Encore recently posted an article on the greening measures behind Live Earth. Since the visions of the private chartered jets flying the artists around and the lighting at Giants stadium seem to be the proverbial pill in all the jam (pun intended, wah,wah,wah,wah), I thought it would be timely to show you all the measures that went behind making the event as green as the cause behind it.

Live Earth Leaves Green Legacy At Concert Venues Worldwide

Posted: June 27, 2007

LOS ANGELES (CelebrityAccess) -- In an effort to implement a more sustainable event production model, members of the Live Earth Green Team will provide global concert venues with the tools and guidelines necessary to continue environmentally conscious activities after the event itself is over. This legacy initiative is just one component of the Live Earth commitment to inspiring over two billion people worldwide to make smarter decisions to lead a more energy efficient lifestyle.

Despite various cultural, venue and logistical challenges, the Live Earth Green Team is taking thoughtful steps towards ensuring that the environmental impact of the eight official concerts worldwide is significantly minimized. From waste management programs activated at each venue to transportation solutions aimed at reducing concertgoers’ travel emissions, the stage is set for Live Earth to be a major catalyst of a global movement aimed at creating change.

"Live Earth is about engaging a global audience with solutions to the climate crisis, and providing these legendary venues with the knowledge that will allow them to continue their environmental contributions, " said John Rego, environmental director, Live Earth and a senior consultant for Brand Neutral. "Improving sustainability is a long-term goal and we are proud to be contributing to a greener future for these cities."

In addition to recycling or composting plastic bottles and containers on-site at all locations, the Live Earth venues will optimize lighting to reduce energy consumption and exchange inefficient bulbs for efficient ones. A combination of solar, wind and biofuel generated power will be sourced to power all energy sources including lighting, air circulation, musical equipment and amplifiers. Effective waste management is another essential component of the venue greening, and Live Earth has introduced a variety of ways to reduce the garbage produced by the shows.

Specifically, Giants Stadium will instate a triple-stream system, likely its first in its 30-year history which combines waste, compost and recycling and aims to more than double the diversion rate of materials that will avoid landfills on the day of the show. In an effort to reduce waste generated at the concert, official partner, Pepsi Co. estimates it will recycle more than 200,000 bottles and cans – preventing at least 10 tons of waste from going to landfills and saving enough electricity to power 5,110 homes for a 24 hour period -- the same amount of time concerts will last. In addition, a partnership with web-based invitation provider Evite will offer Live Earth ticket holders the resources to meet up with friends and organize carpools to and from the concert. Biodegradable tableware provided by Aramark will be used for food and beverage services, and any signage present in the venue will be made from bio-material that will eventually be composted or reused.

In London, several environmental education programs are in place to support Wembley Stadium progress to become a greener venue. On June 28, Wembley plans to brief members of its management team about the environmental initiatives already underway as well as advise them of all of the green changes to come. On-site generators are currently being tested to run on 99 percent biodiesel on July 7 while all aluminum cans collected from the Live Earth event will be recycled and a payment of .025 pence will be aggregated and donated to local nonprofits, which is a system Wembley stadium put in place earlier this year. Wembley long term goals even include plans to recycle used chewing gum to help resurface children’s playgrounds long after Live Earth.

Live Earth staff has managed to reduce the impact of affiliated transportation surrounding the shows as well. Concessionaires in many locations will source food locally, wherever available to cut down on vehicle emissions from trucking. The largest source of emissions, the travel of concert goers, is being reduced by an upcoming education outreach that provides individuals information about and encouragement to use public transportation and carpool to reduce harmful air pollutants. To further offset the carbon produced by the shows, Live Earth will purchase enough carbon credits to zero out the carbon emissions created by the overall event. While each Live Earth venue will have a variety of green initiatives it is activating, the events as a whole aim to demonstrate a collective effort to instill green practices in the everyday lives of individuals.

Twenty-four hours of music across seven continents will deliver a worldwide call to action and the solutions necessary to answer that call. Live Earth marks the beginning of a multi-year campaign to drive individuals, corporations and governments to take action to solve the climate crisis. Live Earth is partnering with the Alliance for Climate Protection, The Climate Group, Stop Climate Chaos and other international organizations in this ongoing effort. Live Earth was founded by Kevin Wall, a worldwide executive producer of the Live 8 concert series in 2005, and is supported by former U.S. Vice President Al Gore.

smart is the only automaker serving as an Official Partner. Unlike any other vehicle, the new smart fortwo combines a modern, individual lifestyle with environmental protection by setting the standard in urban mobility and offering the lowest CO2 emission of any vehicle on the market. smart responds to environmental demands with innovative, technologically sound solutions and as a result produces positive and credible answers to the question of ecological driving.

