Rockin’ the Park Service
Final Briefs Challenge Colorado River Management Plan
 As reported in our August edition of Rock the Earth Notes, Rock the Earth and our Plaintiff partners (River Runners for Wilderness, Living Rivers and Wilderness Watch) have continued to challenge the National Park Service’s latest management plan for the recreational use of the stretch of the Colorado River that flows through Grand Canyon National Park. At the heart of the case is whether motorized recreational use should be given greater priority over protection of this wilderness quality area. In 2006, Rock the Earth and its partners challenged the Grand Canyon National Park's levels and use of motorized tour boats and helicopter exchanges, and the Park Service’s justification for these levels of use. The plaintiffs also challenged the Park Service's commercialization of the river. At present, 14,385 concessions passengers travel along the river with 2,270 self-guided river runners during the same summer season, a ratio of over 6 commercial guests to each do-it-yourself river runner.
In the briefs filed previously with the court, the plaintiffs note that the "NPS's allocation of river permits unfairly favors concessioners at the public's expense," arguing that the NPS used no identifiable or appropriate standards to measure demand, as required by a 9th Circuit case on Grand Canyon river permit distribution from the 1970's. A recent case out of the D.C. Circuit Court overturning a National Park Service Winter Use Plan for Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks (“the Parks”), held that the Park Service had improperly conducted such a similar analysis regarding snowmobile use in the Parks.
Rock the Earth and its partner groups are represented by attorneys Julia Olson of Wild Earth Advocates and Matthew Bishop of the Western Environmental Law Center.
The recently filed documents, along with all earlier court documents filed in this case, have been posted as PDF documents on the River Runners for Wilderness web site. You can read the documents at www.rrfw.org. Our latest brief to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals can be found at www.rocktheearth.org/files/PlaintiffReply.pdf.
Oral argument in the case is to be scheduled for the Spring of 2009 with a decision likely to be issued by the court by the end of the next year.
For background and more information, go to the RtE Colorado River Management Plan Project Page.
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Fight for Protection of the Roan Plateau Continues!
Coalition Protects Roan from New Drilling until Legal Challenges are Decided in Federal Court
 The fight for protection of the Roan Plateau continues, with some good news to report from recent weeks. You may recall that in September, the Bureau of Land Management issued leases for the public lands on the Roan Plateau, and dismissed over 15,000 protests filed by concerned parties ranging from local citizens to the State of Colorado. On the same day, a team of sportsmen, recreation and conservation groups filed for an injunction in federal court to prevent full-scale drilling of the Roan Plateau and to protect its important natural values as they are today.
Last Friday, all parties involved, including the Bureau of Land Management and the oil and gas companies holding the new leases on the Roan, agreed to a ban on surface disturbance on the Roan Plateau until June 2009! This ensures that the concerns expressed in our litigation will be heard and carefully considered before any development will be contemplated.
It has been a long time since we began our work to protect the Roan Plateau, and it is as a result of the tenacity (and patience!) of the citizens and communities of Colorado that the public lands in the Roan planning area still remain undeveloped. As we move into this next phase, it is important that citizens continue to advocate for the protection of the Roan.
Remember that conservation successes are often not won in single moments, but in a series of small wins that add up, over time, to save the places that we cherish. Despite this administration’s best efforts to fast-track drilling on the Roan, we have built a powerful alliance that has succeeded in preventing new drilling until we get our day in court. And, there is no doubt that the tremendous effort built around protecting the Roan has helped change the dynamics of citizen involvement in energy and environmental issues in Colorado, regardless of the outcomes of our fight for the Roan Plateau. Thank you so much for your efforts on behalf of the Roan!
For more information on our efforts to save the Roan, see our July edition of Roan Plateau Project Page.
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Rock the Earth Elects New Board Members
During the weekend of October 17-19, 2008, the Staff and Board of Rock the Earth converged on Denver for our Annual Retreat, strategically planning the next twelve months and electing new Board Members. It was truly a busy, but productive, weekend. The weekend was capped off with the Volunteer Staff blowing off some steam and experiencing some of the VIP treatment that our generous members are getting by partying down at the John Brown’s Body concert at the Gothic Theatre. Special thanks to Steve Shalk and the Gothic for their generosity!
