When pondering about the possible benefits of an event like Live Earth, which took place in seven cities across the globe on Saturday, Marshall McLuhan’s famous dictum, ‘the medium is the message’, came to my mind. Are pop stars the right medium to communicate environmental messages about global warming, those people who often symbolize the accelerated consumerism of our times?
On one hand, yes, we need high profile people to help the green message reach as many people as possible. Madonna, the main attraction of the London gig, surely has the power to do that.
On the other hand, too much ‘celebrity glare’ can blind people to the actual issues being raised. Used to pop stars adapting to every market wave to keep sales going, will fans take to heart any green messages they convey? Reports that the London crowds left Wembley stadium littered with plastic glasses when there were recycling facilities for their use seems to confirm that the message did not even get to the people physically standing in front of the stage, let alone the millions watching it via their TV sets.
Madonna flies private jets, owns several homes and recently endorsed a line of clothing hor H&M, one of the biggest purveyors of disposable clothing in the world. Hardly an example of green living.
There’s also another dictum that says, ‘all publicity is good publicity.’ I don’t think that holds true anymore. The problem is that too much noise can get in the way of a clear message and the involvement of pop stars may well trivialize the issue of climate change. I hope not, but in the same way we should beware of religious impostors who call themselves ‘ministers’, we have to be able to discern between those who are genuinely concerned with saving the planet and those who see the green movement as a new marketing methodology.
We somehow need to get through to all the young people of the world because that’s who will be changing the planet’s destiny. They are the ones who will be willing and able to make decisions that will affect the global condition. A world-wide concert tour, while creating some GHG emissions, is an extremely proper and effective mthoed of educating a younger generation about global warming. Live Earth Rocks!!!
~ Eli Bowman
to think that you are powerful enough to change the climate of a 4 billion year old planet is arrogance.