Philips, as the leading lighting supplier in the world, joins Live Earth as an Official Partner. Philips was the first to introduce the energy saving light bulb in 1980 and has put environmental product improvement at the heart of its business with its EcoDesign program since 1994, increasing its green product range year by year.

Live Earth is partnering with companies on a local level who share the commitment to helping people live a more energy efficient lifestyle. PepsiCo, an Official Partner of Live Earth, is committed to making a difference with eco-friendlier packaging, energy and water conservation and waste reduction. It’s all part of the PepsiCo commitment to Performance with Purpose -- to do better by doing better.

Esurance, the direct-to-consumer personal auto insurance company, joins Live Earth as an Official Sponsor and is the latest extension of Esurance efforts to conserve energy and preserve the planet's precious resources. For more than seven years, Esurance policyholders have helped save thousands of trees by buying their auto insurance online and using electronic documents.

The Absolut Spirits Company, an official Live Earth partner, is working to reduce its carbon dioxide impact by focusing on sustainable agriculture, reducing impact on climate change and optimizing use of natural resources as mandated by V&S Group, the parent company of Absolut Vodka and one of the leading international spirits companies. --Bob Grossweiner and Jane Cohen

Labels: Al Gore, festival, Live Earth

Well, 7.o7.07 finally came and with it the Live Earth: Concerts for a Climate in Crisis has now concluded. The magnitude of the concerts all around the globe and the cavalcade of star performances is pretty impressive--however--I've got to be honest here--I'm a little disappointed with the outcome (and no, I don't mean Al Gore's comment on a bid for the 2008 election )

I just checked the Live Earth website and as of now, there are only 154,412 people who have pledged to change some aspect of their behavior to lower the greenhouse gas emissions that result from their energy use. I can only hope that people are still awestruck by Madonna's performance and will make a pledge tomorrow---if you haven't made a pledge yet, please do so now . It may seem like a little thing, but the more people who do it, the stronger the message.

Labels: Live Earth, sarah

Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Yahoo, and MSN have the highest awareness of any brands in connection with the upcoming Live Earth concerts, according to new research from Lightspeed Research and the Ethical Reputation Index. That is great for Coke and Yahoo, which beat or tied their main rivals and are not sponsors of the event.

The news gets worse for Pepsi. Some 19 percent of the 500 Australians canvassed thought Coke was a sponsor - eight percentage points more than Pepsi, the Sydney Morning Herald reports. Awareness of the role played by Pepsi was higher among US and UK respondents, with the final result a tie between the two rivals at 19 percent.

The survey results point to most companies not creating pre-event buzz for their roles. Forty-nine percent of survey respondents could not point to one of the sponsors.

Other companies wrongly nominated as sponsors were Samsung (nine percent), BMW (nine percent).

MSN, which will stream the concerts at LiveEarth.MSN.com, launched a host of promotions, including earth-friendly premiums and sweepstakes, to raise awareness of its role, Promo reports.

But the timing coincides with a green marketing push by Yahoo that includes its own green site and the announcement that it would become carbon neutral by the end of 2007. It seems, at least in terms of the survey, that Yahoo’s green push has trumped that of MSN.

Coke has also been involved in a number of high profile green moves, including its $20 million freshwater conservation project, which could, in part, explain the survey results.

Here is how the other sponsors ended up:

Who do you think is sponsoring Live Earth?
49% Do not know
19% Pepsi (S)
19% Coca cola
19% Yahoo
17% MSN (S)
15% Philips (S)
12% SMART (S)
10% Stonyfield Farms (S)
9% Samsung
9% BMW

Labels: Coke, Environmental Leader, Live Earth, Yahoo

I've heard of math rock, but science rock? Rad! I will be tuning into this portion of Live Earth for sure!

Live Earth: Scientists set to Rock Antarctica to Deliver on Gore's Promise for Music on Every Continent-repost from Treehugger.com

George Spyros, New York City, USA on 06.26.07

An indie-folk rock ensemble made up of scientists already stationed in Antarctica will perform for Live Earth fulfilling Al Gore's promise for music from 7 continents on 7.7.07. The band Nunatak, the Greenlandic word that means an exposed summit of a ridge mountain or peak within an ice field or glacier, will be rocking the ice for their 17 on-site colleagues and also for, well, the rest of the world. Former Vice President Gore personally reached out to the band, not that he had many alternatives. Live Earth organizers did originally explore the idea of flying in performers, but quickly dropped that when told the continent is pretty much inaccessible during the winter. The Rothera Research Station itself is on the Antarctic Peninsula, the fastest warming region on Earth. Temperatures there have risen by 5 degrees F during the last 50 years.

