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On the 23 of June, I had the opportunity to attend the Friends of Trees Conference in Barcelona. It has taken me a few weeks to digest all the information, which I, together with about 900 other people managed to inhale: The fumes of change, the organic revolution, the climate crisis, the need for solidarity and action. It was a most overwhelming task: and Al Gore's redundant joke of: "I used to be the next president of the United States," has hardly helped ease the intensity of the situation. The crowds clapped at every comment made by the speakers, who...

ONE obvious irony of this past weekend's Live Earth concerts is that it took an event that increased energy usage to get people around the world to participate in "saving the Earth." This was no accident - the majority of enjoyable human activities require the generation of energy. For the First World, these activities might include transportation, computers, TVs, heating and air conditioning. For the Third World, it might mean simply having electricity to refrigerate food and so prevent deaths due to food-borne illnesses. When Al Gore told us that 2 billion people on seven continents might hear the concerts,...

The hubris of the left was on full display as the much touted 'Live Earth' concert swept the globe last Saturday. In their noble quest to save the earth from the ravages of mankind, the usual suspects came out in droves (and private jets) to lecture Joe Blow on the dangers of global warming and confirm their own moral vitas before an audience of millions. This was a rare win-win situation for leftists. Face time before millions along with a chance to show how concerned and sensitive they are.

The American scientific establishment is starting to take baby steps away from taking sides in the politics of global warming. It's sad to have to read science articles for political spin, like some announcement by the Kremlin. The last issue of SCIENCE is waffling like mad on the global warming fad, warning its readers that it may not be so settled a question. Under the headline "Another Global Warming Icon Comes Under Attack," SCIENCE writer Richard Kerr writes: "...a group of mainstream atmospheric scientists is disputing a rising icon of global warming, and researchers are giving some ground." ... "Robert...

Former IPCC Member Slams UN Scientists' Lack of Geologic Knowledge Posted by Noel Sheppard on July 9, 2007 - 13:53.With each passing day, more and more current and former members of the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change are stepping out of the shadows to suggest that this group’s alarmist conclusions concerning global warming are more based in myth than science.Another member of this growing list of skeptics is Tom V. Segalstad who was an Expert Reviewer for the IPCC’s third assessment report.As published in Canada’s National Post Saturday, conveniently coincident with Al Gore’s Live Earth concerts (emphasis...

Madonna's carbon footprint is the equivalent of over 14,000 people, it has been claimed.The singer, who headlined Live Earth London on Saturday night, reportedly leads such a lavish lifestyle her carbon emissions equate to those of 14,548 Malawians. Madonna - who urged people to reduce their carbon footprint, the measure of an individual's carbon emissions, at the event which was staged to raise awareness of environmental issues - has nine homes around the world, six cars and takes three private jet trips a year. John Buckley, managing director of Carbon Footprint Ltd, said: "It's OK for pop stars to...

Debate is raging on internet message boards over whether Madonna's "rocking" Live Earth performance owed more to technical wizadry than musical talent. Madonna at Live Earth: It was rocking, but was it real? Millions of people around the world saw the American singer, not known for her strumming skills, wrap a guitar strap around her neck and play along to her hit Ray of Light on Saturday night. The packed Wembley Stadium crowd loved the unexpected flourish, but cynics have suggested that Madonna may not have actually been playing the instrument. The Queen of Pop has, apparently, been taking lessons,...

U.S. leg of Live Earth hits key notes "Today, more than 2 billion of us have come together in more than 130 countries on all seven continents," said former Vice President Al Gore, the event's organizer. "Times like these demand action," he added, after announcing the 7-Point Pledge that he hoped millions would sign while watching the concert. However, Etheridge aside, it was nonmusicians at this concert who made the most passionate pleas about demanding action for the environment. "Get rid of all these rotten politicians that we have in Washington, who are nothing more than corporate toadies," said Robert...

ut such high-minded objections sail over the chief source of Live Earth's lameness. The acts were mostly fine. But the outrage and passion felt so prepackaged you half-expected Ludacris (who rapped about the evils of SUVs) to say "this moral outrage is brought to you by GE's 'Ecomagination.' " Indeed, one could say that Live Earth is proof that global warming has jumped the shark, except for the fact that the phrase "jumped the shark" has jumped the shark. Madonna, Genesis, UB40, the Police, Cat Stevens (now Yusuf Islam), Crowded House, Duran Duran — these were among the headliners for...

Check out this VIDEO of a crazed Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. ranting away against Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and Glenn Beck at the Live Earth concert, accusing them of being "Lying Flat Earthers." This accusation comes from a supreme HYPOCRITE whose most notable achievement in life thus far has been being busted for heroin possession during an air flight. Of course, RFK, Jr is happy to stand up for all sorts of extreme environmental measures EXCEPT in his own backyard of Cape Cod where is is vigorously OPPOSED to the construction of wind farms offshore from the Kennedy compound...

