A Sharing of Thoughts by a Variety of Eco-Oriented Musicians
Music Makes a Difference
September 11, 2009 The World Without Us
The World Without Us
I bet many of you have books that you read and then you think, “I wish everyone could read this.” Well, Bob Gregg from down in Arizona recently sent me “The World Without Us” by Alan Weisman. It was a book he thought needed to be shared. I think he’s right.
This is an amazingly imaginative, well researched and beautifully written book. It simply asks the question, “What would happen to the Earth if humans were to suddenly just disappear off the face of the planet?” And when you ask that question it leads to many others. What will be our legacy? What will we leave behind? How will the Earth heal?
The answer is both enlightening and frightening. Weisman has done his homework interviewing and researching and studying just what we have to leave behind. He shares mesmerizing accounts of how things will decay and fall apart, how nature will reclaim the biggest metropolis, and which monuments to our culture will stand (for a while) and which ones won’t. But what I find most interesting is how he gives such a great summary of all the “stuff” we actually have to leave behind. And this is the part of the book that makes me think we all need to read it. Our longest lasting legacy may be the mostly deadly for future life forms. “The World Without Us” is a great summation of human’s impact on the Earth. You may think it sounds depressing and gloomy, but this is very readable, thought provoking read. Let’s start talking about these things instead of shoving them under the table with all of other junk. . Read it, and then pass it on.
By Walkin' Jim Stoltz ....September 11, 2009
October 18, 2008 Bottled Water? No Thanks!
Bottled Water? No Thanks!
It still amazes me that some environmental organizations are still selling bottled water for refreshments at their events. Either that, or they hand me a couple bottles before the concert for me to have on stage. No Thanks! Bottled water is one of my pet peeves and I’d like to tell you why.
Who could have ever imagined that Americans would be paying 11.7 billion dollars a year for water in a plastic bottle? This is a huge black hole for energy and a waste of fossil fuels and clean water. Bottled water costs thousands more per gallon than tap water, but tap water is actually held to stricter standards. In many cases your tap water is cleaner than many types of bottled water.
Recent studies have shown that it takes nearly 7 times more water to make the bottle than it actually holds. This, in an era of water shortages and drought in many areas. Besides the millions of gallons used in the plastic-making process, two gallons of water are wasted for every gallon used in the purification process for the bottles.
Every year nearly 1.5 million barrels of oil are used to make all those plastic water bottles. That’s enough to run 100,000 cars for a whole year. Now think about the energy (and oil) required to transport bottled water from overseas, or from state to state, from manufacturers to the stores…It boggles the mind to realize the unnecessary waste of it all.
Almost 90% of those bottles are NOT being recycled. They end up in landfills, in our rivers and oceans and roadsides where they take thousands of years to decompose.
Think of all the energy and money saved if we just put a small portion of the millions spent on bottled water toward keeping our public waters clean for everyone! Please, encourage use of tap water. The planet cannot sustain this odd obsession with bottled water. If you don’t like the taste of your tap water there is a simple solution: use a filter. It just comes down to common sense. Carry a reusable bottle and fill it up from your local spigot. And musicians please start telling your hosts, sponsors, and promoters why you’re refusing to use bottled water. It’s bad for the environment. Period!
By Walkin' Jim Stoltz ... October 18, 2008
July 1, 2008 Green Habits
Green Habits
I just returned from a weekend of work in the Milwaukee, WI area and I am happy to report there is fine evidence of the "revolution" of Earth understanding happening there, as well as most everywhere else. The School Sisters of Notre Dame (SSND) were celebrating their 175th anniversary of founding in Wisconsin and part of the celebration involved the launch of their new Eco-zoic education center named SUNSEED, at their farm in Mt. Calvary, WI, near Fond du Lac.
My husband, Richard, and I stayed there in the hermitage for 4 days and spent time studying the gardens, orchards, work benches and barns when we weren't working. Their team of 3 gardeners and education specialist, with the help of a few volunteers and the occasional use of the maintenance men on staff for the heavy work have organic gardens, experimental plots, children's gardens beyond my imagination of what so few people could accomplish in a few short years.
They have become experts and creative geniuses at the art of "adaptive reuse" when it comes to creating their own Garden of Eden. One of the most beautiful examples I saw was a discarded playground merry-go-round from a local park that they had rescued to place (stationary) atop a round raised bed for an herb garden with natural dividers—attractive, useful and RE-useful!
We enjoyed the bumper crop of strawberries, fresh asparagus, mixed greens, kohlrabi (oh, so sweet and tender!). And at a special evening feast after my concert, the no-longer-annoying rooster who had been injured, then butchered the day before. And to our great surprise, delicious savory dinner rolls made with rye grain raised and harvested by the sisters. Local food, indeed!
Prior to my arrival in Wisconsin I had been working on a theme song for the SUNSEED program, as the power of music to communicate important ideas has a long history. I was able to adapt their mission and vision statement to make a fun, peppy, song that i hope they will be able to use to further their work. We premiered it at the local concert in Mt. Calvary and had volunteers from the audience join me on stage and flip posters cards that spelled out S-U-N-S-E-E-D at the end, per the lyrics of the song.