Labels: Live Earth, treehugger

I love me some Al Gore (and John Crier for that matter), but things aren't looking too great for Live Earth, I'm trying to keep an open mind, but.....

Live Earth Not Getting So Good A Response (repost from PSFK.com)

by Piers Fawkes in Ethical Consumerism, Music, Entertainment

Charity gig Live Earth has had to be cancelled in one country and moved to a smaller venue in another. Johannesburg officials have found it hard to sell enough tickets for the July 7 event so it has downgraded to a venue of 18,000.

Meanwhile Istanbul’s Live Earth gig was cancelled when potential sponsors steered clear of the event in fear of protests. NME says:

Local business in Turkey are said to be reluctant to get involved with the event, fearing protests from environmental groups about pollution produced by their factories.

What do you think about Live Earth? Do you think they'll be able to pull it off? It's a great idea and stands to build awareness for lots of folks around the world, I just hope it works out.

Labels: Live Earth, PSFK

Treehugger.com published this very thoughtful piece about Al Gore's interview in Rolling Stone. While my criticisms of Rolling Stones paper choices were harsh, I'm glad the substance in the magazine reflects some important aspects of the fight against climate change. While most interviews with Al tend to read the same way, this one's different--and worth your time. Pay attention:

AL GORE'S FIGHT AGAINST THE CLIMATE CRISIS IN ROLLING STONE. Rolling Stone magazine has devoted a sizable portion of their latest issue (on newsstands until June 28) to talking about the dangers we face relating to global warming. They've enlisted help from some heavy hitters, including media juggernaut and "environmentalist-in-chief" Al Gore, who's been making the rounds lately. In an interview with the mag, Al talks about the rising tide of support for the climate crisis, whether or not we've reached a tipping point, and how events like Live Earth can help his cause. One thing he said really resonated with TreeHugger; when asked if he believes we can be saved by Priuses and new light bulbs, Gore said, "I agree that we're not going to solve this problem by buying Priuses and changing our light bulbs. But driving hybrids and choosing better technology is still important in two respects. First, it makes a small contribution to reducing CO2. And second, when people make changes in their own lives, they are much more likely to become part of a critical mass of public opinion and to support the bigger policy changes that are going to be needed to really solve the problem."

This is an important point: individually, or as individuals, solving the problem isn't as easy as getting a new car or buying some new light bulbs, but it's an important part of the evolution of the idea that everything we do and everything we buy and consume has a carbon cost. While buying a hybrid won't stop global warming, support of cleaner technology and greener practices is not only a way to reduce an individual's carbon footprint, but a way to begin to engage in social, moral and political activism that represents the "sea change" that Gore references several times in the interview. And he's still optimistic; About his current attitude toward the problem (including his vision for the short term) Al says he still thinks we can turn the ship around: "I will 'fess up to the element of 'hope being father to the thought' here. But I don't think it's an unrealistic hope at all. I believe that it's much more likely than not that we will see within the next few years a very dramatic political change in most of the world, including in the United States, that will sharply reduce CO2." Hmm... read (or listen to) the rest of Al's thoughts, including his latest answer for the million dollar question about returning to politics. ::more ::Rolling Stone

Labels: Al Gore, carbon neutral, Live Earth, Rolling Stone

Damien Rice: Singing Green

It's not easy being green when you're touring the country on planes and in buses, but Damien Rice is facing the challenge head-on.
By Kate Sheppard

Folk-rocker Damien Rice might sing sad tunes about lost love, but his wistful heart is in the right place when it comes to climate change. The environment is an issue that's been near his heart since his childhood in Ireland and has informed his work in many ways.

Rice puts his eco-sympathies into action every way he can. He and his band tour on a biodiesel-powered bus, and they offset the emissions of all their travel as well as the emissions created by audiences. They're also slated to play the United Kingdom leg of the Live Earth concert on July 7, 2007, and they recently joined the Virtual March at Laurie David's Web site, stopglobalwarming.org.

Though his music has become almost ubiquitous in American coffee shops since his debut album, “O,” was released in 2003, the singer is not one to make a public spectacle of his good deeds. Notoriously mum on his personal life, it's a rare opportunity to get the modest Rice to sit down for an interview. I caught up with him before an Earth Day concert put on by Seattle radio station, 103.7 The Mountain, to talk about the environment, his music and the growing movement to stop global warming.

Kate Sheppard: How did you become interested in the environment?

