THEIR Sky Is Falling...

Live Earth: Dead On Arrival
By Jonah Goldberg

RFK Jr. lashes out at politicians skeptical of global warming: 'This is treason. And we need to start treating them as traitors'...

'IF YOU WANT to save the planet, I want you to start jumping up and down. Come on, mother-[bleepers]!" Madonna railed from the stage at London's Live Earth concert Saturday. "If you want to save the planet, let me see you jump!"You just can't beat that. What else could capture the canned juvenilia of a 48-year-old centimillionaire — who owns nine homes and has a "carbon footprint" nearly 100 times larger than the norm — hectoring a bunch of well-off, aging hipsters to show their Earth-love by jumping up and down like children? I suppose she could have said, "Now put your right foot in / Take your right foot out / Right foot in / Then you shake it all about…. That's what climate change is all about."

Actually, I think the "Hokey Pokey" makes more sense. But, hey, I don't want to bash Live Earth, which is not to be confused with Live Aid (1985, dedicated to eradicating African famine) or Live 8 (2005, promising to relieve African nations' debts). So with the African continent so well-fed — and debt free! — who can blame the Celebrity Concern Industry for moving on to its next big success? The avowed point of Live Earth was to … can you guess? That's right: raise awareness about global warming. Considering the energy required to put on the show, the nine Live Earth concerts doubtlessly raised more CO2 than awareness.

more...

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-goldberg10jul10,0,3372353.column?coll=la-opinion-center

Skeptics Unimpressed By Live Earth, Ponder Gore's Motives

http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewNation.asp?Page=/Nation/archive/200707/NAT20070710a.html

Buenos Aires Sees Rare Snowfall: First In 89 Years...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6286484.stm

Live Earth An Embarrassing Flop

http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2007/7/10/95708.shtml

Fear and Loathing at Live Earth

By Matt Kibbe

(snip)

If you take Gore and his jet set friends claims seriously, we are facing an unprecedented planetary crisis of Old Testament proportions. In his movie, he predicts the devastation of whole populations, from flood, fire, and famine. Today, the data is much worse, Gore claims. “Many scientists are uncharacteristically scared,” he tells Rolling Stone. So why, for Earth’s sake, did he organize something as frivolous as what Live Aid creator Bob Geldof dismissed as “just an enormous pop concert?”

Imagine the amount of energy that was burned, conspicuously, by fans just getting to the shows. Imagine the far more extravagant use of energy by rock stars and their G 7s and massive hotel suites. Madonna headlined Wembley Stadium and is famous for her massive entourage of 100 employees and her private planes. Kennedy, who famously opposes a wind farm that would spoil the views from the Kennedy compound in Hyannisport, also travels by private jet. And, imagine the coal-fired utility-generated electricity needed to power the flat screens, stereos and PCs. I am reminded of Colonel Kurtz in Apocalypse Now: “The horror, the horror.” Or, as Al Gore, who is starting to bear a striking resemblance to an older Brando, might say: The Carbon, the Carbon!”

To be fair, green musicians are at least aware of their own hypocrisy. In the finest tradition of the genre, some rock stars even expressed an appropriate level of self-loathing. Dave Matthews, another Live Earth headliner, tells Rolling Stone that he has “thought about the staggering amount of CO2 that I create. My inspiration was the true and deserved guilt that I felt about the fact that it’s like, ‘Oh, it’s a great live show.’ Pollution. ‘Oh, look at that sweet bus.’ Pollution. ‘Oh, he’s flying in an airplane.’ Pollution.”

Most, however, seem willfully ignorant of not practicing what they preach. Al Gore’s massive personal energy consumption, fueled by his heated sidewalk leading to his heated pool, is well documented. Former Pink Floyd front man Roger Waters said he played the Giants Stadium gig because “anything that brings attention to this problem for our children and our grandchildren is a good thing.” So what, personally, is he doing to cut back his energy consumption “for our children?” “So far, very little,” he tells Rolling Stone. “I drink warm beer, obviously, which helps.” Has Roger built a personal Wall between Us and Them?

I hate to be cynical, but maybe saving the planet is only one of many goals sought at Live Earth. For some, performing was like a big group therapy session to assuage carbon-induced guilt. Others, like Roger Waters, might have seen an opportunity to recapture, at least for one set, past rock star glories.

For Al Gore, leading the global warming bandwagon may be the best way to rehabilitate a failed presidential candidate’s standing with liberal voters. Pandering to important voting blocks is nothing new for politicians, and Gore is one of the best.

Remember the Parents Music Resource Center, co-founded by Tipper Gore a few years before her husband ran for president in 1988? The PMRC was the perfect political platform for the Gores to establish their deep concern for “the children” being exposed to suggestive lyrics in popular music. Madonna, today’s environmental crusader and Live Earth star, was then branded one of the “Filthy Fifteen” by Tipper and the PMRC. Congressional hearings were scheduled, and Senators’ hands were wrung. The quote printed above was in fact Senator Al Gore’s opening statement at the 1985 Senate hearing, excoriating music industry executives for pedaling dirty music to kids. In the process, he established his bonafides as a “New Democrat” right in time for his first national campaign.

Today, Al Gore gets along famously with the music industry, and has apparently gotten over his earlier concerns about lyrical content. “Music,” he now says, “is a universal language that can reach people in ways that no other medium can.” I agree with that, and humbly suggest that Tipper download Hamburg Live Earth headliner Snoop Dogg’s “Gin and Juice.” She probably won’t like it, but hey, we all have to make sacrifices for the environment.

http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MattKibbe/2007/07/10/fear_and_loathing_at_live
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