and coal;
#To plant new
trees and to join with others in
preserving and protecting forests; and,
#To buy from
businesses and support
leaders who share my commitment to solving the climate crisis and building a sustainable, just, and prosperous world for the 21st century.
In subsequent interviews Al Gore indicated that the concerts would mark 'the beginning of a three-year campaign worldwide to deliver information about how we solve the climate crisis'
[5] [6] and that 'the prospects for every future generation depend on us understanding, hearing and acting upon this information.'
[7]
The umbrella organization for the first event was
Save Our Selves, founded by
Kevin Wall (Executive Producer), and included major partners such as former U.S. Vice President
Al Gore, the
Alliance for Climate Protection,
Earthlab,
MSN, and Control Room, the production company which produced the event. The logo for the event was the
Morse code distress signal. Brand Neutral, the environmental business strategy firm, served as the worldwide sustainability strategy and services partner for Live Earth, developing the overall sustainability strategy, staffing all members of the global "green team," creating the overall master plan for resource management, and supervising the execution of the Live Earth environmental strategy. Leading sustainability expert John Picard served as chief environmental and efficiency counsellor for the event.
Live Earth 2007
The first series of
benefit concerts were held on
July 7,
2007. The concerts brought together more than 150 musical acts in eleven locations around the world which were broadcast to a mass global audience through televisions, radio, and streamed via the Internet.
Live Earth India 2008
The second
Live Earth
concert was scheduled for
December 7,
2008 at the
Andheri Sports Complex
on
Veera Desai Road in
Andheri West,
Mumbai,
India and was managed by
Kevin Wall who, after a request from
Al Gore, planned to have the entire event take place in India.
[8] [9] In September, 2008
Reuters stated that, "the December event will see U.S. rocker
Jon Bon Jovi and Bollywood's biggest superstar,
Amitabh Bachchan share the stage, and is described by organisers as one of the biggest events held in
India."
[8] Shekhar Kapur, Nobel laureate
Rajendra Pachauri,
Abhishek Bachchan, and
Aishwarya Rai also planned to star in the event.
[9] Additional acts included
Hrithik Roshan,
Preity Zinta,
[12] Roger Waters of
Pink Floyd
,
Will.I.Am,
Hard Kaur, and
Anoushka Shankar.
Palash Sen stated that his band,
Euphoria,
was scheduled to launch a song written for the concert on the topic of
global warming.
[13]
Live Earth
would have been broadcast by
STAR TV (Asia), which works in conjunction with the
STAR Plus
channel (United Kingdom, Middle East) and the Star World Channel.
MSN was the "the exclusive global broadband partner for Live Earth India."
[14]
The concert was cancelled shortly after the
November 2008 Mumbai attacks on
26 November 2008. Wall, Gore, and Pachauri stated in a joint press release that, "due to circumstances far beyond our control, we are saddened to announce that
Live Earth India
has been cancelled. We will continue to work for solutions to the climate crisis for the good of the people of India and around the world. But for now, our thoughts and our prayers are with the victims of this terrible attack, with the bereaved, with the people of Mumbai and with everyone in India."
[15] [16] Some argued against the cancellation stating that "music could have helped fear-hardened Mumbai to ride the storm."
[17] Jethro Tull and
Anoushka Shankar, who also cancelled their
29 November Mumbai concert
[18] after the
November 2008 Mumbai attacks, reorganized the performance as
A Billion Hands Concert
, a
benefit performance for victims of the attacks, and held it in Mumbai on
5 December 2008.
[19]
See also
- Global warming
- Hurricane Katrina
- Politics of global warming
- Climate change
- Action on climate change
References
- Lee, Ken. (15 February 2007) "Al Gore, Cameron Diaz Announce Environmental Campaign." ''People.com. Retrieved on: 2 August 2007.
- Live Earth concerts are 'hot but carbon neutral'
- Live Earth Aims to Cause Lasting Change
- Al Gore, Kevin Wall issue far-reaching Live Earth Call To Action, ''Live Earth'', published 2007-06-28, accessed 2007-07-03
- Live Earth a climate 'SOS', ''BBC'', published 2007-07-03, accessed 2007-07-03{{Dead link|date=June 2009}}
- Moving Beyond Kyoto, ''New York Times'', published 2007-07-01, accessed 2007-07-03
- CNN.com - Transcripts
- Live Earth show to help light homes with solar energy
- Next Live Earth concert in Mumbai
- Live Earth show to help light homes with solar energy
- Next Live Earth concert in Mumbai
- Bollywood royalty lines up for Live Earth India concert, Agence France-Presse
- Who wants to carol in a slowdown
- Live Earth will have an encore in India
- Joint Official Statement from Live Earth Founder Kevin Wall, The Office of the Honorable Al Gore and Dr. R.K. Pachauri, Chairman IPCC regarding Live Earth India
- Live Earth terror struck
- Live Earth India concert cancelled, music lovers disappointed
- The flute of his labours
- A Billion Hands - Join The Fight Against Terror and For A Better Tomorrow