Make a Purchase that Rocks the Earth!

If your membership has expired, don't forget to renew your RtE membership before the end of the year! All renewing members will receive a JamCam Chronicle DVD, featuring behind-the-scenes festival footage and interviews with Rock the Earth staffers from our 2004 Summer Tour. You can also take advantage of these great holiday packages, so renew now!

Order your membership gift package today!

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Membership has its Privileges

Become a member for $25 or more and receive 20% off any merchandise from the String Cheese Incident when purchased through their website, scigear.com! RtE members can also download 10 songs free through emusic! Email us at Membership@RockTheEarth.net to find out how.

Look for announcements on our website, www.RockTheEarth.org, and in your monthly newsletter about discounted concert and festival tickets and more at various times throughout the year, and to purchase specially priced RtE merchandise, as well as t-shirts, posters, DVDs and concert photography from your favorite artists and musicians!

Congratulations to the winners of the YMSB New Year's Eve contest! RtE members Erin Alt and Chandra Ruff won two tickets to see Yonder Mountain String Band on December 30th and December 31st!

Join or renew now to take advantage of your membership benefits!
Send an email to Membership@RockTheEarth.net for details.

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Rock the Earth and Jam Cruise Join Forces

Jam Cruise 4 promises to be the largest and most exciting Jam Cruise! In ongoing efforts to reduce the environmental impact of Jam Cruise, a partnership has been announced with Rock the Earth. Rock the Earth and Jam Cruise will work closely with the cruise line and an assortment of green sponsors to help ensure a minimal impact as we sail through the Caribbean.

Rock the Earth, in its efforts to Defend the Planet One Beat at a Time, will work with Jam Cruise to educate the passengers about important environmental issues impacting South Florida and the Caribbean, while providing an avenue to make positive contributions. RtE is working hard to ensure an active recycling program, biodegradable soaps, towel and linen reuse, and an assortment of green sponsors.

Passengers will have the opportunity to learn more about Rock the Earth's many projects and collaborations, and find out how they can help this growing organization continue to be a conduit for environmental advocacy within the music community. Rock the Earth's efforts will focus upon education about water quality, as well as reef and wetland protection.

GREENING JAM CRUISE PROGRAM COMPONENTS

• Carbon Emissions Offsetting with Tree Planting (see below)
• Recycled Paper donated by Living Tree Paper
• Non toxic, Biodegradable Soaps donated by Dr. Bronner's Magical Soaps and Pangea Organics
• Fair Trade, Organic Coffee donated by Green Mountain Coffee Roasters and Organic Creamer donated by Horizon Organics
• Organic Fair Trade Yerba Mate donated by Guayaki
• Recycling conducted by Clean Vibes
• Participant Education
• Educational, Recreational Activity
• On-Board Silent Auction, including Signed Instruments donated by Musician's Friend
• Eco-Friendly Merchandise
• Towel-Linen Reuse Program
• Everyone Orchestra Environmental Jams to benefit Rock the Earth
• Private Welcome Party, Wine Tasting and Panel Discussion

The first night of the cruise will feature a private welcome party, wine tasting and panel discussion on "Social Change Through Music." With wine donated by Jam Cruise, attendees will be able to taste different wines from around the world and mingle with some of the artists. In addition, a panel of artists and other activists will participate in a discussion on "Social Change Through Music." Confirmed for the panel discussion are Futureman (Bela Fleck and the Flecktones), Michael Travis (The String Cheese Incident), Matt Butler (Everyone Orchestra), David Weissman (Musical Earth), Bo Carper (New Monsoon) and others still to be announced. The panel will be moderated by Marc Ross, Executive Director, Rock the Earth. Tickets will be sold separately with all proceeds to benefit Rock the Earth's Greening Jam Cruise Project.

CARBON EMISSIONS OFFSETTING
A partnership has been formed between Rock the Earth and Trees for the Future to plant trees. For every $10 donated by Jam Cruise 4 passengers, 100 trees will be planted in Jamaica and the Yucatan Peninsula. These trees will help to sequester the CO2 emissions from the cruise and from passengers' personal travel to and from the cruise. Passengers wanting to make a donation, or to learn more about Jam Cruise's "ecological footprint," can stop by Greening Headquarters onboard the ship.

Planting trees is the most cost effective way to take C02 out of the atmosphere. CO2 is produced from burning fossil fuels. Trees absorb CO2 and produce oxygen through photosynthesis. If each of the 2000 Jam Cruise passengers pitch in by making a small donation to Trees for the Future, it is possible to sequester all the CO2 emissions from the cruise in approximately 18 months. And these trees will continue to do their job of reducing C02 in the global atmosphere for many years to come.

