Live Earth Culminates With Star-Studded New Jersey Concert

The concerts are backed by Gore, whose campaign to force global warming onto the international political stage inspired the event. At concerts around the world, musicians and celebrities encouraged fans and one another to take little steps, such as not leaving electrical devices plugged in when not in use, or changing to low-energy light bulbs.

The Police, led by frontman Sting — who along with his wife, Trudie Styler, has been active on environmental issues for years — was the last act to perform in the global concert series. They were joined on stage by John Mayer and Kanye West for a version of “Message in a Bottle.”

At the London show, the stadium’s nonessential lights were turned off before the closing act — Madonna — came onstage, leaving the venue dark except for the glow of exit lights and the flashes of cameras.

“Let’s hope the concerts that are happening around the world are not just about entertainment, but about starting a revolution,” said Madonna, who sang a song she wrote for Live Earth called “Hey You.”

The Beastie Boys wore their feelings on their sleeves, performing a furious set of their hits in tailored green suits and shades when they took the stage at Wembley Stadium.

“Let’s all try to do our parts and see if we can get it together,” Beastie Boy Adam Yauch told the crowd.

In New Jersey, rocker Melissa Etheridge pounded out her song “I Need to Wake Up,” which was featured in Gore’s documentary, “An Inconvenient Truth,” and won an Oscar for best song this year.

Gore made a live video appearance from Washington to open the first show on the other side of the world in Sydney, Australia, and a few hours later appeared onstage in Tokyo as a hologram.

The former vice president attended the New Jersey show, taking mass transit from Washington. He called on members of the crowd to commit themselves to a seven-point pledge to combat global warming, including steps such as demanding a moratorium on building new coal-powered plants and fighting for more renewable energy.

“I would like to ask each and every one of you to answer the call,” Gore said.

Organizers promised the huge shows were made green by using recycled goods, shuttling some concertgoers from distant parking lots in bio-diesel buses and using biofuels for generators.

Critics have faulted the Live Earth concerts for lacking clear-cut, achievable goals, and for lauding rock stars whose jet-setting, high-consumption lifestyles can often send a different, less environmentally friendly message.

In London, after fans went home, the stadium’s floor was covered with discarded plastic cups and litter.

Many of the musicians acknowledged that they weren’t rock stars when it came to the environment but said it was important to start a discussion about climate change.

“If you want to peg me as not being entirely eco-friendly, you’ll win,” said John Mayer, speaking to reporters after his set. “I also think it’s very difficult to judge the success of a movement. … You can’t find out by 9 o’clock this evening how much awareness was raised. … What you’re really talking about is the placement of an idea at a rock show.”

Rocker Dave Matthews said he tries to go green by driving a hybrid vehicle that uses less gasoline than other vehicles, and uses cloth diapers for his new baby.

But Matthews admitted he wasn’t perfect.

“I’m flawed. Cows fart and so do I,” he said, referring to methane gas released by cattle that also contributes to global warming.

At other shows around the globe, an estimated 50,000 people grooved through a set by singer-guitarist Jack Johnson, while country stars Garth Brooks and Tricia Yearwood opened the Washington concert and Linkin Park entertained fans at a Tokyo concert.

On Rio’s Copacabana Beach, thousands gathered as the sun set to hear Lenny Kravitz, Macy Gray, Pharrell Williams and Brazilian superstar Jorge Ben Jor. And in Johannesburg, the concert ended with the artists and audience clapping out SOS in morse code — a reference to the evening’s theme of answering the call to save the planet.

The shows appeared to come off without major hitches despite some 11th-hour activity. The concert in Washington was added Friday, and a Brazilian judge rejected a last-minute bid to shut down South America’s concert after a prosecutor had argued safety could not be guaranteed for an audience of 700,000.

At the New Jersey concert, the crowd was dotted with people who heeded the call to wear green. Many said they were already taking steps at home to lead a little more green lifestyle, and felt the concert wasn’t just about music.

“Personally, I think it makes people more aware,” said Sherry Ramsey, 44, who came to the concert with her husband by plane and train. “It was mass transit all the way here.”