by John Goetz
I just ran across the following news article from Pitchfork Media:
Jarvis, Feist Sail to Arctic to Investigate Global Warming
Laurie Anderson, Robyn Hitchcock, Martha Wainwright, and Ryuichi Sakamoto too!
Feist, Jarvis Cocker, and a bunch of other artists board a ship to the Arctic to investigate climate change. It sounds like a strange reality show, but it’s actually straight-up reality.
Yesterday (September 25), a crew of scientists, artists, engineers, and journalists boarded a science research vessel in Kangerlussuaq, Greenland bound for Disko Bay. Soon, they’ll travel across the front of the Jakobshavn Glacier, “one of Greenland’s largest glaciers moving at a faster rate than ever before, losing 20 million tons of ice every day,” according to the description from expedition organizers Cape Farewell.
The point of the trip, in addition to scientific research, is “to inspire the creative team to respond to climate change both in the Arctic and on their return.” Apparently, at the airport, “Feist checked her guitar (Robyn Hitchcock requested that everybody who has one bring it for a little Arctic jam).”
In addition to Feist and Jarvis Cocker, the list of musicians on board includes Robyn Hitchcock, Martha Wainwright, Ryuichi Sakamoto, KT Tunstall, Laurie Anderson, and…Vanessa Carlton. How fitting!
I admit I am not hip. I have never heard of these artists. But it appears this trip includes a veritable who’s who of today’s influential artists.
- Luke Bullen, an English drummer and percussionist. Bullen joined the band Addict in 1995 and later formed the band Zanderman with Addict’s lead singer Mark Aston.
- David Noble, a youth leader, consultant, researcher, writer, speaker, activist and “something of a rogue” with a crazy vision of an entire generation of young people contributing all they can in the collective response to the global climate crisis.
- Tracey Rowledge, an artist who works with the traditional materials and techniques of bookbinding and gilding, making books and wall pieces that explore the line between spontaneity and the deliberately crafted.
- Julian Stair, a potter, academic and writer.
- Graham Hill, a self-described serial entrepreneur, do-gooder and designer, who started TreeHugger.com in 2004.
- Nicole Krauss, the author of the international bestseller, The History of Love, which won France’s Prix du Meilleur Livre Étranger and Amazon’s #1 Book of the Year, and was short-listed for the Orange, Médicis, and Femina prizes.
- Marcus Brigstocke, a stand-up comic, writer, presenter and actor, who hosts The Late Edition, a live topical TV show on BBC 4.
Of course, all of the artists have obtained advanced degrees in climatology, which is why we should pay attention to their trek north and respect any conclusions they draw.
As a luckless licence payer of the BBC, I’d like to point out that while Marcus Brigstocke is a tireless pontificator about “environmental” issues, he’s not remotely funny and presumably gets his gigs only because he’s a reliable fount for all the identikit, politically correct, right-on platitudes. It’s a cause of amusement that “artists” such as those above, who no doubt fondly imagine themselves to be cutting edge and avant-garde are really exemplars of slavish group-think. Let Alice Cooper have the last word:
“If you’re listening to a rock star in order to get your information on who to vote for, you’re a bigger moron than they are. Why are we rock stars? Because we’re morons. We sleep all day, we play music at night and very rarely do we sit around reading the Washington Journal.”
Having examined at the weather for the “expedition,” it is my carefully considered opinion that it will be cold.
” …The point of the trip, in addition to scientific research, is “to inspire the creative team to respond to climate change both in the Arctic and on their return. ””
So… the “creative team” will see cold weather, snow, ice, clouds…
and be inspired to… “respond to climate change?”
So… I guess we can look forward to hearing lyrics like, “it’s &#$!@*& COLD in the Arctic!”
ha ha… no, it’ll still be about Bush, oil, greed, and polar bear cannibalism
This is getting weird. Which is great! Reduces the level of trustworthiness in the AGW theory. The more they trot out these kinds of spin adventures the less the media will pay attention as a serious story. It will be relegated to the stars reports and gossip shows instead of the evening news.
@Pamela Gray:
The whole AGW religion is aimed at the youth who will one day assume the mantle of responsibility. Unfortunately, this sort of stunt resonates with youth who lack the experience to see it for what it is.
And we come back to the indoctrination debate. As the Jesuits say “Give me the child and I will give you the man.”
They’re going to look for the rubber ducks. Probably on a ship with a couple huge diesel engines prodding along at a few knots.
“..btw, no they aren’t wannabes, they are all leading players, though more indie than poppy if that means anything to you. This is what makes them so achingly caring…”
Thank you for the correction, Mr Fox.
Though I must admit, rarely have I been prouder of my ignorance….
Hello out there,
after getting stuck in the ice for 3 weeks the US gov. spent $60,000,000 to get a Russian ice breaker to save the mentally retarded.
Insurance anyone? Nope they have all gone bust saving the planet savers.
I found the most recent Disko Bay blog entry pretty amusing. Francesca Galeazzi walked across the glacier and opened a CO2 canister. She then had this to say:
Before she paid for carbon credits to offset her releasing CO2 into the atmosphere, she probably should have determined the origin of that CO2: