Live Earth: Is it really saving the planet?

Thousands around the world gathered for a series of Live Earth concerts yesterday and today, in the hope that music can raise awareness and help save the planet. However as Matt Bellamy, front man of the rock band Muse, joked it ‘private jets for climate change’, it is not saving the planet according to the Dail Mail.

For while the organisers’ commitment to save the planet is genuine, the very process of putting on such a vast event, with more than 150 performers jetting around the world to appear in concerts from Tokyo to Hamburg, is surely an exercise in hypocrisy on a grand scale.

The most conservative assessment of the flights being taken by its superstars is that they are flying an extraordinary 222,623.63 miles between them to get to the various concerts - nearly nine times the circumference of the world. The true environmental cost, as they transport their technicians, dancers and support staff, is likely to be far higher.

The total carbon footprint of the event, taking into account the artists’ and spectators’ travel to the concert, and the energy consumption on the day, is likely to be at least 31,500 tonnes of carbon emissions, according to John Buckley of Carbonfootprint.com, who specialises in such calculations. The concert will also generate some 1,025 tonnes of waste at the concert stadiums - much of which will go directly into landfill sites.

An audit of the lifestyles of the A-list performers appearing at Live Earth, reveals that they are among the worst individual polluters in the world, as their world tours and private jets billow thousands of tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every year. One hour in a Gulfstream jet burns as much fuel as driving a family car for a year. The Daily Mail has found that five of the top performing acts together have an annual output of almost 2,000 carbon tonnes. Madonna alone has an annual carbon footprint of 1,018 tonnes, according to John Buckley. Remember, the average Briton produces just ten tonnes.

Live Earth is encouraging ‘citizens of the world’ to take small steps: share a car, plant a shrub, turn off a light or hang out washing rather than use a dryer. But Dr Barrett says: “It would be far better for these celebrities to stay at home. Holding large concerts to highlight environmental concerns and cut carbon emissions just seems ridiculous.

Daily Mail: Live Earth is promoting green to save the planet - what planet are they on?
Scotsman.com: Emission-lowering schemes could be bad for the planet
Guardian: Live Earth: deaf to reality