Live Earth

Live Earth has a blog. And I have to say, the Sundance Channel's coverage has been absolutely stunning. No annoying hosts, no fluff, just songs from everywhere on the globe, mixed up with original short films about the climate crisis. Really fine work.

At one level, this is a carefully constructed bit of agitprop. But nothing gets done in this world without a committed group of people willing to shout it from the rooftops. Music in the 20th and 21st centuries has always been an excellent tool, as a rallying cry, as a means for social justice (and in this case, environmental justice). Al Gore has put together something in the biggest way possible, leveraging his notoreity and his power to send a wake-up call to the world. While Melissa Etheridge is essentially conducting a campaign commercial for him right now, to be honest the Presidency would be a come-down. He's far more valuable outside the tent.

Oh yeah, and Nunatuk rocks. Seriously, they f'in rock.

Sign the Live Earth Pledge. Incidentally, there's a very conservative bent to it, with its focus on personal responsibility.

UPDATE: Everything you want to know about Nunatuk at this site from the British Antarctic Survey. I'm dying for an .mp3.

UPDATE II: Gore gave an interview while in transit between two legs of the concert (DC and NYC), and there's some good things in there. I guess Live Earth has been criticized for not giving enough of a specific action item, although I think the Live Earth Pledge is fairly specific (restore a Kyoto-like regulatory apparatus, personal responsibility to lower carbon output, no more power plants that aren't green, etc.). But Gore rightly says that this is about a new movement.

Gore turned back criticism that the concert series lacked immediate goals beyond generally raising awareness about climate change. The concerts are just the first step in a three-year public relations campaign, he said.

"I've been trying to deliver this message for 30 years, and I know that it doesn't take in just one delivery," he said. "You've got to keep going."

The concerts will be followed by a global advertising campaign, with a particular focus on the United States.

"The planet doesn't have a PR agent," he said. "But now it will, because the Alliance for Climate Protection is going to use the modern techniques of messaging to get the scientific evidence in front of people all over the world."

Repetition of message is as key to social movements as it is to political success. Gore's message is strong, and he's the perfect person to deliver it.