Al Gore Changes Tune

Al Gore sings "How on Earth"? -- A climate song gathers steam in a warming world

By Dan Bloom

BOSTON, MASS (RUSHPRNEWS) 9/11/2008-- -- When the Texan producers of a global warming protest song titled "How on Earth" went looking for a singer to perform the moving ballad online, they found someone who sounds very much like Al Gore.

He agreed to perform the song in a quiet studio and make the recording available free of charge online, worldwide. Listen to the voice and judge for yourself. It might even be Al Gore himself.
"How on Earth" is a song to try to wake people up to the dire future that might lie in store for humankind if CO2 emissions are not cut worldwide soon.

Time is running out; no, time has already run out, some experts say. We need action now. So this song, partly sung and partly spoken, is alarm bell set to a quiet melody that just might wake more people up. It is currently online in France on a music share site, and here is the link:
http://www.dailymotion.com/songsterhiragana/video/x398cu_global-warming-song-how-on-earth
"HOW ON EARTH?

Did the planet get this way?

HOW ON EARTH?

Did we mess up this way?

HOW ON EARTH?

Are we gonna find the way?

HOW ON EARTH?

Are we gonna reach that day? ...."

"How on Earth" isn't the only song reaching out to climate activists.

At a recent climate rally in New York state, American folksinger Pete Seger sang "My Rainbow Race," his popular 1967 song that has also become something of an anthem for climate campaigners because the lyrics speak of the atmosphere and oceans as shared resources.

The song begins:"One blue sky above us, One ocean lapping all our shores,

One Earth so green and round, Who could ask for more? "

The lyrics also, in classic Pete Seeger fashion, toss a dart at those people, maybe government officials, maybe corporate honchos, impeding change:

"Some folks want to be like an ostrich,

Bury their heads in the sand.

Some hope that plastic dreams

Can unclench all those greedy hands.

And Seger's song also speaks of intergenerational obligations

"Go tell, go tell all the little children.

Tell all their mothers and fathers, too - Now's our last chance to learn to share What's been given to me and you.

Give it a listen, too, after you hear Al Gore's singing "How on Earth".

AP PHOTO

About the author:

Dan Bloom is a Rush PR News political and environmental news columnist/reporter and a freelance writer from Boston, who has been based in Asia since 1991. He graduated from Tufts University in 1971 and has worked in media, public relations and education in several countries. He is currently doing research on climate change and global warming as the founder of the Polar Cities Research Institute. His email is: danbloom@RushPRnews.com