Rockin'
the US Army and Department of Defense!
Rock
the Earth fires opening shot in battle over Piñon Canyon
 The
Piñon Canyon Maneuver Site (PCMS), a U.S. Army Training
Area, encompasses 235,896 acres in southeastern Colorado.
Using eminent domain, the military acquired PCMS in the 1980s
to provide the Army with a place to conduct mechanized brigade
training exercises. As the second largest Department of Defense
training site in the nation (to California's Fort Irwin),
PCMS hosts at least two major military exercises a year, in
which roughly 5,000 troops, 300 heavy tracked vehicles and
400 wheeled vehicles take to the expansive wilderness in month-long,
intensive war maneuver exercises. The training area borders
miles of the Purgatoire River and includes significant portions
of at least six of its tributaries. PCMS supports a diverse
ecosystem with large numbers of big and small game, fisheries,
non-game wildlife, forest, rangeland and mineral resources.
PCMS is also known to contain significant archeological and
paleontological resources, including giant fossilized dinosaur
tracks in an area known as Picket Wire.
On October
13, 2006, the Army released the draft "Piñon Canyon
Maneuver Site Transformation Environmental Impact Statement"
for public comment. The draft EIS was the first step in publicly
evaluating the need for withdrawal of an additional 132,500
acres of land from the public domain. The draft EIS seeks
authorization for an unspecified increase in use, including
joint service operations and multi-national training, and
construction of new support facilities costing $26 million,
including a live hand grenade range, an ammunition holding
area, and a protective equipment testing facility.
Continue
reading this article...
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Rock
the Earth Day - April 14th, 2007
 Since
every day should be Earth Day, we in Rock the Earth are going
to celebrate all April long. In the April issue of Rock
the Earth Notes we'll be letting you all know about exciting
Earth Day activities all over the country as well as
corporate and business sponsors who will be donating funds
to RtE for Earth Day. Also, many bands are donating time
and proceeds from concerts to Rock the Earth while encouraging
their fans to celebrate Earth Day by joining RtE. In addition,
we'll be debuting a new, limited edition, environmentally-themed
print by rock artist Justin
Hampton for our most generous supporters.
Our friends
at nugs.net
will be releasing a new double, LIVE CD (available in download
and CD form) to benefit Rock the Earth. This CD/download will
feature the music of RtE friends Jack Johnson, Dave
Matthews Band, Gov't Mule, Trey Anastasio,
String Cheese Incident, Umphrey's McGee and
many others!
Along
these lines, we're happy to announce that the following shows
will be benefits for Rock the Earth on Saturday, April
14 on what we're calling Rock the Earth Day!
Umphrey's
McGee - 9:30 Club, Washington, DC
Umphrey's McGee will be donating $2 on every ticket sold
at the door that night.
New
Riders of the Purple Sage - The Pub, Harrisonville, VA
NRPS will be donating $1 on EVERY ticket sold for this show!
Hot
Buttered Rum - Robert Ferst Center for the Arts, Atlanta,
GA
HBR will be donating a portion of their merchandise sales
that night.
In addition
to these three concerts, we want YOU to help spread
the word about RtE at your local venues. We know we have a
lot of enthusiastic supporters out there who want to help
and this is a fantastic opportunity to get our message out
to people all across the country! All you need is a clipboard,
pen, and outgoing attitude. You will be asking people to sign
up for our monthly newsletter and directing them to the RtE
website to become a member.
We are
hoping to get as many volunteers as is possible to canvass
shows for Rock the Earth Day on April 14. If you are
planning to attend a concert, festival or other event during
this weekend and want to help out, please send an email to
volunteer@rocktheearth.org.
Please be sure to include your name, phone number, location
and show you plan to attend. We look forward to hearing from
you!
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Celebrate
Rock the Earth Day & Reap the Benefits!
 Help
us celebrate Rock the Earth Day in April and YOU can win great
Rock the Earth merchandise and FREE festival tickets!
