Live Earth sends out global warning
In a global series of concerts featuring aboriginal dancing, imitation chimpanzee cries and a lot of reunited rock bands, musicians and celebrities called for fans to take action against global warming. The 24-hour music extravaganza stretching from Sydney to New Jersey wrapped up on Saturday at the Giants Stadium with a performance by the newly reunited Police after a series of concerts spanning seven continents and showcasing more than 100 musical acts.
The concerts, with shows in London, Sydney, Tokyo, Kyoto, Shanghai, Hamburg, Johannesburg, Rio de Janeiro, were designed to raise awareness about global warming. Organisers described it as the biggest musical event ever staged, even larger than Live 8 or Live Aid.
The events were inspired and backed by Al Gore, who has made educating the world about global warming his main priority since leaving politics after his losing presidential run. Gore appeared at a number of the events in one form or another. In Sydney, he talked to the crowd by video. In Tokyo he appeared in a hologram. And in New Jersey, the former vice president took the stage in person.
Gore called on fans to adhere to a seven-point pledge to tackle global warming including demanding more renewable energy and helping to preserve forests. ''Put all of this energy in your heart and help us solve the climate crisis,'' he said. The theme at many of the concerts seemed to be that fighting global warming was not about sacrifice as much as it was about making little changes such as buying low-energy light bulbs or unplugging electrical outlets when they are not in use.
The musical acts were interspersed with speakers such as actress Cameron Diaz who said the concert was not about ''gloom and doom'' and Jane Goodall who greeted the crowd with an imitation chimpanzee cry.
Many at the New Jersey show seemed to focus mostly on the music. The Police were joined by Kanye West and John Mayer for a rendition of Message in a Bottle to wrap up the concert. Except for a few words interspersed into an improvised rap section of the song, they stayed away from making any messages.
