On the radio this morning I heard the normally redoubtable Michael Parkinson and guest slagging off Live Earth because of performers getting there by means other than bike. Pish and tush, says I.
It's such a playground reaction. "You smell!" "No, YOU smell!" equals "You've got a big carbon footprint!" "No, YOU'VE got a big carbon footprint!"
People, this isn't something to get defensive about and belittle the messengers. Yes, pop stars use more aeroplane fuel than your average Joe or Joanna on the street. But the message of Live Earth isn't Madonna's or whoever's personal hectoring of everyone else. Their getting up on a stage to support a message that the world needs to stop polluting doesn't mean they're pretending they don't need to do their bit too. Eddie Izzard was one of the presenters, and said exactly that.
I think it's also worth remembering why popstars jet off all over the earth too - we want them to. It's not just up to them. Concerts and public appearances in a multiplicity of locations happen because we the public want to see these people. If we want celebrities to stop using so much aviation fuel, instead of grumbling, we could all stop subscribing to celebrity culture. Or we could ask our celebrities to use the train. To pervert an old hippy slogan, suppose they held a world tour and nobody came? (I guess that would be a fauxtation).
Al Gore either has a point or he doesn't, and as it happens, he does. WE ALL NEED TO USE LESS POWER IN AS MANY WAYS POSSIBLE, DIRECT OR INDIRECT. PERIOD. Moaning about how much people espousing this message consume is nothing less than an excuse to justify doing nothing yourself, and it's disgusting.
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