Most teenagers are busy texting their friends or playing video games. Not Angela Primbas. This teen is taking matters into her own hands when it comes to pollution. She and two friends of hers have formed Save Our Streams (S.O.S.), and new group dedicated to stopping the pollution of their backyard streams and the entire Lake Erie Watershed.

Says Angela,

When I was a kid, I can remember seeing a sign that was posted on one of the beaches at Lake Erie that said the beach was closed to swimming because of pollution. That was a big wake-up call for me. I also learned about pollution in my seventh-grade science class. Environmental issues weren’t really part of my school’s curriculum, but I was lucky enough to have a science teacher who really cared about the environment and shared with us some facts about pollution. Between those two avenues, I learned about the toll that pollution is having on our community.

You can read more of the interview with Angela at Mother Nature Network.

Image via NeilsPhotography on Flickr.

Continued from Greening Your Groove.

The environmental movement has been rolling along fast this year, and rocking to boot. A green rhythm is beating in the heart of today’s music scene and music lovers young and old have their fingers on its pulse.

This summer, the SOS Live Earth Concert brought together musicians to stages around the world for one glorious day of music and festivities. The message: take personal action to reduce our species’ impact on the environment, and encourage governments and business leaders to follow. These round-the-world concerts were not an isolated, one-time event. Many of the artists who performed, as well as others, are making a concerted effort to help the environment, and grow concern for the well-being of the planet.

Some environmentally in-tune musicians hold benefit concerts; some even tour by bicycle or biofueled bus. Most incorporate environmental messages into their lyrics. When you buy music from the following artists or go to their concerts, you’ll be supporting the work they do for the environment. Whether you’re looking for green concerts or music festivals, discovering new bands, wondering what issues musicians care about, or looking for music with a message about the Earth for your children, you’ll find it in the list and links below.

Green(er) Music Festivals

Tennesse’s Bonnaroo Music and Art Festival website says, "The future of our planet is a big deal for Bonnaroo - and it should be for you, too." ‘Rooers are encouraged to offset their travel to the concert and have the option to buy organic foods and natural products. The festival also uses biodiesel generators on some of its stages, and offers 2,000 recycling bins throughout the concert grounds. Read more here.

Seattle’s Bumbershoot is made green with biodiesel generators, clean energy from the Seattle City Light, no Styrofoam, an optional $2 donation to offset carbon, and a plethora of information about how to get to and from the event by bicycle or public transportation.

Chicago’s Lollapalooza: organic local foods, bio-fuel, recycling, bicycle resources, and compostables make lolla green. There’s even a section called "Green Street" where concertgoers can learn more agout how to take action to improve the environment.

San Francisco’s Power to the Peaceful showcases artists with environmentally progressive messages. It also recycles and encourages listeners from out of town to stay in the Serrano Hotel, a member of the California Green Lodging Program.

Austin’s South by Southwest festival is offsetting its carbon footprint, giving tips on getting to and from the festival sans car, and donating $5,000 to plant trees.

Vans Warped Tour has a set of "Warped Eco Initiatives" (WEI) that it hopes will help it to become more environmentally friendly and to encourage eco awareness. Biodiesel, green catering, and solar-powered sound systems top the list of green highlights at this seriously wicked music fest. Read more here.

Green Musicians by Genre

Alternative

Will Thom Yorke of Radiohead be the eraser of global warming? He’s certainly making the effort as a supporter of the Friends of the Earth’s Big Ask campaign to reduce climate change. Watch a video interview with this artist and read more here.

Blues

Bonnie Raitt has something to talk about: the environment. Clean energy, sustainable living, electric cars, and energy efficient buildings are also things she advocates talking about. She’s even listed by the Department of Energy as a large purchaser of green energy, which she uses to offset her music tours.

Country

Willie Nelson may urge mamas not to let their babies be cowboys, but he’s quick to encourage them to be environmentalists. He’s on the road again, this time with his own line of biodiesel, Biowillie. He’s also actively involved in the Farm Aid concerts, which support producers of local, organic foods and humanely raised farm animals.

Folk

The Indigo Girls have more than just the power of two — they have a whole Green Team made up of their environmentally savvy fans who help the band to keep their concerts as environmentally friendly as possible.

Hot Buttered Rum is a green machine, or at least that’s what they call their biodiesel tour bus.

Hip-Hop

The Roots are carryin’ on the environmental message with their "Stop the Violence: Go Veg" campaign with PETA. The group also advocates composting. Watch this video and read more here.

Spearhead with Michael Franti have been bringing power to the peaceful for years now in the San Francisco Bay area. This year, they’ll be extending the green-themed concert internationally with a December 1 music festival in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Check it out on their website.

Pop

Justin Timberlake is bringing green back. He’s passionate about water issues, especially as the lack of drinking water throughout many African countries. Read more here.

