Man, just when I thought the world was over, people get
together and rejuvenate my communitarian heart. Check this out gang!
I’ve never been to Hawaii
but I’ve had perfectly stable friends visit there and call me three days later to say,
“star-sister-love, I’d love to swoop back down your way but my wings have
taken a new direction. I’ll see you come the precious land over day of
freedom,” click. So it sounds pretty boss.
A community on the island of Kauai,
Hawaii came together recently, to save their
beloved Polihale State Park (photo above). Floods ravaged the park in
December and state officials told the community repair funds wouldn’t be
available for two
years and closed the area off to tourists and businesses. Business
owners and
residents volunteered to combine various assets and get the 4 million
dollar job
done on their own. They did it in 8 days! Tourists, and therefore jobs,
are not at a risk now that park is near finished. IF left to the state,
the sludge of the bureaucratic system would have
pooped that out some frustrating amount of time latter, that’s for
sure. The environment should always be treated with such precaution
because it does provide the grounds for us to work, play and breath
on.
Not to get all Obama on everyone, but this is an example of the
hope we can manifest into change. People got
together, bridged their resources and made shit happen. That’s what economic
recessions and potential doom should be all about.
I thought I'd seen it all, but we just got more killer photographs from Green Owl's SXSW showcase. Check the So So Glos rockin it rude-boy style for the Austin scene (they played like 15 shows in 3 days!). And just cause we love y'all, here's an exclusive mix of the So So Glos, refixed by resident sound genius, Dub Defender. Straight to the DJ set with this one...
If you're in Europe, catch the Glos on tour with Trail of Dead. Dates here.
This is Rex Tillerson. His take on the Obama administration: "In my view nothing has really changed." His day job: Cheif Executive of Exxon Mobil. For all the advertisements you see on television these days about the move towards wind, solar and the like these Big Oil companies sure ain't doing much at all. In the last 15 years the top 5 Oil companies have spent 5 Billion dollars on research for clean energy. Now that may sound like a big number but it's only 10% of the total 50 Billion thats been pumped into that sector over the same amount of time. Considering the amount of money these guys make (Exxon Mobil for example makes roughly 11 Billion dollars a year) it's particularly disturbing. Family History. Full article.
Our girl SWOON is getting ready for her third massive art voyage. She builds ships from construction-site leftovers and urban detritus. Look out for Brooklyn's trash as it sails the high seas from Slovenia to Venice. More info on SWOON's site here. Story via Inhabitat
Turns out we New Yorkers are not the only people feeling the excusable Xanax popping anxieties of the economic climate. San
Francisco started issuing IOU (I-owe-you) vouchers instead of checks
starting early February, according to Monsters&Critics.com.
After a recent chat with a Wells Fargo loan adjuster Lisa
Nash*, of Portland, Ore. I learned some terrifying yet, not surprising
news. Turns out, the Federal Government is struggling to pay some of
its employees. The Wells Fargo employee disclosed a recent call with a
client in which he, a United States Postal worker, revealed was
receiving vouchers in place of his monthly salary.
Ms. Nash stated "about three months ago, we would get a steady amount
of people calling to update their loans; it would take 2-3 days to
update their loan application. Now, I can't even answer all the calls I
get! Non-stop all day the phone rings and the same process that took
2-3 days has backlogged to 4-5 weeks. It is so overwhelming." Ms. Nash
continued to describe a new applicants call "a gentleman who was having
troubles with his mortgage called, he cant make payments because he has
received vouchers instead of a checks from the USPS... for the past two
months"
To clarify some possible
disorienting effects of pop culture, vouchers are not golden tickets,
sweepstakes winners, or even bloody coupons for that matter. Vouchers
say, “Hey, we can’t pay you right now because there is some old blue
blood gentile wiping his ass with your check in St. Paul. So, in the
meantime, enjoy this piece of paper that says we’re all fucked … but
you especially.”
WOW…
Well, looks like I’ll be getting back to that meth addiction. The grandpa off Little Miss Sunshine was my final-years role model, but he'll suffice as my all-shit-hitting-the-fan role model as well.
