Another Green Monday
"There is only one Ocean for everyone and everything." That's the sentence that reads at the beginning of a new page on Pearl Jam's official website called simply, "Oceans".
Pearl Jam "Oceans" is an attempt to raise awareness on the efforts of various organizations working diligently on ocean preservation. In addition it features tips, tools and resources for anyone interested in protecting and preserving this precious resource.
It's also a place where the band can talk about what they're doing for ocean preservation and for the Gulf of Mexico in light of the BP oil disaster. The first such action the band is taking is to donate proceeds from the U.S. sale of their new video "Amongst the Waves" to benefit Conservation International's Ocean Campaign. The video, which is a beautiful look at our oceans, was described by one online entertainment site as, "like a four-minute vacation right there on your computer, with a Pearl Jam concert thrown in." But being that this is Pearl Jam, the message wasn't sparred. The video ends with haunting images of the BP oil spill.
Pearl Jam Oceans from Pearl Jam on Vimeo.
Mind you, this is a band that is far from foreign to the subject manner. Pearl Jam's first album in 1991, "Ten", featured a track called "Oceans" which had a video shot for it - one of the very few Pearl Jam music videos to actually feature the band (aside from spliced concert footage of recent videos). From then on, the band, especially Eddie Vedder has demonstrated how the ocean has been a source of creativity. Some artists use other elements like fire or air, whereas Pearl Jam always goes back to the powerful force and topic of water. So much so, that in September of 2009 (video link [warning: a few cuss words]) when the band debuted a song with ocean references in it called "Force of Nature", Eddie mentioned that they were playing all of the "ocean songs" but then said, "not really, because that would be a six-hour show."
And then there's BP and the ocean. In 2007 Ed Ved and the gang went off the cuff at Lollapalooza and sang a steering rendition of "Dont' Go BP Amoco" - that clip is suddenly YouTube famous and has even inpsired a modern remix.
Which kind of brings it all full circle to the release of this new video for "Amongst the Waves". Check it out, enjoy the imagery and then get ticked off at the end. Visit Pearl Jam's site "Oceans" and see what you can do and what's being done. And never let this disaster slip far from your mind. This is only the beginning. Or is it the end? We hope not, and we hope Eddie and Pearl Jam will continue to get inspiration from the ocean - a clean ocean that is. Oh and if all the above links weren't enough for your Pearl Jam fix, here's a new song called "Of the Earth" that was debuted in Ireland last week. Enjoy!
Is it too early to start critiquing the 2014 Olympics? We didn't think so either. If you're on the fence, this abuse of nature ought to change your mind. "Russia will use cloud-seeding techniques to prevent rain and ensure ideal snow conditions during the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi," it was announced last week. According to the AP, "Cloud-seeding is a common weather tactic in Russia. The practice, which dates back to Soviet times, involves releasing silver iodide and dry ice particles into clouds. The clouds then disperse or release precipitation." If nature had rights. Read more of this story HERE.
How BP destroyed democracy in Iran. One of DTE’s favorite publications is Mother Jones and the latest issue has a piece titled “BP in the Gulf - The Persian Gulf.” It’s a story that has received little attention. The crux is that if the angered Americans who are outraged by the corporate recklessness that let the spill happen in the first place and the images of gushing oil, well, if you know Iranian history this wouldn’t be such a shock. “The history of the company we now call BP has, over the last 100 years, traced the arc of transnational capitalism. Its roots lie in the early years of the twentieth century when a wealthy bon vivant named William Knox D'Arcy decided, with encouragement from the British government, to begin looking for oil in Iran. He struck a concession agreement with the dissolute Iranian monarchy, using the proven expedient of bribing the three Iranians negotiating with him.” If Iran was heading towards a nationalist path, the British were quick to pushback, including a complete overthrow of the government. In 1951, the CIA even deposed Mohammad Mossadegh, a prime minister who promised oil profits to develop Iran, not enrich Britain. Full story HERE.
(Side note for those interested in a unique take on Iranian history, here comes a quick Monday morning plug: Read or see Persepolis.)
The roof! The roof! The roof is on fire! On a recent trip to Brooklyn, DTE went to a rooftop party at Greenpoint and could see little farma on top of nearby apartments. Our first thought: Why not Spokane? Props to our "small yet mighty" local blog the Spovangelist for beating the venerable Grist at the exact same topic!
From Grist: "In some ways the rooftop garden is the poster child for urban farming: clean, beautiful, with views, and atop the very thing that makes a city a city -- big buildings with flat roofs. Their aesthetic and conceptual efficiency make them appealing vehicles for promoting the growing of food in urban environments."