Just tell your friends, family, co-workers and musical cohorts
to sign
up for membership (or renew their membership)
during RtE's Earth Day membership drive and you receive
a
free RtE tote bag! Your friends and family
can take advantage of great membership gifts like 100%
organic cotton/hemp RtE shirts, our
new diachronic glass RtE pendant, valuable,
limited-edition
artwork, and more! Make sure your friends
and family mention your name in the comments field when
they sign up online or mail in their membership form so that
you can receive your tote bag and enter our Rock the Earth
Day contest.
 Here's
the real incentive for you to spread the word about Rock the
Earth ~ in addition to your free tote bag, you'll have
the chance to win a free ticket to High
Sierra Music Festival, 10,000
Lakes Music Festival or Gathering
of the Vibes! If you raise the highest total
membership donations for RtE through your friends and family
(exceeding $500) by April 30th, you'll have your choice of
one free festival ticket! Raise over $750 and you'll receive
two free tickets! If your friends and family donations exceed
$1,200 you will receive two VIP tickets! So start spreading
the word and work your way toward free festival tickets from
Rock the Earth!
Rockin’
March Member Benefits
Don't
forget about all the great benefits
you, as well as your family and friends, receive as a member!
Snoe.down
tickets are still available for only $65 for RtE members ~
a savings of $26! Snoe.down takes place March 23-25, in Lake
Placid, New York, and features moe., Disco Biscuits,
Little Feat, The Slip, Tea Leaf Green and
others. For more information on how Members can purchase discount
tickets, write to info@rocktheearth.org.
One more
Earth Day benefit for RtE members ~ take advantage of a limited
time members-only sale through April 30th, just for RtE members!
Get our very popular One Love 2 CD compilation
for only $12 and a JamCam DVD from Season 1's Smilefest
in 2004 for only $10! Just email us at info@RockTheEarth.org
to take advantage of these great member prices and find out
how to get your member discounts on other benefits from RtE!
Other
member benefits include:
If
you are not yet a Member of Rock the Earth, please
consider joining our growing movement of environmentally passionate
music fans.
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Rockin'
& Rollin' at Six Flags' Elitch Gardens
 Do
you live in Colorado? Do you love roller coasters, fried dough
and fun in the sun? In April you can help Rock the Earth by
joining us for Charity Day at Elitch Gardens in Denver, CO!
We are joining other non-profit organizations in Colorado
for a day of fun at Elitch Gardens on Sunday, April 22nd
and want to invite YOU to come meet and get to know some
of our Rock the Earth Volunteer Staff. The bigger the group
the more fun it will be - we're even competing for the highest
ticket sales, so invite your friends to learn about RtE and
meet more music lovers and environmentalists in the Front
Range! Tickets are only $21.99 for the day (regular price
$44.99)! You also receive another free ticket for the fall.
If you're interested in joining us, please send an email to
us at info@rocktheearth.org
for more information and to purchase your tickets!
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Yahoo!
Rocks the Earth!
 Thanks
to the generosity of the Yahoo!
Employee Foundation, Rock the Earth was recently
the recipient of a $5,000 grant in support our 2007
Education and Outreach tour. This grant award is in addition
to those generous contributions made by employees of Yahoo!
and the company's generous matching program. Thanks for Rockin'
our Earth, Yahoo!
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Final
Call for Planet Defender Nominations
 On
Earth Day, Rock the Earth will announce the winners of our
annual Planet Defender Award. There's still time to nominate
your 2007 Planet Defender! Rock the Earth will be accepting
nominations from its friends and members between now and March
31st. Help us identify those people who have advanced the
cause of environmental protection. Take a look at our categories
listed below, and send us nominations from the music world,
your local community, or prominent leaders who have made a
broad impact in environmental protection.
From the
list of nominees, Rock the Earth's Volunteer Staff will vote
on the three winners. Please send your nominations to info@rocktheearth.org.
With your nomination, please include your reason for nominating
the individual or group. 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:
-
Artist
- an individual or group
- Grassroots
Activist
- a community activist or grassroots organization
- Community
Leader -
a leader in government, business or other high-profile position
Send
your nominations to us by March 31st!
