We have so much to be excited about Live Earth -- above all, it brought themessage of a climate in crisis to more than 2 billion people worldwide -- andthat's something that even Ann Curry's excruciatingly stupid interviews withAl Gore and Michael Bloomberg couldn't stop.
Thanks to Al Gore, Alicia Keys, and Madonna, there are many more peopletoday who know that the planet is in danger than yesterday, and know thereare simple things they can do about it: change their lightbulbs, "stopdriving so many big-ass cars" (Chris Rock), and even tell our politicalleaders to take action.
The world is a vastly better place for it.
But there was one big thing missing from the concerts: the environmentalmovement.
We heard vital messages about how we can make our personal lives moreeco-friendly, and how political action is necessary, but we didn't hear fromthe organizations that are actually making it happen. Because of that, manypeople won't know the single best way they can make a change: by joiningothers to create collective action.
It's all well and good for millions of people to make changes alone,separate from one another, or to contact their elected representatives witha lonely phone call or late-night email. But real change comes when peopleact together in communities, in nations, and around the world. Politiciansand corporate decision makers aren't afraid of individuals, even whenthere's lots of them; but they tremble at the idea of millions or billionsacting together in an organized fashion.
But amidst the admittedly important calls for unplugging our appliances andturning down the thermostat, we didn't hear anyone telling us to join ourlocal chapter of the Sierra Club or Greenpeace or political organizationslike MoveOn.org that are also mobilizing to face the climate crisis. Theseare the groups that have been fighting the good fight over the long haul --and will continue fighting it beyond the 3-5 year campaign envisioned byLive Earth organizers. They've been saving forests, cleaning up rivers, andgetting people together to make the changes in our homes and in our nationsnecessary to save the planet. But as big and successful as Sierra Club,Greenpeace, MoveOn and others are, they need far more people to have thepower to face down the corporations and politicians who got us into thismess.
That's something that Live Earth hasn't yet delivered -- but it's somethingthat organizers urgently need to do if they're going to build the movementnecessary to save the planet.
Thankfully, Live Earth won't be the end. Organizers know more needs to bedone. To truly realize the awesome potential created by this event, they'llneed to tap people into the environmental movement -- locally, nationally,and globally. They can start by emailing, texting, and calling all those whogot involved through this spectacular event, and letting them know what theycan to join the organizations making the difference on the ground.
That's what the movement needs, that's what the planet needs, and that'swhat can make Live Earth remembered as the truly transformative event we allhope it was.
To help, here's how you can get started: