By Manila Ryce
Published Wednesday, August 1st, 2007, 5:56 am
Filed under: Environment, Videos: Political, Entertainment, World Issues, Videos, US Politics

13 Responses to “Live Earth: Brought to You By These Corporate Sponsors”

1. 

   LOL!
   That was brilliant!
   Please tell me the Hotdog event for darfur is not real??!

   DarkAngelJG
   08/1/07 at 7:12 am
   

2. i agree enthusiastically with you on this one…

   if you look at who is *really* fanning the global warming/peak oil hysteria, the money trail goes back to some of the biggest oil corporations out there (BP, for example). it’s really quite simple. it’s called artificial scarcity. you create a panic/shortage, and hike up the prices.

   a global carbon tax wouldn’t hurt either.

   -b-

   Bon
   08/1/07 at 4:02 pm
   

3. this is how the elites buy off the left, create a false solution to a false dilemma, take away focus from the real problems of the world (think of all the chemicals that come out of your typical exhaust pipe–and we’re led to believe a natural byproduct of all living things should be our main concern?), and stall an authentic grassroots revolution.

   well, i’m sick of it. i’m sick of fake liberals proposing more government monopolies/bureaucracies/taxation schemes to solve all our problems. i hope the left takes your cue and starts waking up to this scam.

   the radical right is already catching on to the “live free or die” mentality that is long overdue in our country right now…the tax honesty movement, the secessionists and constitutionalists, the freedom/patriot movement, the militias and survivalists, etc. we ALL need the courage of ed and elaine brown at this point in our tenuous existence. the big question is: when all hell breaks loose and the bush regime takes advantage of all its new executive orders, are progressives going to stand up to the cartel that has been running our government since 1913, especially with the regimes of woodrow wilson (federal reserve, income tax) and FDR (new deal, war powers act, gold confiscation, concentration camps)…or will they continue to push for more gun controls and hold more peace vigils in the hope that the perpetrators will one day realize the error of their ways and surrender power nice and easy?

   i’m hoping more people like you will shake the fake pawns of the liberal elite out of their retro sentimental stupor and swell our ranks with real revolutionaries who are mad as hell and WILL NOT TAKE IT ANYMORE.

   -b-

   Bon
   08/1/07 at 4:23 pm
   

4. in fact, your blog was *so* good, i am going to repost in my own blog.

   cheers!

   -b-

   Bon
   08/1/07 at 4:26 pm
   

5. I’m glad Al Gore is working to bring light to the issue, but I agree that he’s hardly the shining light of hope that everyone makes him out to be. In the end, he’s the same Al Gore who was agreeing with G.W. in the debates in 2000. And the commercialization of EVERYTHING in our culture is disgusting to watch. We’re watching the transformation of yet another legitimate issue into a market for corporate exploitation.

   Sam
   08/2/07 at 1:52 am
   

6. I knew this thing was a total fraud when they announced that the East Coast USA show would be at the Meadowlands, which may be the sports venue that is the LEAST accessible to public transportation in the whole wide world. And it was built on a landfill.

   And what exactly was this charade supposed to accomplish? It raised no money for a specific foundation or organization, so where did the money go? And “awareness”? This video wasn’t the only “media coverage” to point out the number of SUVs in the parking lot. The concerts generated a huge amount of trash and air pollution. AND the event gave the people who don’t believe in global climate change, and who have a vested interest in making sure that more people don’t, an oh-so-easy to hit target for their negativity.

   For all his good work, these days, Al Gore is something close to being a phony. Time for “the Left” to stop making him out to be a messiah.

   Quakerdave
   08/2/07 at 9:49 am
   

7. Great post Manila.

   I about shit my pants when Gore grabbed the gauntlet and became the “Official” spokesperson for “Global Warming.” He single handedly set the movement back a decade because now people can simply use their hatred for him as an excuse to dismiss AGW.

   It didn’t help that he exaggerated in his movie either. (I have the same problem with Michael Moore). There’s no reason to exaggerate, and in the end people are going to find out if you did, which destroys your credibility.

   And I was so happy to see you mention those terrible bands. So many people were lauding the “great music.” Sends shivers down my spine.