Trees for the Future is a 501(c)3 charitable organization which provides seeds, training and technical resources to families, communities and organizations throughout the world who are interested in reforesting lands and maintaining sustainable business practices. Over the past 30 years, Trees for the Future has planted nearly 40 million trees! Every year these trees sequester more than 40 million tons of CO2 from the global atmosphere, replacing it with life giving oxygen. To learn more about Trees for the Future and how to become "carbon neutral" everyday, please visit: www.plant-trees.org/main.htm.

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Buy Responsibly!

The chill hits the air, touring season slows; we pull out warmer clothes and stuff ourselves with merriment. Yes, the holiday season is here already and the gift giving season is in full swing. Each year we reach a magnitude of consumption and waste 25% greater than at any other time throughout the year. Our generosity leads to overbuying, overeating and bags of trash that clog our landfills. So how can you make choices that turn the tide of this consumerism? Shop smart, give wisely and reduce, reuse and recycle! Here are some eco-friendly tips and gifts to help you through the holiday shopping season.

Each year, according to JustGive.org, over 2.65 billion cards are purchased that can fill a football field 10 stories high. Just sending one less card to friends and family will save 50,000 cubic yards of paper. Imagine what sending e-cards could do!

What about those packing peanuts, boxes, bows and wrapping paper? Reuse them or give them to your local shipper to reuse. Decorative cloth or bags are creative ways to wrap that can be reused over and over again.

Want to help the trees? Purchase a live tree to replant, or decorate trees in your yard, instead of buying a dead tree to decorate your living room.

For all of the battery-operated toys the kids (both big and small) are getting this year, buy rechargeable batteries!

Contemplate your purchases carefully and give meaningful gifts that make the world a better place. Give a charitable donation on behalf of a friend or loved one to help relieve poverty, hunger and the effects of natural disasters and environmental devastation. JustGive.org has over 1,000,000 charities in their database. Rock the Earth also offers special gift packages for the environmentally conscious music lover on your list.

Shop responsibly. Co-op America's National Green Pages has over 25,000 products from 2,000 companies with a commitment to social and environmental responsibility. You can find natural, organically-made and fair trade products that are pesticide free.

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Hyim Rocks the Earth: Interview

San Francisco Bay Area recording artist, composer/poet, producer, playwright and freedom fighter, Hyim (Hebrew for "life"), has been dubbed "the ever evolving eclectic maestro." He and his band, The Fat Foakland Orchestra, are enjoying their time in the spotlight. Since his 2004 California Music Awards nomination, Hyim has gained joyful popularity in recent years, and his fan-base seems to be expanding at a big-bang ratio. Hyim (pronounced "high-eem") named his new album, released on his own record label (Family Productions) in April 2005, "Hyim and The Fat Foakland Orchestra," after his band. His music is "Urban World Beat," - shining with Brazilian rhythms, Hip Hop, Cuban Son, Reggae, Pop, Rock, Jazz and Ballads - vocals are comparable to Sting and Peter Gabriel, as well as Manu Chao, Wyclef Jean and Dave Matthews. Live, Hyim's solo shows bring the audience on a soaring sonic journey, ranging from shake-your-booty loops (he records himself live playing percussion, guitar, piano and beat boxing, while looping the tracks) to breath-taking, soul stirring ballads. Learn more about Hyim at www.hyimvibe.com.

RtE: What environmental issue(s) do you consider to be the most critical at this time?

The most critical environmental issue is that of human beings and our consciousness towards the environment. So many of us see ourselves as separate organisms, a species set apart from the rest of the Earth. We often see the Earth as something to be exploited and capitalized upon. Of course there are individual issues: the melting polar ice caps (Since 1979, the size of the summer polar ice cap has shrunk more than 20 percent - Natural Resources Defense Council), the decline of fresh water resources for our booming population, and the fact that about 140 species are becoming extinct everyday (Global Biodiversity Assessment. UNEP, Cambridge University Press, 1995). These are just a few examples of the devastation that our global community is facing. The challenges that we are facing, because we must alter our unsustainable social and economic systems, is daunting. I believe that simply the act of standing up for ourselves and our world and doing something, brings a sense of joy and truth to our person that is lacking because we so personally feel the destruction our world is experiencing.

RtE: What has inspired you to combine environmental activism with your music?

It is impossible to not combine them for me. In some ways it's why I want to be on stage and be a part of putting the good word out. People act like making change and being a part of a movement for a better world is all work and no play. The truth is, when I feel myself as part of a movement and that what I am doing is the right thing to do, it allows me to celebrate life that much more. It allows me the joy of being alive!

RtE: Where is your favorite place in nature to go to find solace or inspiration?

I love to be in the Oakland Redwoods here in northern California. I go running up there with my dog Izzy and sometimes I go up there to watch the sunset. I also enjoy Point Reyes, Yosemite National Park and my own backyard.

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Rockin' the Earth at Great Sand Dunes Nat'l Park: Photo

RtE Staff Member Mike Gerfen & Member Amy Gerfen
at the Great Sand Dunes National Park, CO.

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