I attended the extraordinary “Paddle in Seattle” event in West Seattle on Saturday, May 16. Organized by the Backbone Campaign and supported by a host of prestigious environmental groups, the event was a huge success. I was honored to be there to represent Irthlingz and to add my voice and music to the occasion. The event was a high-spirited, high-visibility protest against (a) the arrival of a Shell Arctic oil rig in West Seattle and (b) drilling in the Arctic in general. It highlighted the need to end our dependence on fossil fuels and make the switch to sustainable renewable energy and energy efficiency across the U.S. I was quoted in the following article in the South Seattle Emerald, thanks to a lovely young woman I met on the beach where the kayaks were launched named Brie Ripley. She included the audio of the song I composed and for the occasion.
You can read the article and hear the audio here: http://southseattleemerald.com/2015/05/16/hundreds-gather-in-artful-protest-of-shell-oil-rig
You can see more great photos courtesy of Grist Magazine here: http://grist.org/climate-energy/you-have-to-see-these-pictures-of-seattles-kayaking-climate-protesters
The protest followed a full-day leadership conference on May 15 and a 3-hour public event the evening of May 14 in Seattle with the Lummi tribe and other Washington State tribes from around Washington State and British Columbia. We listened, sang, conversed, and shared meals, getting to know each other better as we continue to push back together against the coal and oil companies pushing to export millions of tons of coal, Bakken crude oil and Alberta tar sands oil to Asia through ports in our area. For more information on that, please visit https://www.facebook.com/ProtectTheSacred/.
I welcome your questions, comments and thoughts!
Shar