Arts and Culture

Live Earth in Shanghai

Can music save our planet?

Probably not, but hopefully it’ll get people in China thinking about saving the planet.

The Live Earth concert in Shanghai features nine acts, who will perform on the steps of the Oriental Pearl Tower, which is hardly the most environmentally friendly building in the world, or China, or even Shanghai, for that matter. (Not to be confused with the proposed “zero-energy” Pearl River Tower in Guangzhou.) The blog “Mad About Shanghai” uses the pink and purple space-age structure as a backdrop for its Air Pollution Index photos, dubbed the “Oriental Pearl Tower Visability Index.”

If you didn’t realize already, China is DIRTY. Pollution kills 460,000 Chinese a year, according to the World Bank, which also said China is home to 16 of the world’s 20 most polluted cities. A recent Bank conference study found that health costs of air and water pollution in China amount to about 4.3 percent of the country’s GDP.

Maybe Live Earth will change some people’s habits, the Shanghai Daily reports.

Practicing the Live Earth message, tissues and hand soap used at the concert site will be recycled, and volunteers will pick up litter around the site. To encourage more people to take public transport, the organizer changed the concert time from 8pm to 7pm to make sure those who attend can catch the last Metro train home.

Can’t attend the concert in Shanghai but still want to participate? Check out Live Earth’s official Web site and blog.

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