Not everyone loves Live Earth.

Isn't it important to be clear on what exactly progress is if we are indeed about it? And what's with all this talk about "saving the world"? Isn't it important to differentiate between hope and arrogance?

(NY Times) ...“We’re here to save the world,” Chris Moyles, a British D.J., told the crowd at the start of the nine-hour show at Wembley Stadium here. “Will you help?” After a bit of prodding, a loud “Yes” was the response...

For all the public interest in the environment, Live Earth has also been sharply criticized, notably in Britain by Bob Geldof, the singer who played a central role in promoting Live 8...

Mr. Gore and Mr. Wall have tried to answer those critics, responding to Mr. Geldof’s snipe about goals by asking the public to commit to a seven-point pledge.

It includes demanding an international treaty to cut carbon emissions by 90 percent, working for energy efficiency at home and in the workplace and reducing individual carbon pollution to become “carbon neutral.”

Live Earth’s organizers also said the rocks concerts were the most “green” ever held, with recyclable material used wherever possible. Profits are to go to the Alliance for Climate Protection, led by Mr. Gore, and other ecological groups. (article)

Here's an interesting perspective regarding why this moment in time is not a movement towards changing much of anything in the grand scheme of things.

(The Guardian) The Live Earth concerts taking place across the planet over this 24-hour period will undoubtedly highlight two inconvenient truths about our world. The first will be the ineluctable fact of climate change. The second will be our apparent inability to understand a point unless a celebrity is making it - usually fairly badly.

"We are all fucking conscious of global warming," Bob Geldof claimed charitably this week. "It's just an enormous pop concert or the umpteenth time that, say, Madonna or Coldplay get on stage."

A privilege as it always is to take a lesson from Sir Bob on naive initiatives, this is as ill-informed as it is unfair. Mori research this week revealed that the majority of people on our relatively savvy shores still believe scientists are debating whether human activity contributes to climate change. And so it is that Live Earth overlord Al Gore has judged that you can't make an omelette without breaking a few eggs, which is why private jets, helicopters and limos are being fired up to ferry our well-meaning artistes to various stages.

There is no question that awareness will be raised. But it seems worryingly simplistic to think that there is not a trade-off between raising awareness and using people whom many know to be hypocrites to do so.

There has always been something faintly Marie Antoinettish about rock stars' understanding of green issues. Recently, Jo Wood - self-styled environmentalist wife of Rolling Stone Ronnie - was asked by this newspaper what skills she possessed for a post-oil world. Her answer began: "I come from a family of model makers, artists and sculptors ..."

The Rolling Stones will not be stamping another of their legendary carbon footprints on humanity's face this weekend, but to pluck an example from those acts who will, let's consider Sting, whose band the Police play at the New York concert. Not long ago, this fabled eco-warrior could be found advertising the biggest gas-guzzling Jaguar of them all. To clarify: Sting's personal wealth is estimated at £185m - £185m! You have to ask that if people this rich appear unconvinced that they have enough money to say no to another wedge on principle, then what hope is there that some cash-strapped Chinese worker will start giving serious thought to the kind of fuel choices he's making?

As for Sting's wife, Trudie Styler, it is difficult to know where to start with her recent 80-mile helicopter journey for a weekend at the estate of fellow environmentalist Zac Goldsmith. It beggars belief that these people can continue to be taken seriously by anyone remotely serious; yet there they are, still in the vanguard of celebrity activism alongside London headliner Madonna, whose carbon footprint last year is estimated as the worst of all the artists on the bill.

When considered in this context the kind of bargain required to make the Live Earth concerts happen tends toward the Faustian.

Writing on our engagement with environmental issues in G2 yesterday, George Marshall, the director of the Climate Outreach Information Network, voiced the fear that "we are locked into patterns of collective denial and have adopted a wide range of strategies to avoid accepting personal responsibility". The clear danger with allowing luminously compromised famous folk to front your message is that it allows both them and their audience to reason their way out of changing their behaviour to any significant degree. Your celebrities feel that they have put something back by the very act of donating their services, while your audience can feel justified in thinking - as they trudge toward Wembley tube with Genesis's private jet darkening the skies above them - that they are the least of the planet's worries.

Yet how, when celebrity advocacy has become realpolitik, can Gore's vital message avoid being compromised in this way? For my money, the former next president of the US should play much harder ball with these stars. When Geldof was organising Live Aid, he'd announce the addition of bands to the line-up before even speaking to them. When their managements called yelping that they hadn't committed, Geldof would explain icily that were they not to do so, he would announce that they had pulled out of helping millions of starving children with flies round their mouth (I paraphrase slightly). With the exception of a very few acts, who were publicly pilloried for their selfishness, they opted to remain on the bill.

