This is my final project for IST 287, Environmentalism in India, taught by visiting instructor Kirdita Oza. I took the class because, growing up in the Pacific Northwest culture, environmentalism has always been a very large part of my life. We hear about people chaining themselves to trees about as often as...well, I don't know. Often, anyway! I know about the environmental problems facing my part of the country, the West Coast. But I didn't know more than vague rumors about environmental concerns in the near East. I figured they didn't much care about helping their natural environment because they were too busy trying to fight wars and feed their overpopulated mouths.

I was wrong on two counts. Actually, it seems that a large percentage of the Indian population is actually worried about the environment in which they live. And it seems that a small percentage of the Indian population is actually concerned about the environment for the environment's sake, instead of the sake of humanity. It was nice to learn that some people, at least, understand that (as Chief Seattle said), "We did not weave the web of life, we are merely a strand in it. Whatever befalls the Earth befalls all the sons and daughters of the Earth."

So my project, to keep with what I know about the U.S. environmental movements, stems from art. I love music (who doesn't?) and I know a lot about the folk and protest musical genres. But, as I considered topics for my final project, I realized that pretty much every musical genre (with the possible exclusion of rap and hip-hop) has had a few artists with real environmental consciences. So, I thought, why not create a project that highlights all of these different genres instead of focusing on the genre to which I already know environmentally-conscious artists flock?

Thus began this project, a project that has had many stumbling blocks along the way. Surprisingly enough, the troubles came more from authority figures claiming I would never find enough information than in actually finding information. Surprisingly enough, my hangups were with scholarly "red tape" rather than the research and formation of the project itself. Funny how that works out.

So here is the final presentation of my findings, the crux of what I know about environmental messages within several different musical genres. I have tried to refrain from analyzing the information, because I feel the music here speaks for itself. I have explained, where necessary, and placed the lyrics in both historical and cultural contexts that I hope you will find useful. Other than that, I have let my research speak for itself. What can a song do? "Songs have overthrown kings and empires," says Anatole France. Maybe he was right.

--Crystal Root, 9 November 2002