Save The World

As I sat back and watched the Live Earth Concert I couldn't help but come to the realization that saving the planet will have to become more of a business and less of a global fight. From the concerts point of few I think it had the effect it was meant to have. It pointed out problems, made solutions a possibility and brought this catastrophic threat to the attention of millions around the world using musicians and celebrities as the voice of change. But on the whole i think Live Earth might not have the impact it should. Climate change has become a very important issue to me over the passed two years and had I not been flipping through the channels I would not have known the concert was taking place. The promotion of this concert was limited mostly to websites that deal with climate change and a few tv spots. So if you were a person who doesn't already frequent sites dedicated to global warming (ie. already concerned by climate change), then this concert partly failed in bringing this problem to light, because you would have had less of a chance of finding out about it. And as i said, this is important to me, and i didn't know about it. Case in point, from 7:00 to 10:00pm NBC ran footage of the concert including the finale performed by The Police. 2.6 million people watched, the lowest rating for that time frame. Live Earth was beaten out by a rerun showing of Monsters Inc. I also think that the heavy hitters in this campaign (Al Gore) need to start using celebrities that aren't entirely hypocritical. Take for example Madonna. Al Gore had her write a song specifically for the event in which she points out the faults of many different types of people. Now, she put on an amazing show and was, in my opinion, one of the better acts at Live Earth. But how can you use someone like Madonna to get your message out there, when she has stocks in several of the most polluting companies in the world, owns 9 houses, 6 cars (none of them hybrid) and flies a private jet. It just doesn't make sense.
What also stood out to me and confirmed one of my fears about fixing this problem was that the crowds at most of these shows were younger rather than mixed. For all of you a part of older generations who say things like, It's not my problem i 'll be gone by the time it gets serious. You're absolutely right. It's not your problem, it's your mistakes that have made it OUR problem. Your children and their children are the ones that need to fight this. And seeing the crowds at these concerts showed me again that you are still relunctant to start making a difference. Stopping climate change is not a life altering thing, it's actually quite simple. Things like using eco friendly fluorescent light bulbs, recycle, unplugging unused electronics, will all bring climate change to a halt.
One of the things I did really like about the concert was the short tv spots they were running through out the day, using the words Answer The Call as their main slogan. They were well thought out, well executed and to the point. But what is sad is that is probably the last we will see of them. They should continue to be aired and should not stop.
Please check out websites such as www.climateprotect.org and inform yourself on what you can do to help make the world a better place to live.