Global Warming: If the rock stars who flew hundreds of thousands of miles in their jets to save the earth wanted to hug trees, they could have hugged the forest that once covered Greenland. We didn't see Sheryl Crow passing out single-sheet allotments of toilet paper to Live Earth concert-goers. But we did see perhaps the biggest-ever exercise in hypocrisy and futility as performers around the globe plugged in and amped up to save the earth from the climate impact of excessive energy consumption. John Rego, environmental director of Live Earth, insists the multi-continent charade, like the mansions of Gore,...

RFK Jr. Calls Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck Lying ‘Flat Earthers’ Posted by Noel Sheppard on July 9, 2007 - 16:47. For those whose gastrointestinal tracts couldn’t allow them to stomach the goings on during Saturday’s Live Earth concerts, conceivably one of the best moments was Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s rant at Giants Stadium. Not only did Kennedy attack the politicians and the media as “corporate toadies” for the oil industry, but he also slammed conservative radio hosts Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and Glenn Beck as being lying “Flat Earthers.” I kid you not. For those that can...

NEW YORK - Nineteen million people tuned in to watch the Live Earth concerts on NBC and cable channels affiliated with the network, according to Nielsen Media Research. The total audience of 18.995 million includes viewers who watched at least six minutes of the telecasts on NBC, CNBC, Telemundo, the Sundance Channel, Bravo, MSNBC and Universal HD. NBC's Saturday-evening telecast — which featured three hours of highlights from the 24-hour global concert series to raise awareness of climate change — captured 2.7 million viewers. The event was also broadcast online at LiveEarth.MSN.com and on XM satellite radio. Organizers for Live...

Al “The Goracle” Gore, failed 2000 Presidential candidate and former co-conspirator to Bill “BJ” Clinton threw a huge party for all of his Chicken Little the Sky is Falling crowd to raise awareness for Climate Change, formerly known as WEATHER. Well, as it would turn out, Katie Couric gets better ratings then Al Gore and his traveling Cathedral of Global Warming: NEW YORK — NBC’s three-hour primetime “Live Earth” special, which included highlights from Saturday’s global concerts, failed to generate much enthusiasm in the ratings. The estimated 2.7 million viewers was slightly under the 3 million viewers NBC has averaged...

It's Live Earth Versus AfricaThe Monitor (Kampala) OPINION 8 July 2007 Posted to the web 9 July 2007 Kofi Bentil Kampala Few people in Africa will get to see Al Gore and his troupe of rock-star ecologists strutting their stuff during the series of Live Earth concerts this weekend --because most have neither television nor electricity. That's just as well, because they would be aghast at LiveEarth's bizarre message. In Africa, we have much more serious things to worry about than climate change. Indeed, if they achieve their objective the concerts will have done harm to the people of Africa....

NEW YORK -- NBC's three-hour primetime "Live Earth" special, which included highlights from Saturday's global concerts, failed to generate much enthusiasm in the ratings. The estimated 2.7 million viewers was slightly under the 3 million viewers NBC has averaged on Saturday nights in the summer with repeats and the Stanley Cup hockey playoffs on what is already the least-popular night of television. It also performed below the Live 8 concert two years ago, according to preliminary estimates released Monday by Nielsen Media Research. The three-hour concert special from Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., drew a 0.9 rating/3 share in...

RUSH: Yes, yes, of course we are going to review Live Earth, but not for a whole lot of time, folks, because it was a bomb. It was an absolute disaster. I think the whole Live Earth thing ended up being a joke. It didn't move anyone. They had a whole bunch of sixties relics showing up. These bands that were there -- I told you this -- there was no A-listers on the whole bill. What was hilarious is in Johannesburg, they explained the low turnout for global warming was because of the cold! Cold weather and snow the...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6283632.stm Diana ratings dwarf Live Earth The British TV audience for the Live Earth concerts was less than a third of that for last week's Concert for Diana. BBC One's average ratings between 2000 and 2200 BST on Saturday were 3.1 million, compared with 11.4 million for the Diana gig on the previous Sunday. Bad language by stars attracted more than 130 complaints to the BBC - but more than 400 complained about rock band Metallica's set being cut short. The BBC said the ratings were "good" for "a Saturday night in July". "The audience for Live Earth peaked at...

In 1985, the Live Aid concert actually asked music lovers to do something -- to donate their own money to help the starving in Africa. Throwing money into dictatorships might not have been the smartest way to help Africa's poor, but it had a morality feeling to it -- people were asked to do something selfless in return for their entertainment. It was appropriate that one-hit-wonder Bob Geldof was knighted for his work in spearheading the event. Things have changed in the music business. In 2005 came Live 8, a concert designed to pressure the leaders of the G8 nations...

The sports czars — Roger Goodell, David Stern and Bud Selig — should be motivated to hold a green summit following the stirring sermons of the Live Earth celebrities. As expected, DiCaprio pedaled a bicycle from his home in Hollywood Hills to be on stage with the high priest of the movement, Al Gore, who told the crowd: "You are Live Earth." Gore proceeded to take the seven-point pledge he is encouraging others to embrace. The pledge calls on Americans to smack any grocer who hands them a plastic bag at the checkout line, as demonstrated by two method actors...