Planet
Defender Awards: Nominations
 Rock
the Earth is thrilled to announce a call for nominations for
our first annual Planet Defender Awards. Over the course
of our travels these past few years, we've met many musicians,
grassroots activists and environmental leaders who embody
Rock the Earth's mission of Defending the Planet One Beat
at a Time. On Earth Day - April 22, 2006 - we plan to
recognize three individuals or groups who are working to protect
some of our nation's most precious natural areas.
To find
these individuals, we need your help! Rock the Earth
will be accepting nominations from its members between now
and March 26. Help us identify those people who have
advanced the cause of environmental protection. Nominees should
demonstrate a strong commitment to defending the planet within
the realm in which they work. Take a look at our categories
and send us nominations from the music world, your local community,
or prominent leaders who have made a broader impact in environmental
protection.
From the
list of nominees, Rock the Earth's Volunteer Staff will vote
on the three winners in this inaugural year. Please send
your nominations to Glenn Fee at glennf@rocktheearth.net.
With the nomination, please include the name of the individual
or group, along with your reason for nominating them.
Rock the Earth will include some of your comments when we
present our awards in each category.
You
may nominate individuals in the following three categories:
- Rocker - An
artist or group
- Grassroots - Community
activist, or grassroots organization
- Leader - Leader
in government, business, or other high-profile
position
Rock
the Earth will recognize each of these individuals with
a beautiful blown-glass statue.
During these times, we believe it is especially critical to
recognize those with the courage to Defend the Planet.
Please help us do so!
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Why
the Management Plan for the Colorado River is
Wrong
 Imagine
waiting 12 years on the National Park Service's waiting list
to raft or kayak down the Colorado River through Grand Canyon
National Park. Every year for twelve years you confirm with
the NPS that you still want to run this historic river - one
of the most sought-after river experiences in the world. Every
year you notify the NPS to keep your name on the interminable
waiting list. In the meantime, you read the journal of John
Wesley Powell, the first to make a documented trip down the
River through the Canyon. Then one day you are finally notified
of your launch date. You round up your family and friends
that have also been waiting for this experience. It's been
so long that some have even forgotten that this day would
come. You gather your gear, your guides, your GPS and USGS
maps. You check your boat, you buy your food and beverage,
and you fill your water jugs for the 18-day excursion.
Finally,
the day arrives. Your party has camped out the night before
launch with wild anticipation and dreams of viewing the
Grand Canyon from the Colorado River, and shooting the
world-class rapids. You put in and your party is starting
its grand adventure. Two and a half weeks of solitude in
the wilderness. And then it happens - you begin to hear
faint buzzing, growing louder. Then you hear cheers and
screams behind you. All of a sudden a huge motor powered
pontoon boat with 20 passengers roars by you. A few minutes
later, another. "Wait
a minute! This isn't an amusement park ride!" you
think to yourself. You waited 12 years for this?!?! You
knew that there were concessionaires who take large parties
down the river in motorized boats. Those trips were
far too expensive for you and your party and besides, being
a semi-experienced river runner, you wanted to do the trip
yourself. But you had no idea the impact that these
private concessionaires would have on your river experience.
Over the course of the next 18 days you see no less than
40 motorized parties buzzing by. So much for the quiet, serene
and tranquil wilderness experience that you thought you were
going to have. Then one passes you by late in the day without
saying a word, and takes the camp you had planned on staying
at.
The fact
of the matter is that the stretch of the Colorado River through
Grand Canyon National Park has been eligible for the legal
protections afforded to wilderness since 1976. Unfortunately,
Congress has yet to vote on the recommendation. Nevertheless,
under the law and NPs Policies, areas recommended for wilderness
are to be treated as wilderness. This includes the restoration
of natural soundscapes and the elimination of uses that are
contrary to that of wilderness.
 There
are two primary problems with the new plan for management
of the Colorado River: 1) the new plan fails to address the
impairment to Grand Canyon by motorized boats by allowing
them to continue to operate; and 2) adding insult to injury,
after waiting on the NPs wait list for 10-20 years, the new
Plan completely eliminates the waiting list altogether, replacing
it instead with a lottery plan that throws all of those waiting
for this lifetime experience into an uncertain gamble as to
whether they will be chosen for a permit. Meanwhile, commercial
concessionaires still will hold the vast majority of the permits
each year (especially in the very popular summer months),
therefore forcing folks to choose between taking a chance
in the lottery or paying thousands of dollars to a concessionaire
for a private trip through the Grand Canyon.
When
Congress dedicated the Grand Canyon National Park, it did
so for the protection and enjoyment of the public at large,
and future generations still yet to come. As a World Heritage
Site it is recognized as a place of "universal
value." The Park has very unique and special
natural resources, scenic, spiritual and inspirational qualities,
and has been recognized as a place with unusual and noticeable
natural quiet, providing direct access to numerous opportunities
for solitude. This new Colorado River Management Plan
merely provides some additional permits to the public, do-it-yourself
boating community during less-popular times of the year.
It does not address those elements that are impairing it
(namely, motorized transport), nor does it adequately address
the access monopoly held by private concessionaires.
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New Membership
Gifts
So you've
been sitting on the sidelines and you're not yet a Member
of Rock the Earth! Well, now is a good time to join!
We're happy to announce a
few new thank-you gifts for new members (or
gift memberships) in addition to all of the other gifts previously
offered:
 $25
- JamCam
Chronicles DVD - Smilefest 2004. Only
previously available to those who signed up for membership
at concerts, members renewing memberships and those who joined
at the $250 level and above. This 2004 DVD features
Yonder Mountain String Band, Acoustic Syndicate, Leftover
Salmon, Perpetual Groove, Barefoot Manner, The Motet, Zen
Tricksters, Mountain of Venus, the Waybacks and the Big Daddy
Bluegrass Band. This DVD also includes an interview
with the Rock the Earth 2004 Summer Outreach Tour folks.