On Saturday I had the day off, so we took advantage of our proximity to the country's largest regional renewable energy fair nearby. Midwest Renewable Energy Association (MREA) has been working for 19 years to spread the gospel of renewables—and this year's fair in Custer, WI was all we hoped it would be. There were about 8,000 people in attendance the day we were there. Speaker Jim Hightower struck a chord of unity and rebellion with his energetic address, then we were off to see both the newest and the best of the old reliables for energy, organic gardening, transportation, home building and healthy living. Wow. If you ever got to Wisconsin in June, make sure you catch this event.
Sunday I did 2 more shows in Milwaukee for the SSNDs, weaving in their rich history of service around the world and locally. We sang the SUNSEED song again and shared the information about their new ministry "Green Habits" to help congregations of Catholic sisters to green their facilities, transportation, kitchens, etc. What a great name for an eco project for nuns---Green Habits!
There is indeed a green revolution happening everywhere. Let's all look for ways to use music to pick up the tempo of progress!
One of the points that I mention in my concerts is that we of the human species are pretty good at crisis management. When things go wrong in a catastrophic way we tend to deal with those tragedies in a quick, straightforward way. But when it comes to looking at problems that will affect us in the long run, planning for the future, and “thinking like a mountain”, we flunk out in a big way.
This point was driven home again when I read the news a couple weeks ago that the National Agricultural Statistics Service, a division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), announced that it would stop collecting data about the amount of pesticide applied to various crops. This data has been the public’s only source of reliable information on pesticide and fertilizer use for much of the United States. USDA claims funding shortages are forcing them to make this devastating program cut. But I wonder. Given the current administration’s history of anti-environment (and anti-health) actions I suppose we shouldn’t be surprised.
We have all read of the dangers of too many chemicals in our food. It strikes me as very shortsighted that as the citizens of America become more concerned and aware of where their food is coming from, and how it has been grown, that we’re cutting out this major source of public information. The data has shown that pesticide use in engineered corn, soybeans, and cotton is higher than in conventional varieties. The biotech industry has always claimed that bio-engineered crops would need less pesticide. How will citizens track these trends in the years ahead?
The Environmental Protection Agency also uses the information to decide which pesticides and chemicals need to be regulated. With the wealth of information on how much harm these chemicals can do to our planet it is another backward step on the part of the U.S. government, and a slap in the face to every concerned citizen. Let’s hear some new songs about this!
By Walkin'Jim Stoltz
Thank you to the Food and Environment Electronic Digest from the Union of Concerned Scientists for this information.
May 24, 2008 The Birth of M.U.S.E.
The Birth of M.U.S.E.
Welcome to the first blog from Musicians United to Sustain the Environment (M.U.S.E.). With our new website I’m feeling more enthusiasm and energy about what we do; a revitalization of the original vision behind this organization. When I first proposed the idea for a non-profit organization to Craig Wagner in January of 1997, I saw a group of concerned musicians coming together to release a series of compilations benefiting various environmental causes. I felt that our community of eco-musicians could make a better, organized impact in helping some of the small non-profits that do so much good with so little funding. In my travels as a touring musician I work a lot with groups that give 200%. They’ve got heart and soul volunteers that dedicate much of their free time to the cause of protecting the Planet. Why not put music to work to help these kind of organizations?
Craig had already released a wonderful cd, The Keeper’s Gift, benefiting the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and he whole-heartedly embraced the idea of a group of musicians. He came up with the name and also did the paperwork to get us non-profit status. I started contacting musicians for our first collection of music and started soliciting funds for the production. We were off and running. By 1998 we had our first compilation, One Land, One Heart.
From the start we communicated amongst ourselves mostly by email. We contacted musicians by email. We enlisted board members (Joyce Rouse and Libby Roderick) by email. We voted on grant proposals and discussed any big decisions through e-mail. We were truly an organization of the web.
As time goes by other musicians find us, and we find them. We’ve done concerts and continue to move forward with our plans for future music compilations. Sometimes it’s a while before things get done because of our own careers and activism activities, but we continue to move forward. I would like to see more musicians organizing concerts that would benefit the M.U.S.E. grants program. I’d like to see more musicians performing songs that draw attention to the Earth. And I’d like to see more musicians joining us in our efforts.
This blog is another effort to communicate. We hope that it will inspire and engage more of you in our quest to raise environmental connection and concern. In the months to come you’ll see other musicians alternately sharing this spot. Come back and see us again. And keep on singin’!
I bet many of you have books that you read and then you think, “I wish everyone could read this.” Well, Bob Gregg from down in Arizona recently sent me “The World Without Us” by Alan Weisman. It was a book he thought needed to be shared. I think he’s right. 
I just returned from a weekend of work in the Milwaukee, WI area and I am happy to report there is fine evidence of the "revolution" of Earth understanding happening there, as well as most everywhere else. The School Sisters of Notre Dame (SSND) were celebrating their 175th anniversary of founding in Wisconsin and part of the celebration involved the launch of their new Eco-zoic education center named SUNSEED, at their farm in Mt. Calvary, WI, near Fond du Lac.
