08/07/2007 00:00
TW
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by RAY FLEMING
WILL Al Gore's Live Earth concerts, seen by an estimated two billion people around the world yesterday, make any difference to action against global warming? Predictably they were criticised by Bob Geldof and others; one comment was, “Having the richest people in the world saying, Hey! We need to cut back a bit, is absurd.” However to think of these concerts as a one-shot effort is also absurd. They are the start of a three-year campaign to involve young people in the push to contain and reduce the carbon emissions that lead to global warming.

Each person attending the concerts or seeing them on TV will be invited to make a seven-point pledge: to demand that my country joins an international treaty within the next two years to cut global warming pollution; to take personal action to help solve the climate crisis by reducing my own CO2 pollution as much as I can; to fight for a moratorium on the construction of any new coal-burning generating facility; to work for a dramatic increase in the energy efficiency of my home, workplace, school, place of worship and means of transportation; to fight for laws and policies that expand the use of renewable energy sources; to plant new trees and to join with others in preserving forests; to buy from businesses and support leaders who support my commitment to solving the climate crisis.

Will it work? Who knows, but Al Gore is right to think that this issue is too important to be left to the politicans.