Live Earth – One Question
I can’t find anywhere on the Live Earth website that tells me what the carbon footprint of the event will be. There’s plenty of stuff on how I can reduce my carbon footprint, how to plant a tree, who the amazingly cool pop acts will be etc, but nothing that tells me what the effect of the event will actually be.
Given that there’s a concert happening in eight cities around the world, that it’s being broadcast in a stupid number of countries (which will all run on electricity), how many forests had to die so that Al Gore could look trendy?
A local radio personality has started selling “What Would Al Do?” bracelets. This way, you can have the carbon footprint of a small city without feeling guilt. I have no financial relationship, but as a public service list the URL: http://www.gillreport.com/wwad.php
I’m so glad you are concerned about the carbon footprint of man’s activities on the world to wonder about this issue.
The organizers are also very conscious of the large carbon footprints such events create, however consideration should also be given to the fact that so many performers will be sharing stages, and the event offers a singular opportunity to reach as large an audience as it would take many hundreds of such events to otherwise reach. They are taking as many steps as they can to minimize the carbon footprint for each event.
Rolling Stone has a good article on the organization of the event that you might care to read.