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• About The Live Earth Global Warming Survival Handbook

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Tavis: David de Rothschild is the founder of Sculpt the Future, a nonprofit environmental foundation, and one of the people behind the upcoming global concert event, "Live Earth." The multi-continent concert takes place on July 7 and includes artists like Madonna, The Police, Kanye West, Alicia Keys and many, many more. He's out this month with a companion book to the "Live Earth" event called "The Live Earth Global Warming Survival Handbook" and, David de Rothschild, an honor to have you on the program.

David de Rothschild: Pleasure to be here.

Tavis: Good to see you.

de Rothschild: Good to see you.

Tavis: We'll talk about the book in a second. Tell me first about the concert, the idea for it, where it came from, how we're going to pull this thing off. It's pretty massive.

de Rothschild: It's huge. I mean, it's a global event. As you said, seven continents, seven concerts, twenty-four hours of programming. I mean, the day is going to be phenomenal.

It's the brainchild of Kevin Wall who's the promoter who founded the concert after seeing Al Gore's movie. He was so inspired that he said, "You know what? I'm going to dedicate a year of my life. I'm going to go out and I'm going to do something huge." He's created something huge.

Tavis: What continent will you be on?

de Rothschild: I'm going to be on this continent. I'm going to be in America and I'm looking forward to it. There's so much talent involved. There's over a hundred bands. The Police, I think, are playing in New York. I'm excited. I can't wait to actually get to the concert. There's been a big buildup.

Tavis: Tell me what you think of using these kinds of events. Obviously, you support it, but does the staging of these kind of events ultimately help get the word out about global warming?

de Rothschild: I think it does. I think global warming is - we hear about it in the media. Now it seems to be a buzz word, but is it really getting out there to a mass audience, I think is the question. So the "Live Earth" event is the start.

It's trying to create momentum on a mass scale, so it's using a very clever media structure to get all this content and this messaging from different high-profile acts to individuals out to the masses. Two billion people have the potential to see this, to actually kick-start and to start thinking about "What does global warming mean to me as an individual?"

Tavis: To your point now, do you think that most people understand yet what that concept, global warming, is and what it means?

de Rothschild: It's a hard concept. I mean, it's not just a singular concept. There's not just one issue and there's no silver bullet. You can't just say, "That's what we're going to do and that's going to fix it." I mean, it's a multitude of things that make up our systems, our weather systems and our patterns and our climates. So I think there's a lot more.

That was sort of part of the reason of trying to create this companion book. It was to try and tie it in to say to some individuals, "You know, here are some facts. You've heard the top line in the media. This is now what you can do and understand it in bite-size pieces."

Tavis: To your point now about bite-size pieces, I sometimes wonder whether on issues like this - and we can run a litany of issues where I feel similarly - where the issue seems to be so massive that people don't think that they can get their arms around it.

de Rothschild: I agree. I mean, it is a huge issue. You know, when you say things like, "Well, refuse a plastic bag in a store," you go, "How is that going to stop the ice cap from slipping off? Or how am I going to really, by just walking to work one day a week, is that really going to make a difference?" I think it can become overwhelming.

When it becomes overwhelming and you hear all these negative issues coming out the whole time, it leads sometimes to a sense of despair. So I think we have to focus on the opportunities. We have to focus on optimism. We have to focus on showing individuals that they can actually make a difference, and then I think we can take this challenge on.

Tavis: How were the acts chosen who are going to participate on these seven continents? I ask that only because I wonder how much education had to be done to enlighten the persons who are performing about the importance of this.

de Rothschild: You know, I haven't been directly involved with selecting the acts. I would have been a fun job, but I didn't have that job (laughter). I think you'll find that most of the artists who are involved are doing it because they feel a real responsibility in a sense. I mean, let's not forget that this is an issue that really connects to everyone. It hits everybody.

So all of these artists, whether they've got kids or whether they don't, they're being touched by it. I think that's what's so amazing. There's a real unity in all the artists to perform, to give something back, to try and kick-start this movement which is the "Live Earth" movement.

Tavis: Tell me how you got so fascinated by the issue to the point of becoming a crusader for it. I'm always interested in the backstory of how people came to be passionate about these subjects.

de Rothschild: Well, I think I was just curious. You know, to be completely honest, I have to thank my teachers at school. I was the kid at school that you would never want your kid to sit next to because I was a distraction. I was always looking out the window.

Tavis: You're a Rothschild. That could not be the case.

de Rothschild: Oh, come on. I was this and it doesn't matter what your name is, you can still be curious, and I was curious. I was looking out the window nonstop. My teachers would say, "Right, come on, out." So I have to thank my teachers in a way and say that it was them almost not engaging me that made me so interested in what was going on outside the window. So that natural curiosity drove me to be outside, to be in the natural environment, and feeling a sense of connection.

I think nowadays that kids can talk to you about certain issues about what might be going on in the Amazon, but when is the last time they actually went to play in the woods? Or when was the last time they went and jumped in a street or got involved in the outdoor world? So that to me was my catalyst. That was where I certainly felt - you know, I feel passionate about this and I want to do something. I want to commit myself to trying to make a difference.

Tavis: Speaking of your being a curious kid, around the world, we know the name, of course, of your family, internationally known, the Rothschilds. What kind of reaction do you get in a family like yours when you say that I'm not going to the family business, but I'm going to become a crusader for global warming?

de Rothschild: You know, it's helped that now it's mainstream media (laughter). I would say that, you know, five years ago and I would be saying I've got these ideas about, you know, I'd think there was a bit of, "He's doing what?" They weren't quite sure. I think my dad and my mom have always been like, "You go out there and you do your own thing. You know, you need to make your own name your own way and it will taste so much better if you do it yourself."