Sheryl Crow hopes the power industry will be strong enough to soak up the sun with solar energy. She went on tour this year with concerts that educated her audience about the serious nature of climate change. Read more here.

Kylie Minogue has come into the environmental world as the face of the "H&M Loves Kylie" swimwear line, which is donating ten percent of its profits to WaterAid. Read more here.

Madonna once said that her ambition was to rule the world. Today, she’s helping to green it. A percentage of profits from the first million downloads of her hit inspirational song "Hey You" went to fighting climate change. Read more here and check out the video here.

Punk

Green Day came around a long time ago to the environmental movement. They put their green fingers to work with the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) to come up with this great website about how to become involved in saving the Earth. You can also watch a number of their environmentally conscious music videos and interviews here.

Rock

If the Barenaked Ladies had $1,000,000, they’d probably spend some of it furthering environmental issues. The group is on the board of World Wildlife Fund Canada and runs a pretty green concert tour. Read more here.

Dave Matthews has a crush on the environmental movement. From offsetting the carbon of the band’s tours to using green diapers at home, he’s making the world better every day.

Jimmy Buffett has found one particular harbour in the sea of environmental issues: manatees. He’s the co-founder of the Save the Manatee Club, which encourages people to adopt a manatee and boat responsibly.

Pearl Jam is rockin’ the green world, raising funds for environmental causes from preserving the Madagascar rainforest to funding renewable energy. Read more here and check out their website on climate activism.

With Sarah Harmer aglow about conservation, you just know things are getting better. This folk/rock musician co-founded the group Protecting Escarpment Rural Land (PERL), which seeks to conserve the natural habitat Niagara Escarpment Rural Land. She’s even toured on foot to raise awareness for her conservation concerns.

Bon Jovi wants people to have a nice day and a green home. Lead singer Jon Bon Jovi jokes that he’s motivated to save the environment by guilt over the "huge hole in the ozone layer my haircuts created." He’s now the founding ambassador of the Habitat for Humanity Ambassadors Program. Read more here.

Jack Johnson is good people, and he cares about the environment. He tours by biodiesel, offsets his carbon, donates 1% for the planet, and co-founded the Kokua Hawaii Foundation to promote environmental education. Read more here.

Youth

Put On Your Green Shoes is a compilation by various artists.

The Banana Slug String Band strike a silly, fun chord with kids and also manage to bring serious and educational messages. They’re also a rocking group for adults to listen to. Albums include Singing in Our Garden and Dirt Made My Lunch.

Ella Jenkins has been on the green kids music scene for years. She has a "solution to pollution" and teaches kids how about the "environmental game." Check out her new CD, Come Dance By The Ocean.

References and Resources

For more environmentally happening musicians, check out the following websites:

Musical Partners | Rock the Earth, "Defending the planet one beat at a time"

Eco Music For Kids | Leonardodicaprio.org

15 Green Musicians and Bands | Grist

Links for Environmental Songs and Music | Planetary Exploration

How Green Is the Music? | Austin Chronicle

Celebrities Going Green | AOL

Photo Source:

Power to the Peaceful 1 | Flickr

According to Nielsen ratings, however, the three-hour special on NBC only received 2.7 million viewers and was the least-watched U.S. program on Saturday night. A total of 19 million people watched at least 6 minutes on NBC, CNBC, Telemundo, Sundance Channel, Bravo, MSNBC, and Universal HD. The event also occurred during the July 4th weekend, when most people usually aren't watching TV.

There has been skepticism about the event and its performers as it required many artists to fly to the events, some in private jets, and could have created more CO2 as a result of the concert. Al Gore has defended the cause as a start of a 3-5 year program with a message that reached out to 2 billion people across the world. While some celebrities such as Sting and Cameron Diaz take active participation in helping with the efforts, others may not. Madonna and Black Eyed Peas both performed new songs that they wrote for the event. The goal is that with the help of the celebrities, more people will be aware of the issues and even the celebrities that attended and performed at Live Earth learned a lot about the issues. Whether or not, the concert really made a difference is really hard to judge. What are your thoughts?

Sources:
Newsday.com
Foxnews.com

Gore will host the opening gala on April 25, which will also feature musical performances from artists participating in Live Earth, a series of concerts scheduled for July 7 to raise awareness of the climate crisis.

The seven short films are presented by the Save Our Selves (SOS) Short Films Program and are just a selection of the 60 films commissioned by the SOS. None of the films are more than 10 minutes in length and cross the genre spectrum. The seven films screened at the opening will be announced April 22.

Opening with a series of short films instead of an indie feature stocked full of celebs is unusual for a top film festival. But considering SOS commissioned prominent filmmakers to create these shorts, the big name factor will still be present and the shorts are guaranteed to be of engaging content and high production value. The decision by the Tribeca staff is also additional evidence of the trend that short films are gaining prominence and popularity - especially on the topic of climate change.

Via Washington Post; LiveEarth