More likely than not, you’ve heard of the global musical extravaganza that took place on 07-07-07 around the world. Live Earth was billed as “a 24-hour, 7-continent concert series that will bring together more than 100 music artists and 2 billion people to trigger a global movement to solve the climate crisis”. (visit liveearth.org)

In the tradition of LiveAid, FarmAid, Live8 and others, the concerts hope to catalyze a movement in communal responsibility.

I think of them as The Social Age Concert Series. Music has always brought folks together. Some come for just the music, some come just for the cause. But it’s that middle-grounder — that person who can be influenced, that middle of the Bell Curve — that is become an important listener in “concerts for good”.

What is nice about Live Earth is that it is about more than just giving money. Live Earth is about education, changing behavior and taking action.

SOS is the name of the ongoing messaging campaign and larger movement behind Live Earth (the initiative is lead by Kevin Wall and Al Gore). The focus of the campaign is “to empower individuals to change their consumer behaviors and motivate corporations and political leaders to enact decisive measures to combat the climate crisis. The message of SOS is that everyone, everywhere can and must Answer the Call to solve the climate crisis”.

To assist with the “taking action” part of their mission, SOS/Live Earth have produced a Global Warming Survival Handbook filled with tips to help everyday consumers and citizens deal with and help stop the climate crisis. I found the tip illustrated here to be appropriately “social age” and I wholeheartedly encourage your participation!

Healing the Earth is a huge and important endeavor, and it is hard to imagine that any small change I can make in my life will make one bit of difference. But think about the 2 billions people who listened, tuned in, attended or streamed the Live Earth concert. If only 1% of those people (20,000,000 souls) start doing just one little thing to conserve, recycle, reduce, we actually have a chance to slow down the damage. And for those who are bit more ambitious — companies, social entrepreneurs, investors — who want to have a bigger footprint in SAVING the environment than in HURTING the environment, the opportunities are vast. Socially responsible investors (see post on Dow Jones for The Social Age) consider the long-term upside in companies that are going green now. Venture capitalists are seeing the huge value in new markets in bio-based fuels, renewable energy, carbon-capture and hybrid vehicles. Social Entrepreneurs see that vast systemic change can happen at the intersection of profit and purpose.

I have said before that I believe “The Climate Economy” (my term) is going to be a huge driver in The Social Age. Live Earth proves to be a great vehicle for getting people on board.