   Quaker,

   Can you please tell me where the “Left” is these days? I see Republicans who prefer Latte instead of Old Mil.

   fairlane
   08/2/07 at 2:34 pm
   

8. Well, fairlane, there are a few of us old Lefties here in Jersey: some of them come to meeting with me on Sundays. Basically, however, anyone to the Left of Rush Limbaugh is “The Left” these days, at least according to the Bootlicking Corporate Media.

   You know the movement is pretty much dead if Sen. Clinton can be branded a “socialist” and Gore is seen as a real “environmentalist.”

   QuakerDave
   08/2/07 at 4:26 pm
   
9. 

   It’s pretty clear to me now that the powers that be have decided to elect a democrat in 2008 — this is very strategic on their part for many reasons. Moreover, this whole “environmental crisis” (which is nothing more than a fat wad of bullshit being thrown into people’s eyes and mouth like so many facials) is nothing more than a rallying point for folks who have long since, “given up on the political process.” With that in mind, the liberal JeZus, Al Gore, may or may not enter the race at the last second when the split between the black man and the white woman gets too foggy. Either way, the election has already been won and lost and the only question is: Where da weed at?

   yazo
   08/3/07 at 5:40 pm
   
10. 

    Well, I’m confounded! It’s hard for me to believe that, regarding this issue, Larry Elder was right!

    It just kills me that what could’ve been a huge step in the right direction as far as tackling global warming ended up doing more harm than good.

You see, I was well aware long ago about the criticisms of the Live Earth Project. At the time, with the event having not taken place yet, I figured most of these criticisms were ridiculous. Arguments such as, “How hypocritical is it that these rock stars are flying in jets, thereby producing pollution, in order to play a concert to protest pollution!” and “How much tons of trash was produced at this supposedly environmental event?”

Now, my rebuttals to this were quick to mind and not hard to confirm. First of all, while burning jet fuel, with is basically kerosene, does produce CO2, it is nowhere near a major nor a critical contributor to the climate crisis. According to the International Air Transport Association, air traffic only accounts for about 2% of global carbon dioxide emissions. And even though that number is in itself of little significance, the IATA is nonetheless exploring steps to lessen the carbon impact even further, such as reducing the number of night flights, and increasing the number of passengers per flight, etc. 
That being said, one could still argue that the “hypocrisy” of these performers and politicians and activists, just by the fact that they are producing CO2 at all, is technically correct. However, this is just as relevant as arguing that vegetation decay, and, according to some bloggers, us BREATHING, are also contributors. Again, technically correct, but ultimately irrelevant. It is common knowledge at this point, at least to the scientific community, that the real threat and impact of human-powered climate change comes overwhelmingly from the same source, and that is the burning of fossil fuels, ei coal and petroleum. Since it is this practice that belches out the most pollution, it is there we must focus our attention. The aim is not to Demonize CO2, as the Faith-over-Facts Crowd would want you to believe, but to address the very real issue and solve it. In other words, my dear Christiano-Zealots, NO, we’re not going to outlaw Breathing. 

And the third and final argument against the Jet-Hypocrisy is this: Let us assume that none of these figures exist, and that jet travel is a huge dumping contributor of CO2. To this I ask, what is the alternative? Is there another way to fly across oceans and continents without emitting CO2? The answer, in case you were wondering, is no. So what’s the point of your belly aching?

The other argument about waste was, to my naive-ass, a non issue. Surely, at an environmentally friendly event, there would be recycling. I figured this such a common sense issue would be naturally solved. 

The final argument actually came from the Left. “How can we trust anything that corporations endorse?” C’mon people! If anything would help in the fight against Climate Change, it would be the resources and influence of Corperations. It is a fact that companies and businesses that “go green” stand to make enormous profits, especially now. Afterall, it is they who historically have proven the hardest to sway. The only thing I would be wary of is whether or not they would actually follow through. But again, I figured that the organizers of this event would at least have the common sense and warewithal to do some screening. 

And then I watched this video.

I have never before been so let down and disgusted. While my wonderful Jet-Defense still stands up, it is all but obliterated in the face of this titanic clusterfuck!!

Who the hell was the organizer of this event?! Did they get him from the same Arabian Horse Circuit they got Brownie from?! I mean COME ON!! What they had here was a monumental opportunity to show not only how serious this problem is, but also how solvable it is as well! They could have gone a step further and had booths set up, not for corperate exploitation and commercialism (Pepsi Drum Circle and the Wachovia Credit Card booth), but to showcase the numerous technologies CURRENTLY AT OUR DISPOSAL to solve this problem!! 

