Keith, you were great, but is “jetting off to Oz to see your wife” directly after Live Earth the smartest thing you’ve done lately?
While we are proud of your performance, and applaud that people who didn’t know who you are will go out and buy your music, perhaps discovering what we know… I think maybe your heart was in the right place, but perhaps your head is not, and perhaps you should put your money where your mouth is…
Planning ten trips to Oz in between your concert gigs this year may seem “noble”, “loving”, and “caring”, to your newfound (Famewhore Loving) fans, BUT those who have been around for a while are scratching their heads. You have said that it would be a hardship to tour while your wife is off filming in Oz… but didn’t you know that before you married the Queen???
Perhaps you need to think about your lifestyle… and who it affects… I’m just sayin’…
Here are some recent articles/blogs I’ve found, in just a three minute search of the web. I can’t imagine how many more are out there…
Live Earth's carbon footprint
...while the organisers' commitment to save the planet is genuine, the very process of putting on such a vast event, with more than 150 performers jetting around the world to appear in concerts from Tokyo to Hamburg, is surely an exercise in hypocrisy on a grand scale.
While we are proud of your performance, and applaud that people who didn’t know who you are will go out and buy your music, perhaps discovering what we know… I think maybe your heart was in the right place, but perhaps your head is not, and perhaps you should put your money where your mouth is…
Planning ten trips to Oz in between your concert gigs this year may seem “noble”, “loving”, and “caring”, to your newfound (Famewhore Loving) fans, BUT those who have been around for a while are scratching their heads. You have said that it would be a hardship to tour while your wife is off filming in Oz… but didn’t you know that before you married the Queen???
Perhaps you need to think about your lifestyle… and who it affects… I’m just sayin’…
Here are some recent articles/blogs I’ve found, in just a three minute search of the web. I can’t imagine how many more are out there…
Live Earth's carbon footprint
...while the organisers' commitment to save the planet is genuine, the very process of putting on such a vast event, with more than 150 performers jetting around the world to appear in concerts from Tokyo to Hamburg, is surely an exercise in hypocrisy on a grand scale.
Matt Bellamy, front man of the rock band Muse, has dubbed it 'private jets for climate change'.
A Daily Mail investigation has revealed that far from saving the planet, the extravaganza will generate a huge fuel bill, acres of garbage, thousands of tonnes of carbon emissions, and a mileage total equal to the movement of an army.
The most conservative assessment of the flights being taken by its superstars is that they are flying an extraordinary 222,623.63 miles between them to get to the various concerts - nearly nine times the circumference of the world. The true environmental cost, as they transport their technicians, dancers and support staff, is likely to be far higher.
The total carbon footprint of the event, taking into account the artists' and spectators' travel to the concert, and the energy consumption on the day, is likely to be at least 31,500 tonnes of carbon emissions, according to John Buckley of Carbonfootprint.com, who specialises in such calculations.
Throw in the television audience and it comes to a staggering 74,500 tonnes. In comparison, the average Briton produces ten tonnes in a year. (via Tim Blair)
Spectacle Adds More Pollution, Critics Say
Sheldon Alberts, CanWest News Service
Published: Saturday, July 07, 2007
Published: Saturday, July 07, 2007
WASHINGTON - Al Gore was forced yesterday to defend himself against criticisms that to-day's Live Earth concert series -- an eight-city rock spectacle he has organized to raise awareness about global warming -- may do more to pollute the environment than protect it.
…
…
Whereas Live Aid raised almost $250-million for African famine relief, the Live Earth concerts has a less-defined mission to "trigger a global movement to solve the climate crisis." Concert-goers will be asked to sign a seven-point climate pledge, including pressuring politicians to reduce greenhouse gases.
http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=b9420491-39bc-4d35-8151-8946d2fd086c
Live Earth is promoting green to save the planet - what planet are they on?
As Madonna bounds on to the huge Wembley stage to save the planet, how the assembled Greenies will cheer.
The superstar is today fronting the massive Live Earth event, with nine concerts played over 24 hours across seven continents before an audience of two billion.
The much-hyped bid to save the world is being masterminded by former U.S. vice president Al Gore - who helped focus attention on the environmental movement with his Oscar-winning film, An Inconvenient Truth - and features artists including The Police, Red Hot Chili Peppers, UB40 and Metallica.
No doubt to rapturous applause, Madonna will call for mass global change to reduce carbon emissions and to tackle 'climate crisis'.
Watching the veteran star lap up the adoration, her entourage could, however, be forgiven for exchanging slightly jaded glances - having witnessed her jet in for the concert from New York.
For her 2006 World Tour, she flew by private jet, transporting a team of up to 100 technicians and dancers around the globe. Waiting in the garage at home, she has a Mercedes Maybach, two Range Rovers, an Audi A8 and a Mini Cooper S.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/femail/article.html?in_article_id=466775&in_page_id=1879
Gore Aid?
