Was Live Earth a failure?

On July 7th, former vice president/global warming activist/occasional Futurama guest star Al Gore helped put together a series of concerts around the globe to help raise awareness about climate change. It included artists of varying genres and backgrounds, even some of my own favorite bands, such as AFI, Smashing Pumpkins, Foo Fighters, and Metallica.

However, there were many questions as to the validity of the event, and whether it could have a real impact. In an interview with a German magazine, Bob Geldof, who organized the similar Live Aid concerts to help African hunger, blasted Gore and Live Earth, saying that the event lacked clear goals, and that "everyone's known about [global warming] for years." In addition, there was the question of artists using fuel-guzzling private jets to ferry themselves and equipment to the concerts, and concert-goers were said to have left tons of trash at the venues. Intelligent Giving, a non-profit organization that ranks different charities and tracks the use of their funds, investigated Live Earth, criticized the organization's lack of transparency and found that it was almost impossible to actually find out where the money raised by the concerts was going.

There are a lot of things to consider here. First off, Bob Geldof's comments should probably be taken with a grain of salt, since his 2005 Live 8 concerts have faced similar charges of being ineffective in raising funds and awareness. However, the difficulty that Intelligent Giving had in tracking down what happened to the Live Earth money is troubling, and definitely raises questions as to whether this event was really a boost for the environmental movement, or just a boost for the egos of musicians and organizers alike.

For a bit of comic relief, here's a clip of the infamous Spinal Tap being recruited to play Live Earth. Turn it up to 11!



Links:
Intelligent Giving
Reuters UK: "Rock stars tackle cynics as well as climate change"