Recycling, once again, is a no-brainer. Any idea how far advanced our recycling capability is at this point? Wouldn’t one think that would be something useful for us to know? DID ANYONE THINK IT’D BE A GOOD IDEA TO RECYCLE THE TRASH PRODUCED AT THIS FUCKIN’ EVENT??!! 

How about displays and promotions for alternative fuels? Wind and Solar, of course, but there’s also Geothermal, Acoustic, (Yes, energy from Sound!), and even Wave power, not to mention, Yes, I’ll Say It, NUCLEAR. Do you know that China will have Fusion Power within the decade? 

To ease our transition, how about a set up showcasing Thermal Depolymerization. This is a decade old science that can convert ANYTHING into Oil!! Yes, it does exist, and no you don’t know about it, HENCE THE NEED FOR A SHOWCASE!!!

What about another decade-old process that can make plastic from corn oil? It acts in every way like petroleum based plastic, except that it takes up to 55% less energy to produce, and, at high enough saturations of moisture and heat, is BIODEGRADABLE!! Didn’t know about that either, huh? That set up would’ve been nice to see, don’t you think?

WELL, DON’T YA?!

Did anyone setting up this train wreck of an event even bother to brainstorm ANYTHING?! AT ALL?! 

I mean, the climate crisis is just that, a crisis. It is indeed something we must take seriously, However, once again agreeing (argh!) with the Right Wing Wackjobs, we don’t have to be TERRIFIED of it! Using EXISTING TECHNOLOGIES, this is well within our capability to solve!! And that is exactly what we need! 

What is worrisome is that we don’t currently, as a nation, seem to possess the will to take on this problem. And what we had here with Live Earth was an enormous opportunity to show our ingenuity as a species, and to prove that these are not farfetched ideas, but totally economically sound as well as beneficial to the environment. Even the staunchest ChristianoFacist can be muted with good, clean economic sense! (Perhaps not, but you get my point.)

There are a ton of other possibilities as well. BioDiesel, Hemp Polymers, biodegradable cars, etc. etc. HOW THE FUCK DID NO ONE CONSIDER THESE?!

It is truly heartbreaking that this Golden Opportunity was Squandered in the name of Corporate Commercial Exploitation. It’s no question that Live Earth was a failure, the numbers themselves prove it. But my greater concern is the negative impact this debacle has had on the movement in general. 

Thanks a lot assholes. You may have meant well, but that evidently didn’t keep you from sucking ass!!

~PapaFigue

PS-for those who may have a shred of hope or curiosity, here are some sources: We can still do this, but I….*sigh*

Fuck it….

Jet Fuel vs. Global Warming:
http://www.iata.org/whatwedo/environment/campaign/ice.htm
http://ff.org/centers/csspp/library/co2weekly/20060718/20060718_07.html

Thermal Depolymerization
http://www.thermaldepolymerization.org/

Corn Plastic:
http://jscms.jrn.columbia.edu/cns/2005-03-15/russell-cornplastic/

Hemp Car and Fuels:
http://www.hempcar.org/

Acoustic Power:
http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/5568005.html

Wave Power:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6410839.stm

GeoThermal Power:
http://www.nawcwd.navy.mil/techTrans/index.cfm?map=local.ccms.view.aB&doc=paper.16
http://www1.eere.energy.gov/geothermal/powerplants.html

Nuclear Fusion:
http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/09/28/1835241

There’s so much more, but I mean really, at this point, does anyone really care?

    PapaFigue
    08/14/07 at 7:45 am
    

11. Oh my god, I KNOW the Steak Girl! She went to my school and was in the Cum Laude society. Just goes to show…

    Phemyda
    08/31/07 at 6:42 am
    
12. 

    @Phemyda
    Cum Laude? Really? Wow, I bet people never thought to vote her most likely to appear stoned out of her mind on national television.

    Manila Ryce
    08/31/07 at 3:25 pm
    

13. wow I know steak girl
    went to my school
    sort of
    shes big on china and chinese
    shits hilarious

    Will
    09/20/07 at 9:37 pm
    

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