Live Earth\Live Aid and Make Poverty History

It is now summer, the season for the politically inspired pop concert.

The question that is now being asked – is this just another excuse for a good party ?

Take Live Aid, it helped feed those dying in the famine, but it did little to raise the economic prosperity of the people living in a military dictatorship, in fact it made it easier for the Ethiopian government to buy a new fleet of Russian fighter jets for its air force.

Take Make Poverty History; the G8 signed a deal to write-off the debt of eighteen countries, fourteen of them in Africa, which between them owed around $40 billion. Yet given that most of the countries involved had been unable to pay interest on their loans, let alone begin to pay off the loans themselves, the result seemed more like recognition of economic reality than a radical new policy agenda to Make Poverty History.

Take Live Earth which is a world wide event on 7 July. Its website is full of details about the event, where the money will be spent, yet another pet charity. Yet, gives absolutely no information about what, exactly, the climate crisis is, and nothing whatsoever about how a multi-venue pop extravaganza will equip two billion of us to resolve it. Presumably the answer to these questions is assumed to be obvious.

In reality, the debate about the ‘climate crisis’ is far from obvious. There are many who still doubt that it is nearly as severe as is suggested, and there is much argument about exactly how to make sense of the changes in global temperatures that seem to be occurring.

Whilst others have raised important questions about the rather miserabilist proposals that have come to dominate the advice on what we might do about it – from switching our televisions off stand-by to a general reduction in consumption. Live Earth, of course, will have no room for such subtleties.

Nor is there any debate encouraged in how the world will power itself. It is clear the public has to recognise that climate change and the energy question are not separate questions, but interlinked.

All we get are bland sound bites from these events promoters, when the questions and the potential solutions are a far more complicated. Questions about the related economic, strategic, security and political issues are ignored.

Vague solutions are propounded about alternative wind mills etc. The trouble is the world can’t depend on alternative technology alone to resolve its energy and environmental issues. Already many countries are realizing that just depending on alternative technology is not the solution by itself. We will have to follow France, China, Finland and Brazil and make use of both types of trchnology to meet out needs.Already new nuclear and coal power stations are being built in Europe and the rest of the world.

The question the people of Britain have to answer is not a straight choice between alternative versus traditional energy sources.

No the real energy debate is a lot more complicated. Despite the Green’s spin, the question is how much should Britain depend on different types of energy production, where should such plants be located i.e. in the case of nuclear in Britain or France and for coal in England or on the Eastern European coal fields.

My advice, enjoy the concert next month, but expect little form it. I suggest you and your friends start a vigorous and unformed debate about the issues raised. Since Live Earth is likely to achieve little except benefit the wallets of the music industry itself.