EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - It`s hard to imagine a better setting for Live Earth, a.k.a. the Concerts For a Climate in Crisis, than the petrochemical corridor of the New Jersey Turnpike. Riding the train from Penn Station to Secaucus Junction (short of walking, bicycling, or riding a horse through the Lincoln Tunnel it was the only responsible way to get to Giants Stadium), the view out the window was a gray panorama of smokestacks and utility towers. This has to be the ungreenest place on earth. For eight hours on Saturday it was the launch site for what Al Gore, the driving force behind Live Earth, hopes will be a worldwide movement to reverse global warming and save the planet.

Plenty of useful information was imparted during short films and impassioned testimonials, but the spotlight was on the pop stars, who are generally not known as beacons of environmental consciousness. There are exceptions. Dave Matthews sang the praises of cloth diapers and his Prius in addition to the apt cautionary tale `Too Much.` Tunstall, midway through a home renovation, is installing solar panels and sheeps - wool insulation, although her admonition to the crowd to `eat more soil or something` seemed an ill-considered bit of advice. But the image of Ludacris rhyming about gas-guzzling SUVs under the Live Earth banner was almost comical. And then there`s Madonna, who headlined Live Earth`s London show at Wembley Stadium, one of nine concerts on seven continents. Madge has an annual carbon imprint a hundred times greater than that of the average human thanks to her nine homes, fleet of cars, and the exhaust-spewing army of buses, semis, and jets used on tours...

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