Global green chorus as Live Earth sounds eco-warning

NEW YORK – Pop stars, politicians and Hollywood celebrities drummed home the dangers of global warming in a series of Live Earth concerts spanning the globe and urging people to go green.

“You are Live Earth!” eco-crusader and former US vice president Al Gore told the world’s viewers, which promoters hoped would top two billion via Internet and television for the events in nine major cities. Star-studded concerts in New York and Rio de Janeiro were the last to get under way, after a day-long global music fest that kicked off Saturday in Sydney before moving to Tokyo, Shanghai, Johannesburg, Hamburg, London and Washington.Gore, via satellite, urged audiences at venues around the globe to take a seven-point green pledge to reduce their own “carbon footprints” on the planet and to lobby governments and industries to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere.”Our actions from this day forward will help determine just what sort of future we pass on to our children and to their children,” said US film star Leonardo DiCaprio as he introduced Gore in New York.”As we all face this together, we cannot afford to fail those future generations, or to fail ourselves.What once seemed like science-fiction is now an inconvenient, if undeniable, truth.”The Live Earth event faced a slew of organisational problems, however, and has taken fire from commentators, a minority of environmentalists and several influential pop stars.In London, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Metallica and the Beastie boys played Wembley Stadium, which went dark for a symbolic few minutes at 22h00, prior to Madonna, the final act in the nine-hour concert.Recently reformed 1980s punk group the Police and rapper Kanye West performed at Giants Stadium outside New York City, along with country acts Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood.Musicians and entertainers urged the crowds to pledge to take personal responsibility for more sustainable lifestyles.”You know, sometimes, walking away from situations or old habits is a hard thing to do.But that’s because it’s the right thing to do,” Stacy ‘Fergie’ Ferguson of the Black Eyed Peas said in London.However, critics pointed out that pollution caused by the concerts makes them part of the problem as well as the solution.Live Earth featured some 7 000 events in 129 countries, with a smaller concert staged in the Japanese city of Kyoto and an unusual performance by scientists-cum-rockers Nunatak in Antarctica, where temperatures have risen by nearly three degrees Celsius in the last 50 years.Nampa-AFPStar-studded concerts in New York and Rio de Janeiro were the last to get under way, after a day-long global music fest that kicked off Saturday in Sydney before moving to Tokyo, Shanghai, Johannesburg, Hamburg, London and Washington.Gore, via satellite, urged audiences at venues around the globe to take a seven-point green pledge to reduce their own “carbon footprints” on the planet and to lobby governments and industries to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere.”Our actions from this day forward will help determine just what sort of future we pass on to our children and to their children,” said US film star Leonardo DiCaprio as he introduced Gore in New York.”As we all face this together, we cannot afford to fail those future generations, or to fail ourselves.What once seemed like science-fiction is now an inconvenient, if undeniable, truth.”The Live Earth event faced a slew of organisational problems, however, and has taken fire from commentators, a minority of environmentalists and several influential pop stars.In London, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Metallica and the Beastie boys played Wembley Stadium, which went dark for a symbolic few minutes at 22h00, prior to Madonna, the final act in the nine-hour concert.Recently reformed 1980s punk group the Police and rapper Kanye West performed at Giants Stadium outside New York City, along with country acts Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood.Musicians and entertainers urged the crowds to pledge to take personal responsibility for more sustainable lifestyles.”You know, sometimes, walking away from situations or old habits is a hard thing to do.But that’s because it’s the right thing to do,” Stacy ‘Fergie’ Ferguson of the Black Eyed Peas said in London.However, critics pointed out that pollution caused by the concerts makes them part of the problem as well as the solution.Live Earth featured some 7 000 events in 129 countries, with a smaller concert staged in the Japanese city of Kyoto and an unusual performance by scientists-cum-rockers Nunatak in Antarctica, where temperatures have risen by nearly three degrees Celsius in the last 50 years.Nampa-AFP