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Lo returns with green message

After more than a decade away from show business, Canto-pop singer and composer Lowell Lo Koon-ting is planning a 'carbon offset' comeback concert and is calling on other local entertainers to run more environmentally friendly shows.

Lo (right) returns to the stage on May 16 and 17 at the Hong Kong Coliseum, where he will perform classic and modern numbers with singers such as Justin Lo Ting-wei and George Lam Chi-cheung.

But if the lyrics of Lo's songs sound familiar, his concert's green message could strike a new chord in Canto-pop.

A three-hour concert can waste up to 12,000 watts of electricity, said Lo, who has become an environmental activist and also runs an organic shop, Green Earth Society, in Sai Kung with his wife.

'I am probably the first Chinese who has applied this [carbon offset] concept to concerts,' he said.

'I hired an Australian company to calculate the energy consumption of all of the concerts. I will invest an equivalent amount of money into projects which develop renewable energy like solar and wind energy to offset the energy used at the concerts.'

Lo urged other singers and businesses to offset their carbon footprint. 'Some big businesses have already,' he said. 'Say, for a trip from London to New York, they'll pay HK$160 for the [environmental] damage they've caused. Compared to the tens of thousands of dollars that a business class ticket costs, it's not that much money. If you have extra money, please do something good.'

Lo said he has named his concert 2050 because he said that if man survives the effects of global warming by that year then the race will live for another century.

'Scientists have proved that with every one degree Celsius rise in temperature, we lose 10 per cent of food in our food chain,' he said. 'Twenty years ago, climate change was a concept but now it is for real. We can all feel it. We don't have time for any more empty talk, we need to take action ... now.'

Lo said he has recovered from a debilitating illness, multiple chemical sensitivity, that gave him palpitations and caused seizures at night. He said he was depressed when specialists said they didn't know what was wrong with him.

'I didn't have a good night's sleep for four years,' said Lo. 'I wanted to die.'

But despite his dyslexia, he researched his symptoms and learned how chemicals can damage the central nervous system. One book, Home Safe Home, by Debra Lynn Dadd, saved his life, he said. Inspired by its advice on how to remove toxic products from homes, Lo took down the curtains in his bedroom and felt much better. He then repainted his walls with organic paint, embarked on a natural diet and lifestyle, and has fitted solar panels on the roof of his Sai Kung home to halve his household electricity consumption.

'Life can be very simple,' he said. 'You don't need to own 20 or 30 pairs of shoes to be happy. We are promoting a urban-style green living. It's not practical to ask you to ride a horse to work or grow your own food, but if everyone contributes a small part, it is going to make a miracle.'

2050 Lowell Lo in Concert, May 16-17, 8.15pm, Hong Kong Coliseum, Hung Hom, HK$100-HK$480 Urbtix. Inquiries: 2862 5258

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