 $25
- Limited
edition Michael Franti
& Spearhead Print. Printed on Living
Tree tree-free paper, this rare, limited edition print (9.75"x17")
by concert poster artist Scramble Campbell, is signed and
numbered by the artist, out of a series of 200.
 $50
- Limited
edition Greening Jam
Cruise Print. This beautiful, limited
edition print by renowned concert poster artist Michael Everett,
was created to benefit the Greening Jam Cruise Project. Each
print is hand-signed by the artist. Printed on Living
Tree tree-free paper, this rare print by the youngest artist
to be featured in the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame is a great
addition to any collection.
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We
LOVE Our Members
Ah, February
- Valentine's Day - as many of us think about love this month,
we'd like to, once again, show our appreciation for our Members.
Become a member for $25 or more and receive 20% off any
merchandise from the String Cheese Incident when purchased
through their website, www.scigear.com!
Email us at Membership@RockTheEarth.net
to find out how.
Members
can also purchase discounted concert and festival tickets
at various times throughout the year, and purchase specially
priced RtE merchandise, as well as t-shirts, posters, DVDs
and concert photography from your favorite artists and musicians!
Look for announcements on our website, www.RockTheEarth.org,
and in your monthly newsletter.
| This
month, we're featuring a few of items available only to
our Members: |
 |
Discount
Tickets to Joshua
Tree Music Festival
Through April 1, RtE members are able to receive discounted
tickets to the 4th Annual Joshua Tree Music Festival -
a 3-day high desert camping experience in Joshua Tree,
California, featuring Kinky, New Monsoon,
Lotus, Kan'nal and many others. Tickets
for Rock the Earth Members are $70 - a savings UP TO
$20 -- it is going up to $80 on Sat. and then $90
sometime in mid-March. |
 |
Limited
Edition Phish print
Signed and numbered by artist Ryan Kerrigan
Limited copies specially priced at $15 (regular price:
$25) |
| Plus:
Special sale for members only! |
 |
Ozomatli
Street Signs CDs
signed by the band: $25 |
|
|
Peace
Print by Ryan Kerrigan
Limited copy signed/numberd: $15 |
 |
Steve
Kimock Band's
Live at the Gothic Theater DVD:
$20 (reg. $25) |
|
|
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RtE
Seeks Summer Outreach Interns
Are you
interested in a summer internship with RtE? This summer RtE
will once again tour the country! Our goal is to educate music
fans and environmentalists about our mission and the environmental
issues on which we are working. We will be signing up new
members and volunteers, as well as continuing to build our
relationships with musicians nationwide. We had great success
during our 2005 Summer Tour, and look forward to reaching
even greater heights in 2006! If you are interested in learning
more about the Summer Outreach Intern Positions, please email
us at membership@rocktheearth.net
for a full job description.
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Marc
Brownstein Rocks the Earth: Interview
Zachary
and Marc Brownstein |
Marc
Brownstein plays bass in the popular, Philadelphia-based
touring band, The
Disco Biscuits as well as in Conspirator,
a collaboration between the Biscuits and Umphrey's McGee.
In addition to his bass work, Marc has been an avid supporter
of environmental organizations and non-profits, taking a large
role in the success of Headcount,
a 2004 nonpartisan, voter registration organization that worked
closely with the music community to register over 50,000 voters
nationwide. The Disco Biscuits recently embarked on a huge
national tour, where they've drawn some of the largest crowds
in their 10-year history. On April 18, SCI Fidelity will release
a double live CD by the Biscuits entitled, The Wind at
Four to Fly.
1. What environmental issue(s) do you consider to be
the most critical at this time?
In 1988, my tenth grade Biology teacher dedicated three
weeks of our year to the issue of global warming. It was
her belief that within 15 years time, the polar ice-caps
would start to melt, leaving areas like NYC under 15 ft.
or more of water. While Ms. Stone was proven wrong on her
estimates, she inspired a 22 person class of high school
sophomores to become active environmentalists. While I believe
global warming to be a very critical issue that has been
entirely overlooked by the current administration, there
are so many important issues that it is hard to choose just
one to concentrate on.
I believe
that protecting our national forests, wilderness, and the
species of wildlife living in them from foresting, mining,
drilling and otherwise harmful activities, is the most important
environmental issue right now. Those areas and species do
not have anyone to protect them from human interference besides
environmental activists, and thus it is necessary to help
in any way possible.
2. What has inspired you to combine environmental activism
with your music?
I am consequently
inspired to bring activism to my music by Ms. Stone herself.
Her enthusiasm for activism was contagious and though I did
not end up a teacher myself, if I can reach even 22 kids,
then I will have done as good a job as she did. One
can say that her legacy has been felt in a big way, as here
we are, 18 years later, and at least one of her students is
still very active in the world of nonprofit charities. It
is the inspiration that I felt all of those years ago that
has led me to try to continue to spread the message of environmentalism.
3. Where is your favorite place in nature to go to find
solace or inspiration?
There
are so many places that still exist as a source of inspiration
and/or solace. I find some of the greatest moments to be
staring at the ocean. I am equally at peace at the top
of a mountain (especially in the snow!). Some of the
greatest natural land I have ever seen was along the Colorado
River in Southern Utah, where the gorge was long ago carved
out by running water, and has left majestic cliffs that
glimmer radiantly in the hot desert sun.
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Rockin'
the Earth in Thailand: Photo
Rock the
Earth staff member Glenn Fee and crew
off the coast of Ko Ngai, Thailand in December 2005
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