The oldest powerplant in the US has just been licensed to keep running for another twenty years. We get it -- these plants provide lots of folks with jobs, but if you read the details on the Oyster Creek plant, you'll be as peeved as we are. Here's a quote from the Associated Press:
"Opposition (to the plant's 20-year approval) centered on corrosion to a metal enclosure that keeps
superheated radioactive steam within a containment building at the
39-year-old plant. The NRC says the enclosure is safe despite previous water leaks. . . Oyster Creek's boiling-water reactor is considered obsolete by today's standards."
When leaky powerplants and solar doughnuts don't do the trick, check with our peeps at the NRDC on what you can do to support the clean energy economy.
A month ago, Green Owl joined over 12,000 young people in Washington, DC in the largest environmental lobby ever assembled (crowd-shot remix above.) The event was called POWERSHIFT09 and it was hosted by Jessy Tolkan and the Energy Action Coalition, an organization with whom Green Owl has been closely affiliated since we started over two years ago. Green Owl presented the live music at POWERSHIFT09 which included The Roots, Santigold, The London Souls and The So So Glos
Even though POWERSHIFT09 only lasted a few days, its reverberation continues in Washington and across the nation. Here's an update from the EAC:
Young leaders from across the nation responded to the
draft climate and energy legislation released earlier this week by the
House Energy and Commerce Committee by vowing to keep the heat on
Congress until bold climate and energy policy is passed in 2009. During
the April Congressional recess, young people in more than 200 districts
are hosting town hall forums or meetings with their representatives.
Youth are calling on Congress to pass bold climate legislation that
sets stronger short term emission reduction targets, transitions
America to 100% clean energy, creates millions of green jobs, and
eliminates loopholes that will allow companies to continue polluting. ”While
we applaud the introduction of the Waxman-Markey bill this week, we
still have a long way to go, ” said Jessy Tolkan, Executive Director of
the Energy Action Coalition. “It’s a good start but we need climate
policy that is completely in line with what science and equity demand.
We will continue to work for policy that promotes 100% clean energy,
green jobs, and puts the responsibility on polluters to clean up their
mess.” One month ago, more than 12,000 young people from every
state went to Washington, DC for the historic Power Shift '09 summit.
On March 2, thousands of this group descended on Capitol Hill to rally,
testify, and meet with over 370 Congressional offices. These activists
voiced their support for bold federal energy and climate policy and
promised to keep the pressure on to ensure its passage before the
international climate negotiations in Copenhagen in December of 2009.
We're back in the saddle here in NY, but Green Owl's SXSW spirit is still along for the ride. If you've been following the blog, you've seen videos of the Green Owl bus and the long road filled with miniature horses and bio-diesel truck-stops that led us to the Green Owl ranch in Austin. Yeah, it's a bit hazy, these memories of an absolute blitzkrieg 5-day party with BLK JKS, The Very Best, NINJASONIK, The So So Glos, The London Souls and Shilpa Ray. But where memory lacks, videos remember. Check the preview above.
Map of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed, A Cast-System fully intact, extreme levels of waste, the worlds largest carbon footprint per-capida (2x that of the average American (if you can believe it)), sewage overloads, Dolphins in tanks displayed in hotel rooms, Economic collapse & used condoms washing up on the beach: Dive in kids.
Considering we named our fucking company after the wise and
striking bird known as the owl, we feel it is only appropriate to post songs
with lyrics about owls, coos or the sound of a graceful owl flapping its
strong, steady wings. Don’t get your panties in a bind, people, this does not
mean Mugshot Mondays will be replaced by a dysfunctional family of owls. But it’s healthy to love them, so be healthy
with us!
Today we feature Panda Bear’s Bro’s Edit off the album Person Pitch. Listen closely for the owl
coos off the top. An old Indian chief down the block on 47th street
said that listening to owl coos will give you magic psychedelic powers. Of course, that
was an hour after we ate the peyote. Enjoy gang!
