My local paper, The Tennessean, printed on its front page a cut-and-paste article with material pulled from AP and Gannett reporting, including this paragraph:
But critics say that it lacks achievable goals, and that bringing in jet-setting rock stars in fuel-guzzling airliners to plug in to amplifier stacks and cranking up the sound may send mixed messages about energy conservation.
Anyone who has kept up with the development of Live Earth knows that this is a false charge. Here is my letter to The Tennessean:
I believe that reporting in your paper should be balanced in its presentation of alternative viewpoints. There are people who do not like anything Al Gore does or says, and their opinions on the Live Earth Concert should be represented in the report, but the final paragraph of the Tennessean story may be the laziest piece of reporting I have ever seen, and there it is right on top of the front page. The charges of the nameless, faceless "critics" are factually untrue. In the planning of Live Earth, every effort was made to schedule musical talent in locations where they were already going to be. This is in addition to the efforts to make each venue energy efficient, producing as small a "carbon footprint" as possible. Alternative viewpoints should be presented, but printing outright lies from unidentified persons without challenging them in any way is inexcusable.
Please watch your local media, and call them on this nonsense.
Here is Live Earth's own statement on environmental impact:
With support from the U.S. Green Building Council, creators of the LEED Green Building Rating System, Live Earth will implement new Green Event Guidelines. All Live Earth venues will be designed and constructed by a team of sustainability engineers who will address the environmental and energy management challenges of each concert site, as well as the operations of sponsors, partners and other Live Earth affiliates. Each venue will not only be designed to maintain a minimum environmental impact, but will showcase the latest state-of-the-art energy efficiency, on-site power generation, and sustainable facilities management practices.
On a positive note, I was pleased to see that the article reported last-minute involvement of some country music artists like Garth Brooks, Tisha Yearwood, and Keith Urban. Seeing musicians from this genre, other than just Willie Nelson (nothing against Willie - I'm a big fan), addressing important social issues is a welcome development.
UPDATE: I just found this diary by circlesnshadows from yesterday, and it contains more information.