Its been playing on for round about twenty-two hours now, Live Earth that is, and its just under another two that the biggest concert since Live Aid will come to a close. The music's great, I must say, aided no doubt by a fantastic sound system. And you have to admire the vision of Al Gore for a greener, better Earth, or the energy of many of the performers in nine diverse locations across the seven continents, or the creativity of the film makers whose short clips turn up every now and then. Its all adding up to be a great show then, I must say. But when the dust settles, then the most important question for this concert, and everybody else who cares about what happens to the Earth, will no doubt be asked: just how has this concert changed the world for the better? I'm under no illusions of course, about the enormity of the issue of climate change, and I laud the many people who have put in their considerable time and effort to do something they feel can help better the world. But would this concert achieve anything concrete? I'm sure this mega-event will, and has, whipped up a huge media frenzy, and its helped get many people excited about doing their part for the enviroment, but this brings to mind another question: will this excitement last? Would all the new "converts", buzzing with energy as they are now, remain as committed to the green cause say, six months from now? Would they continue to find it worth their while to get involved, to work towards a greener world? Or would this be just another passing fad, like Lance Armstrong's wrist bands for cancer just a couple of years ago?In fact, there's a niggling fear in me that Live Earth could end up the way Live Aid did; a spectacular event, with many people empathising with the plight of those caught in poverty, but nothing more. In short, although Bob Geldof might disagree, a failure. Like Live Earth, Live Aid had bold aims: the eradication of poverty. While the concert did raise a great deal of awareness about the plight of those caught in the vicious cycle of poverty, little has changed for the desperately poor. Rich fat-cat nations have turned up every single year at meetings and summits and what-have-you-not, and pledged aid and support for the less fortunate countries, but little of that aid has actually reached the people who really need it. Just how many people remain below the poverty line, forgotten and ignored by the world? And even though a study last year found that the world is now home to more overweight poeple than the under-nourished, it brings little comfort to those who have no money for food, and know all too well how it feels to starve. How many people then, swept up in the euphoria of Live Aid, still feel empowered to do something for the desperately poor? But, as the critics would counter, poverty and climate change are two very different issues. Many in the developed world will only see, and feel, for the desperately poor when they see them, be it on the telly or at the cinema. But climate change is something you see, hear, feel, touch, every single day. The soaring temperatures, the increasingly quirky weather, the disappearance of many types of fish once familiar on the dinner table, the increasingly foul air... the list just goes on. Its all around us, and we can't ever run from it. Climate change is something we have to fight now, or we're all going to burn in hell, literally.Everytime I look at the trees, or the flowers, or feel the fresh breeze early in the morning, I wonder whether I'll still have those luxuries the next day, or the next week, or the next month, the next year. Will my kids have any of these? Will their kids have any of these? This planet may not be a perfect place, but its still a real beautiful world. Lets all keep it that way. Answer the call.
i heard the crickets at 5:10 pm
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