The new Board of Directors is as follows:
Marc Ross (Denver, CO) - President
Tree Plant (Santa Cruz, CA) - Vice President
Lacey Fravel (Denver, CO) - Treasurer
Derek Kalahar (Highlands Ranch, CO) -- Secretary
Jason Bau (New York, NY)
Eric Daniels (Pleasant Hill, CA)
Steve Tighe (Oakland, CA)
Rob Hillard (Frederick, MD)
Congratulations to our new Board of Directors! In addition, several new people were elected to the Volunteer Staff. We’d like to welcome Anne Bedarf, Scott Daniels, Christine Stallman, Josh Taylor, and Devin Williams to the Volunteer Staff of Rock the Earth. Please check the Rock the Earth Staff Directory in the coming weeks for complete bios of our new Staff.
Meanwhile, in the area of departures, Bob Frankel departs our Board after serving the organization for two years. Bob will continue to be active on our Volunteer Staff, heading up our PR Committee. In addition, after serving the organization in a variety of capacities, we bid farewell to long-time RtE Volunteer Staffers Jeff Hansen, Ryan Camp and co-founder Matt Conway. We thank them for their years of service in helping us to Defend the Planet One Beat at a Time!
Additional thanks to the Hotel VQ, which donated rooms so that our hardworking Volunteer Staff could sleep easy.
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Rockin’ Thanks to Bonnaroo…
 Thanks to the generosity of Superfly Presents and AC Entertainment, Rock the Earth was one of five beneficiaries of the annual silent charity auction at Bonnaroo 2008. This week, Rock the Earth received a check for $9,000! A rockin’ thank you to Superfly, AC Entertainment and all of you who participated in the silent auction at Bonnaroo! You are truly helping us to Defend the Planet One Beat at Time!
…and to Limited Addiction Gallery
 As we reported in the July edition of Rock the Earth Notes, our friends at the Limited Addiction Gallery in Denver decided to hold an art auction to benefit Rock the Earth. The gallery provided a highly sought-after print by renowned artist Josh Keyes, to be auctioned off to benefit Rock the Earth. This limited-edition, signed & numbered archival giclee was the final print in an edition of 100 (#100/100). This month, we report receiving a donation from the gallery in the amount of $2,225! Thanks very much to Josh Keys, David B. Smith, and all at Limited Addiction who continue to Rock our world with their generosity!
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In the Key of Green: Thinking Green for Halloween
 This week will mark the annual Halloween holiday – full of ghosts and goblins, politicians and pumpkins --here are a few tips to a healthy, happy holiday for kids and adults alike:
DON'T purchase plastic, disposable costumes--instead, consider tapping into creative energy and creating costumes at home out of household items, leftover fabric materials, and recyclables. Making costumes can be a lot of fun, and it's a great way to share family time. A few "green" costuming ideas can be found here.
DO buy organic or pesticide-free pumpkins from a local farmers' market or pumpkin patch. Use baking pumpkins as decorations before turning them into delicious pumpkin pie. The seeds from making jack-o-lanterns can be roasted and salted as a tasty snack. Composte waste pumpkin matter.
DO send kids out to go trick-or-treating with re-useable canvas tote bags or the old stand-by: pillowcases. Don't buy plastic pumpkin heads or bags made of plastic for your trick-or-treaters to use.
DO consider turning off outdoor lighting late at night to reduce energy waste and light pollution.
DO consider healthy treats for trick-or-treaters, such as granola bars, Fair-Trade certified chocolate, organic juice boxes, or dried veggie chips. Ideas for healthy treats can be found here.
Global Exchange has gone so far as to recommend "Reverse Trick-or-Treating" where kids go door to door handing out Fair Trade chocolate, as an opportunity to educate others on the adverse impacts of the conventional global cocoa trade. Read more about Reverse Trick-or-Treating here.
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 Rock the Earth October Auction:
Signed Sheryl Crow Poster
In honor of our first tour with this uber-conscious, environmental rocker, we are proud to offer up a Rock the Earth Summer Tour 2008 poster, signed and numbered (180/250) by artist Ryan Kerrigan and also signed by Sheryl Crow. This rare collectable is the only three 2008 RtE posters signed by Sheryl.
To bid on this item, go here!
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What Rocks Your Earth?
Please share your thoughts with us by answering the following two questions.
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Rockin' the Gothic and Fox Theatres in Colorado With Free Tickets!
Next in our year-long series of events with Denver’s Gothic Theatre and Boulder’s Fox Theatre, Rock the Earth will be tabling at the following upcoming shows, educating and activating fans about important local and national environmental issues:
 …And the Fillmore Auditorium with Michael Franti and Spearhead!
