Don't ever say we never did anything for you. On Saturday, while you were cavorting in the surf, grilling organic free-range meat on the barbecue (or is that barbecuing meat on the grill?), or kicking back with a good book in the sweet, sweet air conditioning, Grist was sweating at Live Earth New York. Er, New Jersey. Whatever. We suffered through sets by Ludacris, Melissa Etheridge, Roger Waters, and the Police to report back -- to YOU, dear Grist reader -- from the front lines of global eco-activism. Or something like that. Check back soon for my report from the …

If not, here it is. Man that's cool. I wish we had one of Chip standing on his head.

I'm watching the Live Earth coverage on NBC, and I've got to say, I'm impressed. It's really well done -- concert highlights intermixed with artist and celeb interviews, and plenty of easy tips on how to take action at home. For those on the East Coast, it's too late -- but West Coasters, tune in! I was struck by two performances -- both of Marvin Gaye's 1971 hit "Mercy, Mercy Me" (one by Alicia Keys in New York and one by John Legend and Corinne Bailey Rae duetting in London). As Keys mentioned in her intro, the song is still …

Usually when I roll out of bed and into the shower in the morning, I'm too lethargic to remember to wash between my toes, let alone analyze the prose on my bottle of soap. Which is probably why I never paid attention to the thousand-some-odd words printed all over the Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap bottle. Upon closer, wakeful inspection, those words are frickin' nuts.   Case in point: "ENJOY ONLY 2 COSMETICS, enough sleep & Dr. Bronner's 'Magic Soap' to clean body-mind-spirit instantly uniting One! All-One!" Which is probably what prompted filmmaker Sara Lamm to find out more about this …

... if you're in Sydney, that is. But thankfully, even if you're not in Australia -- or Shanghai or London or New York Jersey -- you can still catch all the Live Earth goodness. Here's how: Log on to MSN's Live Earth site, where they'll be streaming the concerts as they happen. They've also got plenty of other video up to amuse you during downtime between performances. Flip on your XM radio if you're a subscriber, or log online if you're not (register for a free three-day trial), to access all of the concerts in their entirety. Check out "Live …

Today, On the Ball brings you Olympics, Olympics, Olympics! And, if you read far enough, a reflection on undergarments. Beijing photo: vizzo via Flickr As we are now officially more than halfway through 2007, Beijing is getting all geared up for its Olympic games, to be held Aug. 8-24, 2008. On Wednesday, there were numerous reports of the city's upcoming plan to test how removing cars from the road affects air quality. Specifically, for two weeks next month, 1 million cars will be taken off the road in Beijing. From what I can tell, the ban will be enforced on …

Remember how Gore wanted to have the U.S. Live Earth concert in Washington, D.C., on the National Mall? And then Inhofe was all "it's partisan, you can't do it, neiner, neiner." And then Gore was all "fine, we'll have it at Giants Stadium in New Jersey." And then Inhofe was all "fine!" And then they both slammed their doors. Yeah, good times. Well, now, Gore's all "Ha, ha, sucka, we worked around your whole 'partisan' bullshit, and we're having a concert on the Mall anyway!" OK, not really. But sorta. Let me explain: Al Gore announced Friday a surprise Live …

If you want to learn more about hybrids, or uh, at least Toyota's take on hybrids, the company is on a "Highway to the Future" national tour to hook some more folks on their line of hybrid cars, talk about alternative fuels, and offer some ideas about reducing your carbon footprint. And as we learned this week, you can get them up to 100 miles per hour, if you're into that sort of thing. Also, they're quickly becoming the biggest status symbol on the block, for whatever that's worth. And for the other Brokeasses out there who fantasize about Priuses …

Before you pay others to reduce their emissions on your behalf, you need to do everything reasonably possible to reduce your own emissions first. As the saying goes, "Physician, heal thyself," before presuming to heal other people. This rule is so obvious I almost forgot it. And yet many people, including Google and PG&E, don't seem to get it. The whole point of offsets is not to make you feel good, and it's not to allow you to continue polluting as much as you want (by, say, supporting new coal plants or other dirty forms of power). Offsets are cheap …

The Beastie Boys are (L to R) MCA, Adrock, and Mike D. Photo: Jennifer Hall "I'm recording [this interview] so I can send the tapes to Jerry Lewis; he archives all of my interviews," Beastie Boy Mike D deadpanned at the other end of the phone line. "In addition to being an all-around comedian and famous in France, he's very much a stickler for recording interviews." It was a bizarre response to my routine opener about recording interviews, but perhaps not entirely unexpected. I'd read that the hip-hop punk-rockers -- known for hits like "Brass Monkey," "Fight for Your Right …