Given his former line of work, Gore is well versed in the dark arts of campaigning. He should inform as many carefully chosen celebrities as he pleases that he has Swat teams of graduate researchers working round the clock to expose their bad environmental habits, and unless they put paid to them swiftly and publicly, he will use the increasing momentum of his relatively untainted movement to name and shame them.

Harsh, you may say, but it's perfectly fair. It's not as if they'll go hungry. If we are truly to live in a world where celebrities are the medium, then they should pay a little more genuine and practical heed to the message, or forfeit the chance to boost their record sales in front of a global audience of billions. (article)

The Arctic Monkeys probably got the most press for their comments about Live Earth, but there are plenty other artists out there questioning the motives and the committment to this cause:

(AFP) Rock group Arctic Monkeys have become the latest music industry stars to question whether the performers taking part in Live Earth on Saturday are suitable climate change activists.

"It's a bit patronising for us 21 year olds to try to start to change the world," said Arctic Monkeys drummer Matt Helders, explaining why the group is not on the bill at any of Al Gore's charity concerts.

"Especially when we're using enough power for 10 houses just for (stage) lighting. It'd be a bit hypocritical," he told AFP in an interview before a concert in Paris.

Bass player Nick O'Malley chimes in: "And we're always jetting off on aeroplanes!"

Large parts of the band's hometown of Sheffield were flooded at the end of last month after a deluge of mid-summer rain that some blamed on global warming. Two people were killed.

But the band wonder why anyone would be interested in the opinion of rock stars on a complex scientific issue like climate change.

"Someone asked us to give a quote about what was happening in Sheffield and it's like 'who cares what we think about what's happening'?" added Helders.

"There's more important people who can have an opinion. Why does it make us have an opinion because we're in a band?"

The group, whose first record was the fastest-selling debut album in British history, will clock up thousands of air miles -- in normal airliners not private jets, they say -- during their tour to Asia and Australia in the next few months.

They are not the only stars to take a cynical view of Live Earth, which aims to raise awareness about global warming but which will require many longhaul flights and thousands of car journeys to and from the music venues.

Many of the biggest acts have questionable environmental credentials -- the car-loving rapper Snoop Dogg appeared in a Chrysler commercial last year -- and there are doubts about the ability of pop stars to galvanise the world into action....

Roger Daltrey, singer from 1970s British rock band The Who, told British newspaper The Sun in May that "the last thing the planet needs is a rock concert."

And the singer from 80s pop sensations The Pet Shop Boys, Neil Tennant, attacked the arrogance of pop stars who put themselves forward as role-models.

"I've always been against the idea of rock stars lecturing people as if they know something the rest of us don't," he was reported as saying by British music magazine NME.

Live Earth takes place Saturday in seven cities -- Sydney, Tokyo, Shanghai, Hamburg, London, Johannesburg and New York -- and organisers hope for a television audience of two billion.

An eighth show in Rio de Janeiro was cancelled by police due to security concerns.

"Live Earth is going to bring together a massive audience around the world to take action against the climate crisis," says Live Earth organiser Yusef Robb.

"Some may say that rock stars tend to be conspicuous consumers, but if we can get those people to turn the corner then we're happy to do so."

Planners have put an enormous effort into minimising the environmental impact of the event in an effort to pre-empt sniping from critics about hypocrisy and the pollution caused by the concerts.

Fans are being encouraged to share cars or use public transport to attend, all lightbulbs will be energy-efficient and the food will be sourced locally where possible.

All the signs from the New York show and the stage in Tokyo will be recycled or composted.

"Where we can't use biodegradable materials, there'll be comprehensive recycling programmes," said Robb, who says the Live Earth gigs will set new green standards for the events industry.

After the shows, the organisers, with the help of accountancy group PricewaterhouseCoopers and an army of consultants, will calculate the volume of carbon emissions created and will then "offset" the difference.

Carbon offsetting means investing in carbon-reducing initiatives such as planting trees or making donations to renewable energy projects.

Robb highlights the good work being done by many artists.

British ska-rock group The Police and US funk-punk band Red Hot Chili Peppers are examples of "people who practice what they preach."

Meanwhile, nu-metal headliners Linkin Park have their own climate change charity and Hawaiian artist Jack Johnson tours in a biodiesel-fuelled bus. (article)

Even the main coordinator of Live 8 and Live Aid is questioning the point of Live Earth:

(Arizona Republic) Sir Bob Geldof has slammed global warming awareness concert Live Earth.

The musician - the organizer of the Live Aid and Live 8 concerts which raised money and aid for the Third World - is furious he has been linked with the eco-friendly event, and has branded it a waste of time.

Geldof raged to Holland's De Volkskrant newpaper, "It sounds like Live 8. I'm getting lots of responses from people who think I am organising it.