This Thanksgiving weekend, THE place to be will be Denver’s Fillmore Auditorium for the annual Harvest Ball with RtE Advisory Board Member Michael Franti & Spearhead. Members of Rock the Earth can win free show tix for either Fri., Nov. 28 or Sat., Nov. 29.
FREE TICKETS: If you are already a Member of Rock the Earth, you can win a pair of FREE TICKETS to one of the above concerts. To enter, email info@rocktheearth.org; include the name of the band of your choice in the subject line and your name in the email. To volunteer at these shows contact volunteer@rocktheearth.org. For more information please visit www.rocktheearth.org.
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Rock the Earth Member Benefits: Bamboosa
 One of the many benefits of a Rock the Earth membership is 20% off Bamboosa products. Bamboosa manufactures organic bamboo fiber clothing and baby products that are naturally antimicrobial, biodegradable and soft. Bamboo is one of nature's most sustainable resources and is naturally regenerative. With a growth rate of up to a meter or more per day, bamboo holds the world record as the fastest growing plant. And, bamboo is actually not a wood but a grass, continuously sending up new shoots after harvesting without a need for replanting. Bamboo can be utilized in just 4-5 years unlike traditional hardwoods that not only take 25-70 years to mature, but also require replanting.
Bamboo takes in nearly 5 times the amount of greenhouse gasses, and produces 35% more oxygen, than an equivalent stand of trees, making it an efficient replenisher of fresh air.
Bamboosa also uses eco-friendly dyes and 100% recycled paper with a minimum of 30% post consumer waste in their packaging. Products are sweatshop-free and made in the US.
Go here to see a list of all Rock the Earth membership benefits.
To find out how you can take advantage of these Members Only benefits, write to info@rocktheearth.org.
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What Rocks Your Earth: Jonny 5 (Flobots)
 Jonny 5 is one of the MCs in the Denver-based alternative rock/hip-hop bands the Flobots. Formed in 2005, Flobots bring a socially conscious message combined with a groundbreaking sound which includes elements of rock, hip-hop, Latin and classical music. Flobots found mainstream success with its major label debut Fight with Tools (2007), featuring the single "Handlebars", which became a popular hit on Modern Rock radio in April 2008. Their latest music video for the song “Rise” can be seen here.
What environmental issue(s) do you consider to be the most critical at this time?
The biggest issue is really a shift in how we conceive ourselves in terms of being as residents of Earth. In the book "When Corporations Rule The World", David has a chapter titled "Cowboys on a Spaceship". His point is that we're living on a planet with limited resources and behaving as if those resources are infinite. We THINK of ourselves as cowboys, when the reality is we're more like astronauts.
Once you realize you're an astronaut, there are all sorts of ramifications. Personally, the first few chapters of this book were enough to prompt me to give up meat again. The more that we take seriously our roles as astronauts on the same spaceship, the more seriously I think we will all be able to have the conversations and make the sacrifices necessary to address a whole host of issues.
What has inspired you to combine environmental activism with your music?
As a band that addresses politically charged themes, one of the wonderful challenges is to live up to the rhetoric, to practice what we preach. It's always far easier to say something than to do it. Because of our sudden success and how quickly it's happened, I think our next step as a band in terms of environmental activism is to figure out how to integrate sustainability into our business practices. What's inspiring to us is the number of people out there creating the innovations and putting in the work to make the green movement accessible and understandable to everyday people. In San Diego we performed on a solar-powered stage for a benefit put together by a group called "Stayclassy San Diego." Just recently several of us were approached at Whole Foods by a group that does sustainability consulting. Our close friend Joe Ferrone has been passionate about renewable energy for the last few years and has helped us become more educated. The entire discussion around "Green Jobs," including the work of people like Van Jones in terms of highlighting the green economy as an opportunity for young people of color, is incredibly exciting. We hope our music and our business practices can be more and more reflective of all of these aspects of the movement.
Where is your favorite place in nature to go to find solace or inspiration?
A friend of ours has a spot up near Jefferson, CO where we go periodically for band retreats. Nestled between the mountains in the middle of South Park (Colorado), we write songs, work out conflicts, and set goals for the future. We're hoping we can go there sometime when the Aspen leaves are turning colors.
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Rockin’ the Earth Photo
Spearhead’s Manas Itiene with RtE Summer Tour Intern Rebecca Cornwell
and RtE Volunteer Staffer Will Anderson (Sept. 2008)
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