Damien Rice: I've always been interested in the environment since I was a kid, because I lived by a river and I used to go down there fishing. From the age of 5 or 6 I noticed a big change in the number of fish in the river, because I used to take notes when I was a kid. I'd go down there with my little book and go fishing and take a note of the time, date, water level, weather, what kind of bait I was using. I remember noticing that the water seemed dirtier and murkier as time went on. I always felt like I had a connection to nature.

KS: How does your environmental consciousness play into how you tour?

DR: I'm in terrible conflict about it, to be honest. I am responsible for more carbon emissions than any of my friends — than anybody I know, actually. And that's really weird to sit with, because I've always considered myself to be environmentally conscious. I have a real conflict even sitting here talking about the environment, saying, "Oh yeah, I'm an environmentally conscious person." I fly 20 people around the world, and we travel on two buses and two trucks, and we're driving all over the States. But we make an effort — we use biofuel whenever possible, and we offset the fuel we use for flights and buses as well as an estimation of what the audience used to come to the concerts.

KS: Can you tell us a bit about talking to Laurie David and becoming part of the Virtual March?

DR: When I was invited first to join the Virtual March, my natural reaction was, "Yeah, absolutely." And then they were like, "Can you write a piece explaining your reasons for joining?" It took me ages just to write something that I was happy with. Because I wrote this thing that was like, "Oh, global warming. We should all make an effort." And then I sat and thought about it, and I said, "Oh, my god, I'm a hypocrite. I'm flying all around the world traveling."

When I went to meet Laurie in her house in Los Angeles, I had this head full of questions, and I put them to her. I said, "What is your take on this, because I'm confused. I get information here and there. I want to believe, but I really don't know what to think." And she had a simple way of putting it that made me very comfortable with joining the march. She said that everyone she knows enjoys life, enjoys clean air. They like clean beaches, clean water, good food and a healthy lifestyle. And she said if we continue in the way that we're doing, we're going to destroy those beautiful things. But if we take the right steps and make an effort on a global level to change things, then we can preserve some of the beautiful things in life.

KS: What are some things that you do personally to fight global warming?

DR: The electricity that we use in our house now is entirely from wind power, and we want to get our own little windmill as well as solar panels. And we recycle. Myself and a group of friends have been writing songs together, and we're making a record for nature. We're making the record and we're going to release it, and all the royalties and all the money generated from the sales just go to nature, to giving back in some way. It's very weird being a musician, because people think you've got a great job, it's so magical. Whereas I sit down and I think of myself as somebody who manufactures plastic. So we're going to do that album, and I'm very excited about it. I think eventually I'm just going to get a piece of land and farm and live very simply. Who knows?

KS: You're participating in Al Gore's Live Earth concert this summer. How did you get involved with that? What do you hope will be the result of the concerts?

DR: When I heard it was going on, I expressed an interest in it. Again, it's one of these things that I have a little conflict about since people are flying in to play at the concert and flying back out after it. But I hope that it creates a massive amount of awareness among people around the world, so that when there's a push for governments to change the way we do things, the support is there among people. If people know what's going on and they're aware of the consequences of what we're doing, if that becomes spread throughout the world and throughout people's consciousness, that would be a great thing. It's in moments of change that these things are important, because if people just have a little bit more knowledge, if it's a decision for them to push for this or that, I think all the awareness helps.

Labels: climate change, Damien Rice, Live Earth, stopglobalwarming.org

by Paula Alvarado, Buenos Aires on 05.29.07

(Picture by El Pais newspaper) During their recent tour in Latin America, musicians from the Mexican group Maná -one of the most popular bands in Latin America, which also filled the Madison Square Garden Stadium two nights in a row last March- used every chance they had in front of the press to bring up themes related to ecology and Global Warming. PR strategy? Not so much. That's actually how we found out about Selva Negra, an organization this group brought together over 12 years ago, in 1995, to canalize their environmental preoccupations and put their fame to use for relevant causes. The organization's main projects include initiatives to incentive environmental education (which is not provided to Mexican kids in school), actions to preserve turtles in camps in Nayarit and Jalisco (Mexico), economical support to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to carry on the project called The Growing Connection (aimed to the sustainable production of vegetables in areas like Ghana, Africa and Mexico), and several independent projects such as the re-construction of houses devastated by hurricanes in Chiapas, Mexico. All these might be the reasons Maná was called by former US vice president Al Gore to perform in the Live Earth concerts that will be held next July 7th: they will be the only Latins in the Germany edition of the event, which will be held in Hamburg. To find out more, visit Selva Negra's website (only in Spanish) or the band's (both English and Spanish). ::Selva Negra ::Maná official websit

Labels: Live Earth, Mana

Labels: Live Earth, Madonna, song