This was not the golden anniversary environmentalists had in mind for the 50th celebration of Earth Day (April 22).
The holiday dedicated to honoring Mother Earth and making sure we’re doing all we can to preserve our natural world is, ironically, taking place indoors this year because of the global lockdown necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
That hasn’t stopped artists from doing their part to advance the cause, though.
Check out some of the efforts to shine a light on the importance of taking care of our planet from the likes of Paul McCartney, Lil Dicky, Kacey Musgraves, Bill Nye the Science Guy and many more.
McCartney
Sir Paul reminded everyone to “take care of this beautiful place.”
Lil Dicky
One year after releasing this all-star animated short film/single, “Earth,” Dicky has pledged an $800,000 donation to help combat climate change and support COVID-19 efforts. With more than 750 million streams to date, the song featuring Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, Halsey, Zac Brown, Brendon Urie, Hailee Steinfeld, Wiz Khalifa, Snoop Dogg, Kevin Hart and many more has paid big dividends.
“I’m very honored and humbled that we’re able to give this money to these organizations, and super thankful of all of the artists on this song who made this possible,” said Dicky (born Dave Burd) in a statement. “And of course, thank you to every Earthling out there for listening and spreading the word. Unfortunately, the fight to save this planet isn’t even close to over, and we’re going to have to amplify our efforts way more to turn this thing around. Because pretty soon, it’ll be too late.”
And, with the COVID-19 pandemic forcing everyone to change up their daily lives, Burd added, “it has shown me something: that we can modify our day-to-day behavior to adapt to a crisis when it’s right in front of us. Even if you don’t feel the climate crisis at every moment, it is truthfully right in front of us. And all across the world, humanity has banded together to combat the spread of COVID-19, putting convenience aside for the greater good. If we keep that same energy and apply it towards the environment, we can probably save the Earth. We should definitely do that.”
Burd has pledged $100,000 to the following organizations working on renewable energy, protecting nature and growing sustainable food: Amazon Frontlines, Carbon Cycle Institute, Global Greengrants Fund, Quick Response Fund for Nature, Shark Conservation Fund and The Solutions Project. Burd has also pledged $215,000 to launch a COVID-19 x Climate Response Fund in partnership with the Solutions Project.
Bill Nye
The Science Guy is also the Music Guy on Earth Day, with the premiere of his Mixtape For Mother Earth, a 13-track Apple Music exclusive featuring songs with a message from Taylor Swift, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Frank Sinatra, B.B. King, Hank Williams, The O’Jays and more.
“At 14, I rode my bicycle to the first Earth Day on the National Mall in my hometown of Washington, D.C.,” Nye told Apple Music. “In those days, it was all about pollution. Today, it’s climate change -and this year’s pandemic… Every astronaut, cosmonaut, and taikonaut comes down and reminds us: We are all citizens of one world, one planet. It’s up to us to preserve it. Clean water, renewably produced electricity, and access to global information-for everyone on Earth. Let’s go!”
Listen and see Nye’s notes on each song below.
Pandora
Pandora Stories: The Outlaw Ocean Music Project, is a series narrated by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ian Urbina featuring original music from a number of ambient, hip-hop and EDM artists. The series features music from dozens of artists from all over the globe, including DJ Dday, Chromonicci, Trifonic, who explain the inspirations behind their songs, which contain snippets of field recordings captured by Urbina during the course of his reporting for the project.
Check it out here.
Kacey Musgraves
The space cowgirl gave the Earth a big hug on Wednesday with a special Earth Day edition of her single “Oh, What a World,” which also came with some new merch.
AJR
The trio wrote a special Billboard op-ed about their ongoing support for green initiatives, including their drive to turn 100,000 concert tickets into 100,000 trees planted.
UMI
The singer/songwriter debuted the new track “Mother,” explaining, “I believe there is a deep connection between Earth and Mother. The idea that Mother Earth is a selfless creator and giver. I wrote this song as a letter of gratitude to Mother Earth and to my own mother for this existence. I hope that through this song we become more aware of our connection to Earth and our responsibility to protect it. Every day is Earth Day :)”
Nahko and Medicine For the People
The group released their Afrobeat-inspired single “Honor the Earth,” based on the “principles of peace and formed consensus.”
Check out some other celeb tweets for Earth Day below: