It really gets my goat when people who don’t believe in science — e.g., Fox News — make fun of Al Gore and call him a hypocrite for flying around the world giving his presentations on climate change. That’s one guy flying commercial airlines that were headed that way anyway, and when he gets where he’s going, he uses a projector and a PowerBook to deliver a very important message from a very credible source: not a major waste of resources.

Dave Matthews, on the other hand, came to Atlanta to hold a “green concert,” and to that end, according to the email from the Midtown Neighbors Association, we were in for some lifestyle restrictions:

Because this is a green concert promoting environmental awareness, the use of automobiles in Midtown will be frowned upon on this Saturday, especially in areas near Piedmont Park. Please plan errands accordingly and walk/bike everywhere you can! And in the process think of ways to live more car-free - we Americans have been spoiled on excessive oil consumption and cheap gas prices for too long.

Hey, I have an idea: why doesn’t Dave G-damn Matthews think of ways to give concerts more truck- and bus- and generator-free! For three days leading up to the concert, my street and the Piedmont Park Meadow were covered with trucks, buses, generator-powered streetlights, and all manner of workmen moving fences, stage construction materials, port-a-potties, trailers, and other accoutrement around in preparation for an environmental extravaganza that would surely leave our newly re-landscaped park in muddy ruins. Preventing the inflow of traffic for several blocks didn’t save any gas, either, because naturally no one used our pathetic public transportation system; it just displaced the parking nightmares a few hundred yards.

Absolutely brilliant.

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