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Musicians
Rockin' the Earth
 Thanks
to the kind help of our friends at JamCam
Chronicles, several musicians recorded public
service announcements supporting Rock the Earth's
work. Check out ALO, Perpetual Groove, Alison
Lewis, and members of Umphrey's McGee, Railroad
Earth and Hot Buttered Rum as they support Rock
the Earth!
Meanwhile,
two tours this past winter traversed the southeastern portion
of the country, spreading the word about Rock the Earth and
raising nearly $1,500 for us in the process. First, the Winter
Jamfest 2007 tour (sponsored by the Terrapin Brewing Company),
featured the music of Moonshine Still (MsS), Pnuma Trio, The
Bridge, U-melt, Captain Soularcat, Old Union, Elemental Harmonics,
The Loft, Fusebox Funk, Aerial 2012, LooneyMill, Traveling
North, Big City Sunrise, and DJs DJ Number Five, Dirty Digits,
Obeah. Then, there was RtE Advisory Board Member, Matt
Butler's Everyone Orchestra, which featured Butler, drummer
Jeff Sipe, guitar legend Steve Kimock, saxman Jeff Coffin,
vocalist Tanya Shylock, EO core members Chris Haugen, Mike
Sugar and Asher Fulero plus live painting by Phil Cheney and
Tova Jacobson.
A limited
run of posters (only 100) commemorating this special tour,
signed by the musicians, are now available at the $50
level of Rock the Earth membership.
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In
the Key of Green: Paper or Plastic?
 Most
of us are presented with the age old question multiple times
a week - Paper or Plastic? Well, plastic bags use petroleum
and they're an enormous source of waste. Plastic bags bounding
down urban streets are as ubiquitous as the noxious tumbleweed
in west Texas. Then again, paper bags require four times the
amount of energy to produce (according to reusablebags.com)
and in 1999, 14 million trees were chopped down to produce
the 10 billion paper grocery bags used by Americans that year.
The arguments
against both paper and plastic are about equal, so how about
trying this? Use neither. One of the easiest ways to
lessen your environmental footprint is to bring canvas bags
or backpacks to the grocery store. Canvas bags are easy to
carry and store, and some can be downright fashionable. Many
stores offer money back for bringing your own bags, and you
can educate fellow shoppers in the process. The problem with
bags is beginning to be recognized around the nation. The
city of San Francisco is nearing a total ban on plastic bags,
but why wait for that to happen in your city?
 Stay
ahead of the curve by using your own bags. And best of all,
Rock the Earth can help you! At
the $25 membership level, Rock the Earth will send you an
organic cotton and hemp tote bag. So it's all quite
easy - become a member of Rock the Earth, receive a tote bag,
avoid the excrutiating paper versus plastic question, and
make a difference for our planet!
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RtE
Seeks Summer Outreach Interns
RtE Summer Tour intern Sarah Tell |
Are you
interested in a summer internship with RtE? This summer we
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 2006 Summer Tour, and look forward to reaching
even greater heights in 2007! If you are interested in learning
more about the Summer Outreach Intern positions, please email
us at info@rocktheearth.org
for a full job description.
We also
always keeping an eye out for motivated individuals to volunteer
to help with a variety of tasks, such as:
-
Tabling events
- Coordinating
volunteers
- Fundraising
& membership drives
- Legal
& technical assistance
- Assisting
with data entry & mailings in our Denver office
- Writing
press releases
If you're
interested in volunteering with us, please send an email
to volunteer@RockTheEarth.org
to find out how you can help Rock the Earth!
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Carolyn
Moran (Living Tree Paper) Rocks the Earth: Interview
 Carolyn
Moran is the CEO and founder of Living
Tree Paper Company. Living Tree Paper Company
blossomed out of activism and the desire to protect the earth's
biodiversity. The Company produces printing and writing papers
made from agricultural fibers and post-consumer waste recycled.
Carolyn
has always been an advocate for animals and their habitat.