So I've always been someone who has been driven by creating something for myself and not really being bound by what my family thinks. Although I look for the support of my family, I've always been somebody who's really kind of gone and done it, you know, for myself.

Tavis: Let's talk specifically about the text, the companion book, "The Live Earth Global Warming Survival Handbook." In it there are seventy-seven essential skills to stop climate change or live through it. That distinction, stop it or live through it, means what?

de Rothschild: Stop it or live through it. Well, you know, it started out as saying, you know, how do we actually connect people to these issues, as we were just saying? I mean, there's a big problem with it feeling overwhelming. I wanted to write something that was going to be focusing on a skill-set as an individual.

It came from this point of view of actually saying we wanted to start the book saying that it's 2065 and we didn't listen to the warnings. What skills would you need to know in order to survive if we don't listen to these warnings that we're getting now? Would I know how to build a raft? Would I know how to grow my own food? Would I know how to barter? So that's where the genesis, you know, the whole idea of the project came.

There is a big difference, I guess, between living through it and stopping it. I think we have the tools right now to stop it. We can't change the world, but we can really slow this disaster that could be looming on the horizon if we don't do anything. So this is a combination of things that you can do.

Tavis: I wonder whether or not, given your travels around the world and also given that there are seven continents involved in this "Live Earth" concert on July 7, you have picked up on or been able to figure out whether or not there are certain parts of the globe that are dealing more aggressively or better with the issue of global warming than other parts of the world. Does that make sense?

de Rothschild: Yeah, it makes a great deal of sense because what we've got is a global issue, but we need local solutions. But it means very different things. I mean, if you just take the locations of the concerts, you know, climate change can mean something very different in South Africa as it does in London. It's very different in China as it is in the United States.

We talk about things in the developed world as these are issues that may happen in 2030 or 2040. They're happening now. You go to the Arctic and the ice is melting. Communities are having to move. You go into the Himalayas. Glaciers are retreating. Water systems are drying up. So we're seeing and feeling it now.

I think some countries, you know, the big countries that are the big emitters, many of the G8 countries, those are the countries which need to really take control and lead from the front so that the more developing countries that are struggling just to get ahead have an opportunity as well.

Tavis: You just listed three or four very good examples that indicate that global warming is a real and legitimate issue, which raised two questions for me. Number one, the examples you gave were good examples, but you said if you go here, if you go to the Himalayas, if you go here, if you go here. I think that may be part of the problem. Until it impacts people right where they are or at least they see it impacting them, again, difficult to get your arms around.

de Rothschild: Yeah, exactly.

Tavis: I mean, we're not hanging out in the Himalayas, man.

de Rothschild: No, of course.

Tavis: You are, but I'm not.

de Rothschild: Exactly. It's out of sight, out of mind that's very easy. You know, I've been there. I've been fortunate enough to experience that. Then I come back and that's over there somewhere. That's miles away. I can't even compute with that anymore. So it is about localizing it. And we're seeing stuff happening.

I mean, you know, look at what's happening now across America, for example. Where are the bees going? People say, "Well, you mean there's going to be no more honey in the morning when I wake up?" No, bees pollinate. You know, a host of things. They're responsible for putting food on our table. I mean, so it's just simple understanding of what's going on around us. There are water issues throughout the country. Parts of your country haven't had rain for years now.

So I think you're right. I think it is sometimes very easy to say that it's happening over there and to shut the door on it, but I think we're going to start feeling the pinch. I mean, Katrina was a great example of that. That brought it home to America, for example, you know, whether it be tsunamis, whether it be continued hurricanes. We're going to see more environmental disasters occurring, unfortunately, and I think will keep the message coming back to us.

Tavis: One other issue that is not abating, at least not at the moment, is this debate about whether or not global warming is even a real issue. We could have started our conversation here.

What do you make of the fact that, for persons who are even reasonably enlightened, if you turn on the television, you turn on the radio, you pick up a paper or a magazine, there are still - with all due respect to Al Gore and his Academy Award - there's still a huge debate about whether or not global warming is real. I wonder to what extent that makes people question whether or not this is some attempt by a certain segment of our society to push something that just doesn't even exist.

de Rothschild: You know, one of the tips in the book is "Convince a skeptic" and there are a lot of skeptics out there. You know, there will be a lot of people who say, "This is cyclical." We've been through this before. I would say that's just a distraction and I would say that you're right.

You know, there has been debate, but the scientific community who unfortunately sometimes aren't great at communicating the issues, they are all without a doubt some of the best scientists who are saying this is happening a lot faster than we predicted. What's happening is, somewhere along the line, we are getting a communication loss.

You know, I don't like bad news. Same as you don't like bad news. If somebody says to me, "I don't think this actually exists. It's a ploy to tax us more. It's a ploy because somebody wants to make some money," then I kind of go, "Actually, I've got enough problems in my everyday life. I would prefer to pretend that it doesn't exist."

I think it's easy to spread that it's not happening, but it is happening, and whichever way you look at it, whether it's a cyclical trend or whether it's related directly to human beings or not, our planet is changing and, unless we do something about it, it won't be able to support us for much longer.

Tavis: This book is a companion to the "Live Earth" concerts that you'll see on seven continents on July 7. The book is called "The Live Earth Global Warming Survival Handbook." It is written by environmentalist David de Rothschild. David, nice to have you here.

de Rothschild: Thank you very much.

Tavis: All the best to you.

de Rothschild: Good to see you.

Tavis: My pleasure.