What do Al Gore and Pharrell Williams have in common? From the surface, you’d think not much…except a shared goal to build public support for fighting climate change. This week the unlikely pair announced A Live Earth event, taking place on six continents within a span of 24 hours, in order to demand action on global warming. The concerts will take place on June 18th and to be staged in six cities throughout the world, thus planned to be the largest benefit event ever staged. The shows will also be viewable on all major media platforms. According to Gore, the final gig will be by a band of scientists at a research station in Antarctica.
Williams and Gore had previously teamed up for a Live Earth event in 2007, where artists like The Foo Fighters, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Dave Matthews, Snoop Dogg, and over a hundred other artists and presenters performed throughout the world.
Despite the high profile of the event, Live Earth was also heavily criticized for its downfalls. The “green” concert ended up generating about 1,000 tons of garbage by event goers. According to an ABC News article, Critics argued the estimated 220,000 miles musicians traveled to get to the shows defeated the event's purpose of cutting down our carbon footprint. Many stars decided to opt out of the concert, as well. Their argument reigned from the hypocrisy of using an enormous amount of power to play a show that states their goal is to eliminate just that.
The barbs have already started flying at the new Live Earth. As one snarky blogger asked," Does Pharrell's private jet make his carbon footprint look fat?"
But this time around, the team at Live Earth have promised to take care of these issues. The lineup has been kept under wrap, along with the specific ways they attempt to resolve these problems. If their team can put on this concert while eliminating their past issues, it could put climate change back in the headlines, in advance of major global talks scheduled for Paris next December.