FIGHTING GLOBAL WARMING WITH A ROCK CONCERT IS LIKE FIGHTING OBESITY WITH A HOT DOG-EATING CONTEST*

For years, fear mongers have been telling us carbon dioxide emissions caused by our use of energy have created a greenhouse effect that's warming the planet at a rapid and dangerous rate. Yet these people are not the least bit concerned about the amount of carbon and useless hot air that will be spewed into the heavens as a direct result of Live Earth.

The energy needed to power the site of just one venue -- there will be at least seven -- will be enormous. Matt Helders, the perspicacious drummer for the English rock group Arctic Monkeys, which will not be playing at any of the sites, noted that the stage lighting alone will burn "enough power for 10 houses."

The stars can't be expected to walk or bike to the venues, so there's all the jetting around, and it adds up. On their last world tour, Live Earth participant Red Hot Chili Peppers belched 220 tons of CO2 into the skies from their private jet over six months, according to the London Daily Mail. That's more than 20 times what an average person in the developed world will emit in a year.

And don't forget all the gas-guzzling trucks needed to transport the equipment and fume-exhaling buses that idle stage-side, keeping the rock heroes cool as they await their moments in the sun.

Then there's all the garbage that will be generated by the admiring crowds. Two years ago, the Live 8 concert in London produced 150 tons of trash, which had to be picked up and hauled away by vehicles that burn carbon-based fuel.

Oh, and did we mention that General Motors, a multinational company that builds those greenhouse gas-belching contraptions that worry the environmentalists so much, is a sponsor on NBC's overwrought coverage?