Tag Archive for "blog action day" tag

It’s Blog Action Day today, the theme this year is Climate Change and all I ask is that you think of, tell us about and listen to songs about the environment, ecology, nature, and what is to many the most pressing of global concerns. A link to the song and some prominent lyrics would be grand.

Here’s the obvious one, but it’s still the finest to my ears: Joni Mitchell’s original ‘Big Yellow Taxi’. (You may not know that the revised version of the song includes an entirely expected price increase for admission to the tree museum; it’s no longer “a dollar-and-a-half”, it now costs “an arm and a leg” just to see ‘em.)

Here are a few more, several of which have been covered by different artists:

- Beach Boys, ‘Don’t Go Near the Water’
- The Cranberries, ‘Time Is Ticking Out’
- Dream Academy, ‘Forest Fire’
- Marvin Gaye, ‘Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)’
- Tish Hinojosa, ‘Something In the Rain’
- Kraftwerk, ‘Radioactivity’
- Rush, ‘Red Tide’
- Cat Stevens, ‘Where Do the Children Play?’
- Stephen Stills, ‘Ecology Song’
- Joe Walsh, ‘Song For a Dying Planet’

A few lines from the aforementioned Joe Walsh number:

“Is anyone out there?
Does anybody listen or care anymore?
We are living on a dying planet,
We’re killing everything that’s alive,
And anyone who tries to deny it
Wears a tie and gets paid to lie.”

If all that’s not enough to keep your minds pre-occupied today, I’d also like to hear about those inspirational musicians that we’ve been talking about lately and their endorsement of environmental campaigns. What are musicians and their record labels doing to help save a dying planet, and which are doing most?

Oh, and here’s something for you all to sign. Please?

As tempting as it may be to pretend, after giving this post such an uncharacteristically snappy title, that David is to perform a series of ostentatious tribute concerts in memory of the great Michael Jackson and his equally great 1987 album, it’s obviously best not to make up silly stories for my amusement.*

Instead, I’ll just say that Blog Action Day (BAD, get it?) is coming ’round again, so I’d like to know what you would like to discuss on 15 October.

The aim of Blog Action Day, you may recall or even guess, is to get people talking about the same issue via their blogs, podcasts, tweets, etc.

Last year, when the theme was Poverty, nearly 13,000 blogs got involved, reaching more than 13 million readers. Some of those blogs, like this one, tallied up some extremely sharp, thoughtful, stirring comments. Thank you, all.

Although you can suggest your own topic, this year’s listed choices are:

- Water and Food Sustainability
- Human Rights
- Gay Rights
- Peace and Armed Conflict
- Education
- Climate Change
- Health
- Internet Freedom

My vote, not surprisingly, is for Climate Change. I invite you to vote, too.

Oh, and if you’re in the mood for casting votes this evening, I heard through the grapevine that Gala, daughter of Richard Wright and Guy Pratt’s (much) better half, has once again been short-listed in the British Design Awards – congratulations, Gala – so, I don’t know, maybe some of you might want to vote for Viable London, ‘Milton’ range in the British Design of the Year category…?

*Admit it, many of you would snap up tickets.

Today is Blog Action Day, an annual event with the aim of uniting bloggers, podcasters and videocasters all over the world to get everyone talking about the same issue.

This year’s theme – Poverty – is one we’ve touched upon before, not least in discussing Crisis, the charity for the homeless, which has David as its vice president.

We’ve talked about the environment and the banking crisis recently, as well as Live 8. They’re all connected to this all-encompassing issue of poverty, an issue we could see solved.

However, although the eight wealthiest nations promised, in 2001, to halve world poverty by 2015, targets are not being met. Some three billion people are still, in the year 2008, living on less than $2.50 a day.

I’d like to hear your reaction to this, about any thoughts you may have, experiences you can share, and especially tips on how everyone can play their small part in spreading wealth around; most crucially, directing it to where it’s most desperately needed.

Send in links to campaigns, petitions, photos, poems, even list your favourite poverty-related songs, books or films… Whatever it is, send it in.