"There's such a lot of different Annes in me. I sometimes think that is why I'm such a troublesome person. If I was just the one Anne it would be ever so much more comfortable, but then it wouldn't be half so interesting."

Saturday, April 21, 2007

live Earth - cooling our planet or boosting their egos?

I am a little confused lately about the state of our planet - or more specifically the motives of these 'famous people' who are jumping on the bandwagon so that they can help us all to do our best to cool our planet. People like Madonna, the Red Hot Chilli Peppers and Sting and many Australian 'famous people' - plus other big ego people ( I bet Bono jumps on this wagon too!) are all staging a world wide concert to encourage us all to plant a tree or build a compost heap or ride a pushbike to work. The brain child of Al Gore. I believe a very good idea in theory. But really who are they doing it for ? My household, according to studies generates approx. 9 tonnes of carbon per year. Research has also shown that the Wembley concert alone will produce approx 3000 tonnes of carbon. HUH ???? - would it not be better for each 'famous person' to plant trees, acres of them?
then there are the statistics of various concerts and their carbon production... we can talk about the carbon gases produced by these 'famous people' when they fly their jets to buy a milkshake in some exotic location. or how Al Gore's home consumed 20 times more energy than the average US home... does Al Gore or Madonna have a compost heap? Do they turn their lights of every Wednesday night for an hour? I think not.
a wonderful idea in theory but you really have to 'walk the walk' not just 'talk the talk'

12 comments:

Tinker said...

Well said, Miss R. One celebrity I do admire for walking the walk, is Bette Midler - she's the compost queen!

Sheila said...

You are so right..!
I always tune out when some celebrity starts spouting ecology..
stick to what you know people..!

Daisy Lupin said...

Yay for Robyn for bringing this to our attention. You are so right, I can't stand celebrities jumping on the latest bandwagon, when all is said and done it just sells more cds for them, and what sort power is that using. Talk is cheap, how about having a rider in your contracts saying you will only play venues where food and drink are in recycleable containers.

Lisa said...

Very good points!

amelia said...

We do so much already but every day I know there are more things we can do.

I'm talking about my own household!

kansasrose said...

Yeah! Soooo glad someone said this...I have thought this celebrity GREEN abdwagon is jusy hype and because it's cool and brings in money...for whom???? the celebrities! And another thing...organic food and clothing and linens...$370.00 for a freakin organic cotton dress? The same or more for organic cotton sheet sets? Who the hell can afford these except Al Gore and his bunch of celebs. And guess where all this organic designer coolness comes from....sewn in sweat shops in China or Hong Kong to keep labor cost down. If the organic clothes and bedding were manufactured in the US the dress or sheets would cost 3 times the amount. It is an oxymoron. This is my rant for the day. People of middle class or lower means CANNOT afford this cool green/organic lifestyle.

J C said...

Absolutely, wonderful, well thought out post Robyn! A positive truth!

gma said...

Well...I will say this. I do believe alot of them do care for the planet just like we do....and they are in a position to get the word out. I know alot of them drive hybrid cars and do use low energy lighting. I actually learned a bit about this from Leo DiCaprio. Back to your point it would be a shame if they were just doing this for publicity....but if just a few of the fans heed their advice it has to be for the greater good.
I believe it is their duty to let people know....cause so many folks out there don't!

Everydaythings said...

oh my gosh....yes yes yes....good to hear you saying what the rest of us thinks Robyn... I hate that jump on the bandwagon stuff! Its so easy to be green when all you do is talk about it! What a great post! More please.........

peppylady (Dora) said...

Talk cheap takes money to buy whiskey.

Today at Sunday Service the inspiration was on Earth Day and the environment.
Telling us how we can all save earth. She had a lot of good point.
But in all honesty I don't have the money to go out and buy all of this stuff to save good ole earth.

I try to be a were of the energy I use.
I use a clothes line, turn down the heat at night, cut back my trips to town and small etc things.

Annie Jeffries said...

Good points Robyn. And yes, Tinker is right, Bette has been doing an amazing job at the community level. And I have to admit, I admire Sting. His championing of the rainforests of the world is what showed me the way.

Suzie Ridler said...

Man, that's a fascinating point Robyn. I didn't realize that doing that kind of performance is in a way, so toxic. I'm not a fan of Bono, I feel that he uses these types of causes for his own career gain.