Music and social movements have historically gone hand in hand. Folk music played a unifying role for the labor movements in the United States. Music was central to the protests against the Vietnam War and in favor of Civil Rights. As more people become aware of the climate crisis, music is starting to reflect that. 

Jayson Greene, contributing editor and former senior editor at Pitchfork and the author of the memoir Once More We Saw Stars, has seen increasing numbers of musicians processing the climate crisis through their work. “I discovered so many different musicians who are making music and the common thread was a sort of desperation. This had gotten too far for them not to start speaking on it. And I think that as you know, and just as art imitates life or let you know in every other respect that mirrors the public awareness of this issue.”  

But there is still no one song or artist unifying the climate movement the way music has for other movements. Why are more artists not raising the alarm over the impending climate catastrophe? 

Tamara Lindeman is a Toronto-based songwriter and singer who performs under the name The Weather Station. Her album Ignorance contains many themes related to climate. She believes there are multiple reasons why popular music hasn’t explored the climate crisis more deeply: 

“Part of what's wrong with this issue is people have so many personal feelings about it that keep them away from that feeling of indignance or of power or of a collective experience. I think that's why we don't have the climate anthem yet that people can jump onto, because there are so many barriers.”

Rather than attempting an anthem, Lindeman’s music expresses her personal, emotional reactions. She remembers first being worried about the climate when she was very young, “I mean I don't remember when I first heard the words, I mean global warming was what it was called at the time. But I think my parents told me pretty young because I do remember being really, really afraid in a very child way of this idea of the natural world changing irreparably.” 

Jayson Greene describes his own beliefs about the power of music to process emotion. “This is firmly how I believe music works. I think it's entirely a response we formulate to the feelings we don't know how to process. And yeah, so that's what I meant when I said that music is the hum our feelings make as we live... And we’re all feeling pretty bad about what we see.” 

Greene doesn’t believe artists can force a message on listeners, though. “I do believe that music is not a great container for political statements. You can put them in but they leak out the minute you give them to somebody. You can't believe that they're going to receive the message that you loaded in there like a message in a bottle because music is so personal, it speaks to that person.” 

Lindeman hopes music can have a unique impact on listeners, “I definitely believe really strongly in lyrics and in the intimate relationship between singer and listener. I think there's a lot of room for vulnerability because if you hear something and you’re alone maybe you can take it in a different way than you could if it's like a speech or a newscast.”

The profit-hungry agribusiness empire of the 20th century institutionalized farming practices that continue to degrade soils across the U.S. and globally. We face a fork in the road: collapse or regeneration? The good news is that we know what we need to begin an agricultural and ecological renaissance – a literal rebirth. Biologist Ann Biklé and geologist David Montgomery share one of the good news stories that show how the solutions residing in nature surpass our conception of what’s even possible.

On this episode of Art of the Song we talk with Noel Paul Stookey, founding member of the 1960s folk group, Peter, Paul and Mary, and co-founder of MusicToLife.ORG. 

Created in 2000 by Noel and his daughter, Elizabeth Stookey Sunde, Music to Life builds on the strong historical legacy of social movements’ use of music to educate, recruit, and mobilize. Their mission is to amplify an organization’s message, spark engagement with a cause, and empower activist artists to stand on the front lines of social change.

We spoke with Noel Paul Stookey about the early folk scene in Greenwich Village, and Hope Rises, a compilation album of 15 Music To Life artists from around the country, with diverse backgrounds and styles.

This month on Climate Connections: 

Air Date        Title 

Mon., 5/16-Disaster cleanup creates risks for workers: Non-profit pushes for better protections for people who are hired to clean up after hurricanes and other natural disasters.

Tue., 5/17-New federal funding helps more low-income households afford energy-efficiency upgrades: The improvements help people save money and protect the climate.

Wed., 5/18-Plants species can migrate to adapt to climate change: But populations of animals that disperse plant seeds are declining.

Thu., 5/19-Climate change is increasing migration to U.S. and making it more dangerous: People crossing into the U.S. from Mexico face extreme heat and dehydration.

Mon., 5/23-Composting with worms, a climate-friendly alternative to sending food scraps to the landfill: Red wiggler worms can turn food scraps into compost.

Tue., 5/24-Iconic Hawaiian bird faces possible extinction: The ‘i’iwi, or scarlet honeycreeper, is threatened by avian malaria.

Wed., 5/25-Individual actions can add up to help the climate: Twenty-five to 30% of the pollution cuts needed to prevent dangerous climate change can happen at the individual and household level.

Thu., 5/26-Army Corps project aims to protect low-lying marsh: Some marshes are at risk of ending up underwater as sea levels rise.

Fri., 5/27-Over 1.7 billion city dwellers face multiple days of dangerous heat each year: High heat and humidity can make people sick.

Mon., 5/30-Rihanna’s nonprofit is giving $15 million to environmental justice groups: One of the Clara Lionel Foundation’s goals is to improve climate resilience in Rihanna’s home region, the Caribbean.       

Tue., 5/31-The U.S. needs more clean energy workers: A labor shortage could disrupt plans to transition to more wind and solar power.                             

Wed., 6/1-Weatherization and efficiency upgrades can help manufactured home residents save money: But many people who live in mobile or manufactured homes are unaware of programs that can help them afford upgrades.

Thu., 6/2-Australia lists koala as an endangered species across most of its range: Bushfires, deforestation, and development have caused koala populations to dwindle.

Fri., 6/3-In silvopasture, cows and sheep coexist with trees: Adding trees to pasture helps keep livestock cool in summer.

Mon., 6/6-Bond program helps nonprofits afford solar: The upfront costs of solar panels are sometimes too high for small organizations.

Tue., 6/7-Massachusetts group works for diversity in the offshore wind industry: ‘We’ve got to make sure that we’re training people up and tooling them up to be ready.’

Wed., 6/8-Projects restore natural water flow to parts of Great Dismal Swamp: European settlers drained portions of the forested wetland in Virginia and North Carolina.

Thu., 6/9-Saving water also saves energy: Utilities and municipalities can cut carbon pollution by fixing leaks and encouraging water conservation.

Fri., 6/10-How a pilot program in Michigan helped people afford energy-efficiency upgrades: It helped customers who made too much to qualify for federal weatherization programs, but not enough to qualify for traditional loans.  

It's 1993 in California. Dr. Dre is on the radio. The state is in a budget deficit. And a group of Orange County residents collect signatures to put a controversial proposition on the ballot that would deny undocumented immigrants access to public services and education. You could say it was the first shot in today’s culture war over immigration. 

We partnered with the Los Angeles Times to tell the story of Proposition 187, and how it continues to affect our culture and politics today. A three-part miniseries hosted by LA Times reporter Gustavo Arellano.

This episode was originally broadcast by Latino USA on November 1, 2019.