In 1969, Earth Day-founder Senator Gaylord Nelson witnessed the massive oil spill in Santa Barbara, California. Inspired by the anti-war movement of the ’60s, he felt that the increased awareness of pollution could bring the subject to the national attention. Earth Day 1970 was created via a rare agreement between both political parties and the disparate views through American society. The movement quickly led to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency later in the year. Earth Day went global in 1990 mobilizing 200 million people world-wide … though climate change deniers and fossil fuel industry bureaucrats continue to try and derail the movement’s efforts.

We’ll listen to a selection of songs about the beauty of the environment and natural world to celebrate Earth Day 2018 … this week on The Sing Out! Radio Magazine.

Episode #18-16: Earth Day

Host: Tom Druckenmiller

Artist/”Song”/CD/Label

Pete Seeger / “If I Had A Hammer”(excerpt) / Songs of Hope and Struggle / Smithsonian Folkways

Charm City Junction / “Frog on a Lily Pad” / Charm City Junction / Patuxent

Pete Seeger / “Sailing Down My Golden River” / Rainbow Race / Columbia

William Coulter & Barry Phillips / “Like Pretty Birds-Come Life, Shaker Life” / Music on the Mountain / Gourd

Leah Larson / “A Little Ways Down the Road” / Long Journey / Self Produced

Al Petteway / “Sifel's Creek” / Mountain Guitar / Fairewood

John McCutcheon / “Water from Another Time” / Gonna Rise Again / Rounder

David Mallett / “Loons” / The Fable True / North Road

Nakai-Eaton -Clipman / “Running Down the Sun” / Feather, Stone & Light / Canyon

Metamora / “Mountain Field” / Metamora / Sugar Hill

Charm City Junction / “Bogs of Shanaheaver” / Charm City Junction / Patuxent

The Malvinas / “God Bless the Grass” / God Bless the Grass / Soona Songs

Dave Marshall-Andrea Cooper-Joel Bernstein / “Mad River” / Pleasant Hill / Lost Chicken

Kallet-Epstein-Ciccone / “Farthest Field” / Heart Walk / Self Produced

Nana Vasconcelos / “Wind Calling Wind” / Storytelling / EMI Hemisphere

Dan Berggren / “Birch Are Soprano” / Tongues in Trees / Sleeping Giant

Lee Murdock / “After the Storm” / What About the Water / Depot

Pete Seeger / “If I Had A Hammer”(excerpt) / Songs of Hope and Struggle / Smithsonian Folkways