PJM Barcelona
July 7, 2007 2:00 AM
Tomorrow’s Live Earth concerts all over the world are part of Al Gore’s plan to save, well, the Earth. But they could end up generating more carbon dioxide than was produced by all of Afghanistan in 2006. Even Bob Geldof and The Who’s Roger Daltrey have opted out.
By Doug Heye
http://pajamasmedia.com/2007/07/gore_aid.php
July 7, 2007 2:00 AM
Tomorrow’s Live Earth concerts all over the world are part of Al Gore’s plan to save, well, the Earth. But they could end up generating more carbon dioxide than was produced by all of Afghanistan in 2006. Even Bob Geldof and The Who’s Roger Daltrey have opted out.
By Doug Heye
http://pajamasmedia.com/2007/07/gore_aid.php
20 comments:
Yeah, celebrity advocacy is a pretty tricky thing. Personally I dont give celebs any more props than the regular person giving time or money to charities. In fact its easy to become cynical of celebs, when it seems to become the vogue, just like the latest designer purse or hairstyle. And people can weed out the wannabes. Take Geldolf, for example, did some noteworthy things back in the early 80s with the Band Aid recording, and later with the concerts, raised alot of money. But then he sort of tuned out for the past 20 yrs and only recently resurfaced when Bono of U2 began his global humanitarian work. Its not easy measuring up to say, jerry lewis, whos spent the past 50 yrs, year in and year out, on behalf of Muscular Dystrophy research. Or Paul Newman and his Hole in the Wall foundation and kids camp. You know, permanent business examples that go beyond the ocassional appearence, simply for appearences sake.
I think a wiser choice for participants would've been that ALL should've been required to have had or currently have a "green" tour to some effect. We know Madonna doesn't, didn't and I would be surprised if she did.
Luckily Keith does, and thankfully he is flying commercial for trips back home to the wife so he's not 100% responsible for that pollution. I was, however, disappointed in his interview with CNN and the fact that he didn't step up to the plate and offer to actually change his lifestyle. He did comment on the bio-diesel busses, but seemed unsure of what exactly to say about it. Maybe he needs to do some better homework on being "green". Just like he's missed over 100,000 opportunities so far this tour to comment on stage about the environment and asking his audience to make one small change. You have the stage Keith - USE IT for chrissakes!
I would've also like to have seen on screen for each performer what their carbon footprint was to participate in the event, and what they did to offset it (should've been a requirement).
All in all the event was missed by a large segment of the population that it was intended to hit. There were a lot of twenty-somethings out there saying "Live what?". I believe it may have missed it's mark - shame, really - this is probably the most important subject to come along in a long time that needs our younger population to take the reigns and change, but they're too busy being busy with all of our technology and going here & there without thought to the impact they have on society and our future.
He didn't fly commercial to Oz.
He had to get his sorry butt over there and kiss the ground and grovel because he did something that got him some good press and it didn't involve being married to her..
He did Live Earth because it was a career boost and to help sale of a very lackluster CD.. He could care less about the environment you could tell that if you saw the Bravo interview. All he cares about is promoting his marriage and making more money.. He is getting to be a broken record.
The only way that a celeb holds any credibility is IF they walk the walk. Having a 'green' tour...so to speak...isn't enough. You're right ... he thought of buying a "smart car" so he could haul it behind his bus??? Good god...how about trading in the bently and getting a hybrid?
As far as flying commercially, he did fly commerdially over to Oz from LA (I'm convinced that was ONLY because NK doesn't let him use her jet when he's on his own). But he did take a private jet fom Sydney to Darwin...not 48 hours after the show. Sounds like he got the message loud and clear...right.
I think he honestly wanted to help...but his idea of helping is playing at the show to bring more awareness...I don't see a commitment to the cause in terms of his own lifestyle. And I do believe it was a an opportunity to expose Keith to a bigger audience and he did a great job. But I'd have prefered a more sincere commitment to the cause.
Keith did this for purely selfish reasons. It was great exposure and it did what it was suppose to do. Many are commenting that the duet was the best performance of the day. I'm sure he'll see a spike in the Pain album on the charts as well. Kudos to you Keith.
Now maybe educate yourself and change your diva lifestyle so you don't look like such a hypocrite.
Well as for urban, of course hes promoting on his fansite that hes gone green, on his latest tour. Now the big question is, when did this all occur? For example, was his previous tour green? Or did he just go green because when the tour was being planned out, the chance to appear on the Live Earth venue simply forced him to go green for appearances sake? Its not what you say, but what you actually do that's going to show your sincerity. Sure going green is a good thing, but going green for a promotional gig, then that would make him a wannabe, and that, of course would lessen my opinion of him.
imahick - are you 100% on that private jet from Sydney to Darwin?
maclen - he wouldn't be a "wannabe", he'd be a "poseur".
