Stop Global Warming Virtual March
07/02/07
LIVE EARTH: THE CONCERTS FOR A CLIMATE IN CRISIS, 07/07/07
Live Earth is a monumental music event that will bring together more than 2 billion people on 7/7/07 to raise awareness about global warming. Artists include Beastie Boys, John Mayer, Madonna, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Smashing Pumpkins, The Police, and many more including Virtual March partners Bon Jovi, Damien Rice, and Taking Back Sunday.
As Al Gore notes in his July 1 New York Times op-ed, "Next Saturday, on all seven continents, the Live Earth concert will ask for the attention of humankind to begin a three-year campaign to make everyone on our planet aware of how we can solve the climate crisis in time to avoid catastrophe. Individuals must be a part of the solution" (Click here to read Gore’s NYT essay "Moving Beyond Kyoto").
Live Earth will ask everyone who attends or listens to the concerts to sign a personal pledge to take specific steps to combat climate change. Click here to sign the pledge now.
And in other music news…
BONNAROO WRAP-UP
The Bonnaroo Music Festival in Manchester, Tennessee on June 14-17 was a great success. Thanks to our friends at Superfly and NRDC, we were able to interview many of the top artists performing to gather their thoughts on this urgent issue.
Please visit our sister site at stopglobalwarming.msn.com to see our interviews with Ben Harper, New York antifolk songwriter Regina Spektor, singer-songwriters and Virtual Marchers Damien Rice and Ben Jelen, STS9, EL-P, Questlove from The Roots, John Bell from Widespread Panic, Michael Franti, lead singer Chris Collingwood of Fountains of Wayne and Andrew Stockdale of Wolfmother. And watch our pieces on the innovative behind-the-scenes greening that takes place at Bonnaroo.
Click Here to watch the video clips at MSN.
GOODBYE JEWEL CASE
Most consumer packaging is not only a huge waste of resources, but also harmful to our environment. But there are encouraging signs that businesses are becoming greener as they realize profits and protecting the environment are not mutually exclusive. As consumers, we have a powerful voice to question packaging choices and demand change.
Our partner NRDC has been working diligently to put an end to the petrol-based CD jewel case. After three years of discussions, Warner Music Group, and its CD and DVD manufacturer Cinram, the largest CD maker in the world, and its printer Ivy Hill, agreed to a replacement of the petroleum-based CD and DVD jewel case. The replacement of this polluting product will be a mini-album sleeve , made of 100% post-consumer paper and wrapped in an ag-waste plastic wrapper, or, if available, an ag-waste based plastic jewel case. Getting rid of the petroleum-based CD jewel case is a great green step forward, as more than a billion of them are manufactured each year.
In another development, Virtual Marcher and environmentalist Bill McKibben has been guiding the United States Postal Service to eliminate toxins in its packaging and inks. To learn more about this, watch the "Paper or Plastic" episode of the Sundance Channel’s series Big Ideas for a Small Planet, available via iTunes.
TAKE ACTION: SIGN THE DECLARATION OF NEW PATRIOTISM
With the Fourth of July holiday this week, it’s a great time to remind U.S. leaders about the need for real solutions to global warming. We encourage you to support the efforts of Virtual March partner EnvironmentalDefense.org and sign their "Declaration of New Patriotism" that thousands of online supporters helped draft. They are hoping to collect at least 75,000 signatures to deliver to Congress by July 4th. The Declaration begins:
"Global warming is the crisis of our time. As we prepare to celebrate our nation’s birthday, we renew our commitment to the qualities and values that have guided our nation for more than 200 years. Today, we recognize that patriotism is not only about love of country. It is also about a shared commitment to the welfare of our planet.
Click Here to sign the Declaration of New Patriotism
NEW PARTNERS AND MARCHERS
This week the Virtual March grew to over 832,000 marchers! Recent partners include TheDailyGreen.com, the new green health community NaturalPath.com, and P.S. 8 3rd Grade Earth Protectors, from Brooklyn, NY
Keep Marching!
Laurie David
Founder
StopGlobalWarming.org
Mundhir