In the 1970's, Carolyn moved back to the land to a farm near
a salmon-spawning creek in Oregon's coastal mountains. During
her time on the land there were thousands of salmon spawning
every year on the creek she lived on. Years later she went
back to visit the area and there was a fish count in the creek
to track the few salmon survivors.
In the
1980's, Carolyn became a self-avowed radical in the forefront
of the Deep
Ecology movement. She did a lot of speaking
around the country, participated in Earth
First! direct action campaigns, and in 1989
founded Talking Leaves, a globally distributed pro-environmental
magazine promoting sustainability. Having seen clear-cutting
up close, she resolved to publish the magazine on the most
environmental paper she could find.
In 1993 Carolyn received a grant from the Rex
Foundation to research non-wood fibers. Moran
toured Eastern Europe and the Ukraine looking for high quality
non-wood specialty pulps. In 1994 Living Tree Paper Company
was founded as a sustainable model for the pulp and paper
industry.
In order
to focus on the growth and success of Living Tree, Carolyn
turned “Talking Leaves” over to the Lost
Valley Education Center in 1996. In 2002 actor/environmentalist
Woody Harrelson became interested in Living Tree Paper Company
after filming a segment of the documentary “Go Further”
in Eugene, Oregon. His influence with other artists has led
to important contacts within the entertainment industry.
Since
1994 Living Tree Paper Company has grown to become a leader
in providing environmentally preferable commercial printing
papers, with clients such as Warner Music, the Red Hot Chili
Peppers, Spearhead, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Pangea
Organics, and Dr. Bronners Magic Soaps.
What
environmental issue(s) do you consider to be the most critical
at this time?
Protection
of biodiversity particularly in the last remaining intact
ecosystems. I have a strong connection to bears, specifically
grizzly bears. Native people believe bear medicine to be the
most powerful of healers. Grizzly bears need expansive habitat
as they like to roam over long distances. The U.S. has a mere
5% of old growth ecosystem left; our neighbor, Canada, still
has about 20% of inland rainforest which is home to many rare
species including white grizzlies and 1,000 year old cedar
groves. I am a bioregionalist and Canada is part of my bioregion.
Giving a voice to non-human species is on the top of my list
of important environmental issues.
I also
think we need to address a trend that is not recognized by
most but which is a major contributor to global climate change.
This trend, implemented by the world dominating pulp and paper
corporations, is to plant fast growing trees to feed their
pulp mills. As a result there are massive eucalyptus plantations
being planted all over the developing nations. Eucalyptus
plantations are native to and belong only in Australia. Eucalyptus
plantations devour all the water and nutrients from the soil,
are toxic to the areas in which they are being planted, and
are creating "green wastelands." Plantations are
not forests and, worse, they eliminate the possibility of
any natural forest regeneration, thus a major contributor
to climate change.
What
has inspired you to combine environmental activism with music?
Before
I started Living Tree Paper Company I was the founder and
president of a non-profit environmental organization. Under
that organization we were publishing an ecology magazine called
"Talking Leaves." In the summer of 1993, I decided
to print the magazine on hemp paper. I met Carolyn Garcia
of Grateful Dead fame and she encouraged the Rex Foundation
to support this endeavor. Jerry Garcia and The Grateful Dead
were still funding the Rex Foundation at the time. Switching
the magazine to hemp paper is what guided me into starting
a sustainable paper company.
A few
years later Woody Harrelson became involved with my company
and encouraged the Red Hot Chili Peppers to use hemp paper.
Musicians today are walking the talk. After Chili Peppers,
Madonna, Bonnie Raitt, Avril Lavigne, Alanis Morissette and
many, many others followed in their footsteps and demanded
eco friendly paper for their CD booklets.
Where
is your favorite place in nature to go to find solace or inspiration?
Anywhere
that bears live when possible. On a day to day basis I go
to a beautiful arboretum near my home.
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Rock
the Earth Photo
The
Flecktones' Futureman Rocks the Earth at High Sierra Music
Festival (2006)
Photo by Keith Berson
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