It's just too easy to be cynical about events such as Live Earth, questioning the motives of millionaire rock stars and pouring scorn on the rallying cry to hug a polar bear.
Like me, you may have wondered how many performers at the weekend's eco-rockstravaganza actually unplugged the mini bars in their luxury hotels in order to cut down on greenhouse gas emissions.
But what if Madonna and James Blunt are right: that global warming is a reality and that, in the words of fellow performers Spinal Tap, Planet Earth really is going to be "warmer than hell"?
The problem for so many of us is that it seems impossible to take any practical steps to avert impending Armageddon. I accept my own home is as energy efficient as a centrally heated Wendy house but the fact remains that I cannot afford to get it insulated/cavity wall filled/rebuilt in mud and nettles.
I've seen all the blurb - a small investment now will save a fortune in the future on my gas and leccy bill. But it's not exactly a small investment - it's actually several hundred quid - and I haven't got several hundred quid to spare. If I did, the Government would have already recouped it and given it to a terrorist to help him pay for his legal aid bill.
These things accepted, I can't help feeling it is a cop-out to do nothing. Surely even a stealth-taxed individual can do something for the polar bears and help to ease acid rain in Walsall.
You bet they can. I took just a few minutes to jot down some ideas with my new lump of chalk and renewable slate. This is what I came up with:
Wee in the shower - derided as a social no-no, this saves on flushing the loo and urine has antiseptic properties aiding plug hole cleanliness. Gargle with it for gum problems
Rob the allotments - why incur unnecessary air miles eating Kenyan beans when you can swipe fresh produce from retired folk? Statistics suggest prosecutions for cauliflower and broad bean theft are non-existent
Forage for road kill - all sorts of interesting organic produce turn up in the gutters, from rats and squirrels to domestic pets and winged vermin (pigeons). Stun your dinner party guests and bolster your green credentials with a casserole of newly mown down Canada geese. Better still, squish them under the wheels of your very own Hollywood-style hybrid.
Throw a sickie - think of the fossil fuels you can save by sitting on your backside while telling the office you've got "one of those really nasty viruses that are doing the rounds". Simply ring in, turn off and cop out
Get a larder - the ultimate in eco counter-culture chic. Larders were good enough for the English gentry and help to build up your family's natural resistance to potentially fatal bacteria, giving loved ones a fighting chance in the event of later hospital admission. Fact: no one in Upstairs, Downstairs ever caught MRSA. Larders have no carbon emissions, no power usage and there's no need to defrost before going on a tree-planting holiday in the Amazon basin
Drink English wine - not only does wine extend your life, prevent cancer, fight cholesterol and get you tipsy, it is also the most ethical fluid in the world. It requires grapes, sun, occasional rainfall, a pair of feet (for crushing) and time. Croatian wine experts say conditions on the left bank of the M6 near Ikea are ideal for cultivation.
There you go. Six practical ways to combat global warming, none of which requires watching Madonna cavorting at Wembley with a couple of gipsies. Tell Al Gore I told you.