"I would only organise Live Earth if I could go on stage and announce concrete environmental measures from the American presidential candidates, Congress or major corporations.

"They haven't got those guarantees, so it's just an enormous pop concert or the umpteenth time that, say, Madonna or Coldplay get up on stage.

"I hope they're a success. But why is Gore actually organising them? To make us aware of the greenhouse effect? Everybody's known about that problem for years. We are all (explitive) conscious of global warming."

Former US Vice-President Al Gore said Live Earth would mark the beginning of a long campaign to fight global warming and insisted the concerts were a good way to launch the project because "the task of saving the global environment is a task we should all approach with a sense of joy."

The headliners of the London Live Earth show at Wembley stadium are expected to be Madonna, the Beastie Boys, Black Eyed Peas, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Keane and Foo Fighters.

At the US concert, to be held at Giants Stadium outside New York, Bon Jovi, the Dave Matthews Band, Kanye West, Rihanna, John Mayer, the Smashing Pumpkins and Fall Out Boy are all expected to perform.

The concerts will be broadcast in the US by the NBC network and on more than 120 networks around the world. It will also be streamed live online. (article)

And finally The Nation provided some interesting play-by-play of the day from the inside.

(The Nation) Approaching the midway point of the Live Earth concert, with the biggest acts still a few hours away, and fans are continuing to stream into Giants Stadium. Max and I, however, have streamed in and then right back out again, after learning that our badges get us into the press tent in the parking lot and not much else. Our quick tour of the stadium concession area led to observations both expected -- $30 t-shirts, $7.00 beers, beefy security guys who wouldn't let us sneak onto the floor -- and unexpected, like the special veggie hot dogs, hamburgers and kabobs; and the compostable brown paper that much of the food came wrapped in.

Recycling stations are everywhere, many of them staffed by volunteers in light blue shirts emblazoned with a Pepsi logo who are there to help people recycle correctly. We spoke to one, Anne, who works as a scientist and recently relocated to New York from Chicago. She signed up for the gig online because she's always "cared about the planet" and wanted to lend a hand however she could. She wants to see more of these mega-concerts-with-a-purpose in the future, maybe one about balancing the budget and another about putting an end to the war in Iraq. We asked Anne whether she thought other volunteers and concertgoers were as concerned as she about the day's political message. She wasn't sure, but was staying optimistic.

Afterwards, we retreated to the press tent to watch a few of the live acts on a projection screen -- Fall Out Boy, Ludacris, Taking Back Sunday, KT Tunstall, and, most memorable thus far if only for sheer presumptuousness, a version of "Gimme Shelter" featuring Keith Urban and Alicia Keyes. An excited MSN press flack informed the assembled media folks that Live Earth was shaping up to be the "largest online entertainment event in the history of online entertainment events," and by midafternoon the MSNBC.com live feed was warning viewers that "Due to the huge number of fans tuning in, the site is a bit slow right now." Press people huddled around speakers and scribbled notes furiously during a brief stage appearance by Al Gore, during which the Live Earth champion promised to keep fighting for a "sustainable, just, and prosperous world for the twenty-first century."

Confined to the media tent, we spent a majority of our time near the press conference stage sitting through a battery of performer interviews. Most answers have been in keeping with the Live Earth script, and the questions rather innocuous: "So, what have you done to make your household green?" Well, Scottish singer-songwriter KT Tunstall added solar panels to her London flat and plans to insulate the walls with wool if you must know. She also tours in busses powered by bio-diesel, but has yet to solve air travel, aside from endorsing Virgin Air and Richard Branson, who's committed the company's profits to global warming research you may remember. Naturally, making touring more eco-friendly appears to be a common plank with artist here. And so does opting to lead by example rather than browbeating your audience. Interestingly, Senegalese-American hip-hop artist Akon admitted to not really knowing what "green" was before showing up at Live Earth to perform. But now he knows, and when asked about how important an issue addressing climate crisis is in Senegal or Africa, the rapper deflected the question, alluding to the fact that they may have bigger fish to fry -- like poverty, if you're listening, Mr. Geldof.

There have been some sour notes to report. First, not every guest at Giants Stadium was here to support the cause. A gatecrasher, in the form of a small airplane pulling a banner, asked the audience not to believe Al Gore and to demand debate at www.demanddebate.com (word has it from an anonymous Nation stringer that this airplane was spotted flying over Jacob Riis park in the Rockaways hours before the show -- no word if Cheney has a pilot's license). The second sour note involves one of the short videos they play between artists' sets. The particular one in question involved a close-up of a cattle's ass as it prodigiously produced cow pies. I believe it had something to do with going vegan or becoming a vegetarian, but couldn't keep my eyes on the screen long enough to really read the text. (article)