Does Al Gore Rock?

On July 7th, SOS and The Alliance for Climate Protection will stage Live Earth, a 24-hour global concert event that will take place simultaneously in major cities on seven different continents to promote awareness about climate change. They expect an audience of two billion watching by televsion and the Internet. Entrepreneur and venture capitalist Kevin Wall, who previously produced the Live 8 concerts in 2005, and former vice-president Al Gore, the Chair of the Alliance for Climate Protection and author of “An Inconvenient Truth”, are among the organizers.

Live Earth will follow the Green Event Guidelines prepared by the U.S. Green Building Council. A team of sustainability experts will design the concert sites to be energy efficient. However, the efficacy of these practices is open to question. People with keen memory may recall the scandal that surrounded the Live 8 concerts when The Guardian and other newspapers reported in 2005 that the white “Make Poverty History” wristbands worn by the musicians during their performances were actually made by laborers in Chinese sweatshops working for less than the legal minimum wage. These wristbands, which were worn not only by politicians, celebrities, and musicians but also fans worldwide, were branded with the logos of several fashion companies including Diesel, G-star, Replay, and Hilfiger Denim, some of which are known to engage in dubious business practices. Perhaps Kevin Wall sees Live Earth as an opportunity to redeem his previous mistakes. Corporate sponsors of the event include Pepsi, Philips, eBay, and Chevrolet, which are, ironically – companies not well-known for their eco-conscious practies. Live Earth's media partner is MSN, which will broadcast the concert from its website: http://liveearth.msn.com. But regardless of the motives of the organizers, Live Earth is putting the issue of global climate change in the spotlight, and that's a fine thing.

Featured performers include Kanye West, The Dave Matthews Band, Madonna, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Wolfmother, Melissa Etheridge, AFI, Linkin Park, The Black Eyed Peas, Jack Johnson, the semi-fictional heavy metal band Spinal Tap, and many others, including one of the few live performances of the reunited Smashing Pumpkins since their break-up in 2000.

Tristan Gulliford is a writer, dreamer, and aspiring myth-keeper who makes electronic music under the name "Dreamcode". He is currently attending the University of Colorado at Boulder.