Ouch!

With lyrics like…

West Virginia coal gonna take you on a ride,
Gonna take you to the city to the shore and countryside,
Gonna let you work your magic and your power and your pride,
West Virginia coal, you’re on your way!
From the coal found deep in the dark today, we come up with the light for America! America!

…those of us who care for clean air and water (etc.) might as well give up our cause!

Unless…unless we can come up with a ringtone to combat this viral mega (read: mini) hit.

Sarcasm aside, I put together a list of ten (and certainly there are many more) environmentally-themed ringtones–let’s call ‘em earthtones–to fight Big Coal’s itty bitty ditty. The beauty of these earthtones is that you are not forced to buy the section of the song that the ringtone provider chooses for you. mSpot.com allows you to pick whatever coal-hating or earth-loving part you’d like to cut (up to 30 seconds) to say “In your face West Virginia Coal Association!” or “In your face asthma-related deaths!” or “In your face mercury-filled fish!”…

1. Mother Earth by Neil Young
Ringtone I’d cut:
Oh, freedom land
Can you let this go
Down to the streets
where the numbers grow
Respect Mother Earth
and her giving ways
Or trade away
our children’s days
Or trade away
our children’s days.

2. Mercy Mercy Me by Marvin Gaye
Ringtone I’d cut:
Oh, mercy mercy me
Oh, things ain’t what they used to be
No, no
Where did all the blue skies go?
Poison is the wind that blows
From the north and south and east

3. 3 R’s by Jack Johnson
Ringtone I’d cut:
We’ve got to learn to
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

4. Big Yellow Taxi by Joni Mitchell
Hey farmer, farmer
Put away that DDT now
Give me spots on my apples
But LEAVE me the birds and the bees
Please!
or
They took all the trees
And put them in a tree museum
Then they charged the people
A dollar and a half just to see ‘em
Don’t it always seem to go,
That you don’t know what you’ve got
‘Til it’s gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot

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There are games and puzzles, coloring pages and support material for educators.  You can even get ring tones! The call to action is also handle with aplomb and humor.  And when called to shop for branded items, Hippoworks smartly teams up with Wildlife Works to deliver its characters on organic, fair-trade eco tees. 

You can grab the code to put these smart cartoonlets on your own site or sign up to have them delivered to your inbox.  Start with “Extinction Sucks,”  it’s a great one to forward on to your friends and has a t-shirt to match it!

You can feel good about viewing Hippoworks; their webserver is powered by “wind, sun and poop!”

The New Mexico-based Center for Biological Diversity has turned a library of endangered species sounds into free, downloadable ringtones. The institute wants to utilize mobile media, which has already had an influence on other political and social campaigns. They're hoping that the rare and endangered species ringtones will get the younger generation interested in learning more about these species, and hopefully to bring awareness and action to their cause.

The land and marine animal selection is a bit limited, but there are a wide variety of owl and frog sounds, and a few South American birds listed. But the options will grow as new recordings are submitted to the center. The poison arrow dart frog will soon be added after their scientist gets back from recording it in the jungles of Panama.

After listening to a few sounds online I was curious as to how loud the "ring" would be. Don't let the seemingly soft Mp3 preview fool you. Once on the phone they come through loud and clear.

I downloaded the Orca and the Ash-breasted Tit-Tyrant. It took a couple of minutes for the SMS to come through (and there are options specifically for Verizon wireless customers, including knowing what model of phone you have), but the process was simple.

Now when I get a call (Orca) or a text (the Tit-Tyrant), I'll be able to share a few facts about the species and get people thinking about nature for a few minutes in their day.

Listen and download endangered species ringtones.

Via Environmental News Network