I don't think Keith going green is by his choice. If the bus companies change the fuel that the buses use-what does the artist have to do with it?
I don't think he really gave a second thought to it until it made the news and now with Live Earth-he has been able to use the buzz words to his advantage.
Imahick said... "how about trading in the bently and getting a hybrid?"
Exactly imahick-bet that Bentley is still in his garage.
He started this "green" tour before Live Earth.
Come on people, EVERY SINGLE PERSON at Live Earth was there for selfish reasons. They may care about the cause, they may not, but the bottom line is..THEY ARE HUMAN BEINGS! Is Keith flying commercial rather than flying on his famewhore's private jet, really gonna make a difference? Is his Bentley really causing a spike in pollution while it sits in his garage for 9 months a year. I think not!
I think what is so hard for a lot of people to understand is... people like Keith are in the Entertainment business. It is their job to make money. The more the better. Isn't that how most people are, celebrities or not?
Some of you should really cut him some slack. The celebrities shouldn't be forced to change their lifestyle if they were going to try to help raise awareness. This is America. We are free to do as we please. Did Live Earth raise awareness...maybe for some people it did, for others it was just a rock concert. Perhaps when the celebrities that participated weighed their options...will I look like a big hypocrite, or will I let the world know who I am, the latter idea won.
If I were a betting girl, I'd bet that more people will buy a Love Pain CD than will recycle tomorrow, and if that makes him a hypocrite, so be it. After all, is making new fans and making your name more well known, not what this business is all about for most?
banbotox said...
"I don't think Keith going green is by his choice. If the bus companies change the fuel that the buses use-what does the artist have to do with it?
I don't think he really gave a second thought to it until it made the news and now with Live Earth-he has been able to use the buzz words to his advantage."
That's a good point banbotox, it never occured to me. It just seems to me it would be too much of a coincidence, and seeing that he was not into bio fuels his previous tour, when, a year ago, two? It would be simply be a case of looking for a bio fuel friendly truck company and hire out the trucks. I imagine converting regular gas run trucks he was using would probably not be as efficient and less expensive as just getting ready made bio fuel trucks.
Notachance...I'm as sure that Keith flew private jet to Darwin from Sydney as about four articles can make me. I didn't personally witness it, but it's reported on numerous sites including NKU. I believe he did. I think he went commercial to Sydney and couldn't wait six hours for a commercial flight, so took a private jet so he could see his beautiful beautiful princess faster and have a photo op with her.
As far as the commitment to the cause and the purpose of Live Earth, I am sure that the majority of artists who participated did it for selfish reasons. I'm here discussing Keith Urban. He did interviews proclaiming his respect for the cause. But he sounded like he was at a loss when asked how he was altering his lifestyle ... might get a smart care to haul behind his tour bus?? ... that's lame.
Sorry...if you think that flying in a private jet is not a bad thing environmentally, that's incorrect. They burn lots of fuel and if there's a commercial flight going anyway, why not use that flight and reduce the use of fossil fuels? It's a matter of convenience ... and needing everything right away ... that's why the earth is in the mess it's in and we're all going to have to make some concessions if we are going to try to fix this problem.
I think the main issue I have with this discussion is that everytime Keith does something good, Nicole turns it into something about her. So why are there some of us, who are behind keith for the most part, turning everything he tries to do into a negative.
We don't know the circumstances behind anything he does. Maybe there were no seats available on the flight to Darwin. Maybe he was caught off guard with the questioning and he was trying to be funny with the smart car comment. We know he gets nervous when he has to speak on a serious subject, maybe it was something stupid that he said that he now regrets because there are people who will twist and tangle up everything he says to make it sound worse than it originally did. I don't do everything I can to help the environment so how can I get mad at him for being human.
There are so many other things out there to complain about. Yes this is a big issue with the world. Could he have chosen to not get involved with it at all and just go on about his merry way, of course. Did he do it for more world recognition, probably!
Am I gonna call him a hypocrite because of it, absolutely not! He's not any bigger of a hypocrite than I am every time I choose to throw my coke can in the trash rather than walk 10 feet to the recycle bin.
All I'm saying is..the man is human and some of treat him like he should have higher standards than the rest of us. That's not fair. We don't live his life, we don't know what steps and measures he takes for the environment that we don't read about, we shouldn't judge it until we've walked in his shoes.
