Spotting Trends: Green Is the New Black and Streaming Is the New TV

Posted July 11th, 2007 by admin

The Live Earth event on Saturday, July 7, was announced as the most significant musical event in the 21th century by some and completely dismissed by others. In any case, it was a grand effort to raise global awareness of a problem that we can all try to do something about. I watched it from the floor of Giant Stadium in New Jersey.

The ten hours in the hot New Jersey sun were well worth my money – I saw more bands line up in one day than I have across my entire lifetime (not that that’s very long). The crowds that stayed at home and watched the 24-hour broadcast from seven continents (yes, including Antartica) broke the streaming viewership record: more than 10 million hits (as a compared with the previous record holder, the Live 8 event in 2005 which had 2.9 million). And not only did we witness great performances by great artists, we also heard them speak about saving our planet in a generally sincere way.

Some of the celebrities talked about creating a new movement and starting a revolution. That sounds very 20th century to me. My Eastern European upbringing taught me that revolutions have a way to go sour. Instead, I’m all for raising awareness and trend setting as the new vehicles of change in this century. Al Gore laid out his seven pledges that he wants people to sign. I opted to choose my own seven things that I hope to get out of this experience, because it’s not about my signature on a piece of paper – it’s about what I do to help save the planet.

#1 I heard loud and clear from the celebrities who candidly admitted that they sin against the environment daily and pledged to do something about it. It’s always hard to change bad habits and then it takes extra effort to stay disciplined about it. If you ask me, one of the best quotes from the event came from the pretty Fall Out Boy, Pete Wentz, comparing environmentalism with working out – “…you’re only gonna do it if it’s convenient for you. Cause the first day you’re like ‘I’m totally gonna do it!’ and then the next couple of days you don’t.”

#2 The variety of performances and appearances are what made this event great. Yes, most people watched because of entertainment, not because they are so concerned about the Earth, but in the meantime they got to hear their favorites deliver a simple message. It ranged from Madonna’s capstone “Hey You” broadcast from London and Melissa Etheridge’s sermon-like performance, through Petra Nemcova’s Tsunami survival confession and Cameron Diaz’s and Leonardo DiCaprio’s presence in support of their friend, Al Gore, to Jon Bon Jovi and Sting’s no commentary style. Seriously, how many blondes will it take to persuade you to change those light bulbs?

#3 Many journalists and bloggers talked about how celebrities are being hypocritical by not practicing what they preach in their over consumption of non-eco friendly goods and modes of transportation. But I think we are also hypocritical because we love to watch them go over the top. Celebrities are ultimately business people who supply what we demand. Why hasn’t Ed Begley Jr.’s house been on MTV Cribs yet? Plus, greening your home seems like a lot of fun to me and it helps save a ton of money. So let’s demand more green and less bling. Soon enough there will be MTV Green Cribs. In fact, there already was a Green Pimp My Ride.

#4 And speaking of rides, I loved the backdrop of the stage made of old tires. Recycle, reuse and renew are the three verbs that I really believe can make a difference. If you are like me and love to build stuff from scratch, finding creative ways to reuse something will leave you with a great feeling. For those who know me, I’m big on renewable energy, too. It’s the way of the future!

#5 One of the most bizarre messages was the Live Earth one-minute spot of livestock ‘pooping’ on camera to emphasize the CO2 emissions that this produces. Most of the crowd turned their heads and looked away. To me this was a good metaphor for the ‘inconvenient truth’ which we don’t want to face. We need to break the nasty habits we have practiced for years or we will see cities like New York, London, Amsterdam and Boston under water within our lifetimes. It will be hard to look away then. Call it awakening, call it preemptive action or call it whatever you want. Just snap out of it already and start making a change!

#6 Save energy and fuel. In my days as a poor student I learned the habits of using public transportation, carpooling and turning off appliances that are not in use. I’m keeping those habits in case I do become rich and famous.

#7 I did notice how overwhelmingly young the crowd was at the concert, considering that Bon Jovi, Roger Waters and the Police were the three major acts. The low TV viewership ratings raise further concern that some people are turning a blind eye. (There were, however, complaints about foul language.) The message needs to reach all generations. The issue has been heavily politicized, but disaster will not care about political views when it strikes. I don’t have the answer for dealing with the political problems of going green, but I hope the message does reach all humankind.

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