Al Gore's Call to Action

There's been some concern that the upcoming Live Earth concerts on July 7 will be merely a campaign to "raise awareness" of global warming.

At a New York City press conference on Thursday, Al Gore and Live Earth producer Kevin Wall (pictured at right) unveiled what they call an action plan to combat the climate crisis, including 100 "simple actions people can take in their daily lives." They also are asking people to support a 90% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2050 and to support a comprehensive international treaty on global warming by 2009. (Full details on the 7-point pledge are here.) Those who sign on are given an array of immediate instructions like changing lightbulbs to riding the bus.

"If enough people come together to fight against the climate crisis, corporations and governments will have no choice to act as well," Wall said.

Among those who quickly signed the pledge: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

Besides the concerts, more than 6,000 parties in 119 countries are being held.

"The general theory behind Live Earth is we need to get this information about the crisis and solutions to it to every person on the planet, as many of them as we can reach," Gore told the AP. "And then they will, armed with knowledge, put pressure on all political leaders."

Naturally, Gore denied that he was running for office, but he said, "If this campaign is successful, it will put pressure on all of the candidates for every office in all parties to do the right thing on the climate."

Photo: WireImage.