Well it seems to me, toolittletoolate, that your simply missing the point of this blog and the meaning of the posts of Urban Myths...(the title itself should give you a hint) The message I get from this blog and the comments are of disappointed and or former urban fans who are not very happy by the choices and the turn his career has taken. If you believe its ok for urban to cancel concert dates at the last minute for suspicious reasons or cancel an entire month of dates in the UK, germany, and ireland, and not give those fans a considerate explaination, you are not going to find too much sympathy here. If you want to be spared the criticism of dissatisfied fans, perhaps you should go to, or stay, if thats the case, at Urbans fansite, where they delete all the negative comments... and you can all stay in a warm, fuzzy place and rejoice in having seen urban live. Yet, if I were you, I'd question why his latest Cd is only selling a third of his last CD, and maybe all those fans he's cancelled off this tour wont see him maybe next year, because his record label doesnt think his next cd would be profitable enough to even release.
maclen wrote:
I imagine converting regular gas run trucks he was using would probably not be as efficient and less expensive as just getting ready made bio fuel trucks.
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All of the busses & tractor-trailer rigs on the tour were already diesel (not gas) engines, converting to bio-diesel, which is what they are using was not a big deal. Probably the hardest part is finding a place to fill up.
Keith's unsure comments about the bio-diesel use in his rigs shows you that he really doesn't know what it's all about toolittletoolate. If you're gonna be involved in A) having your tour green, and B) participating in a worldwide event about being green - then do your homework and speak intelligently about it. Don't appear to be caught off-guard by those questions.
I'm glad that Keith got the exposure that he did, but by the same token I'm sorry the point may have been missed on a lot of the new fans he may have garnered because he didn't walk the green walk. I want him to not just stand up for something, but be able to talk about it too.
notachance said...
Keith's unsure comments about the bio-diesel use in his rigs shows you that he really doesn't know what it's all about toolittletoolate. If you're gonna be involved in A) having your tour green, and B) participating in a worldwide event about being green - then do your homework and speak intelligently about it. Don't appear to be caught off-guard by those questions.
Exactly. I have to agree with you this time notachance. Keith had to know that someone (with a microphone and a video camera) might ask him a question or two about this topic-do some research Keith and be prepared. Just memorizing the buzz words doesn't cut it for interviews.
It looks like urban is getting philanthrophy advice from kidman and it shows...badly. She was once upon a time into Breast cancer research, you dont hear much about that anymore... Around the time she made Human Stain, she dabbled in work for battered woman across the planet...she mentioned it once in an interview... At the press conference when she was named an honorary ambassador at the UN, she said she planned to visit Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Afghanistan and Cambodia... (and yes, I'm aware Ive mentioned all this before)
So I'm very sure urban will meet those meager standards of charitable works.
maclen I think you're on the wrong blog...did I say ANYTHING about him cancelling his shows...I don't recall mentioning that at all. Yes that pisses me off. I have friends who lost money on that deal so yes, that upsets me. That wasn't what we were talking about.
I don't call myself a bunny and I don't belong on the .nut board simply because I can see the wrong in Keith...I can admit when he's being stupid. My point is...there are bigger issues at hand here when it comes to Keith. Can't we focus on something else? Maybe his tour went green without his knowledge, who knows? Maybe he didn't do any research before his interview and he sounded stupid, who cares. What does that have to do with the music?
Everyone on here preaches about "It's all about the music!" but what does this discussion have to do with the music.
Why is it that everytime someone has a different opinion, they are asked to leave or are considered a bunny. I don't get it. Isn't that the point of discussing things?
Keith has charities that are close to his heart, and he's been known to work hard for them, maybe this isn't one of them. Thats all I'm saying.
well, TooLittleTooLate, to keep this short and simple because I'm not getting into an endless back and forth on it... I've never said "It's all about the music!" and I will not limit my comments to that, and I will discuss whatever the blog entry is.
toolittletoolate wrote:
Keith has charities that are close to his heart, and he's been known to work hard for them, maybe this isn't one of them. Thats all I'm saying.
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Yes, Keith has been (key word) known to work hard for the charities he endorses, however, in the last 2 years he has not done much of anything publicly - besides the Chicago show - that was charitable in nature. Rather, his charity endeavors now are geared towards sucking money from his fans via Ticketraper auctions that end up causing bad vibes because those prime seats ain't so prime in the end - BUT that's a whole other blog for someone to write.
I believe you missed the point of Live 8 along with billions of others on this planet. It was not just a rock concert, it was an event that was supposed to raise awareness and spark the change in tide for the masses on how we live. Unfortunately, we are just like cattle and need to be led to the barn - and for that, we need those that participated, those in the limelight that the masses tend to look up to, to lead the way and have a good grasp of the subject.
Keith did not fulfill that IMO, and I take issue with that. Especially because of all the crap surrounding his chosen mate and how he has been made to look like her fool, here was his chance to really be intelligent, charming and shine in his own right OFF the stage - and quite possibly, set the record straight on him being a man for the first time in a long time.
Keith attending Live Earth reminds me of a compensated endorsement that celebs do for a product. They don't actually have to use or like the product, just say it's great!
While he didn't get paid monetarily, he did receive millions of dollars worth of face time on television which was beamed all over the world. That is mighty fine compensation.
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