Featuring Jefferson Starship’s Cathy Richardson, singer/songwriter/activist AY Young, six-time Grammy nominee John McCutcheon, former Bob Dylan violinist Scarlet Rivera, and ‘The Voice'’s Raine Stern, plus over 2,500 youth from four continents.
New York, NY (September 23, 2024) – Today, Music Declares Emergency US and The ClimateMusic Project launched the Be Cool! Campaign to inspire meaningful climate action and mobilize global youth to combat the world's worsening ecological crisis.
The campaign kicked off with the release of the song and music video for "I Wanna Be Cool" at the NYC Green School Conference. The pop anthem, composed by award-winning songwriters Will Kimbrough and Brant Miller, was created in collaboration with distinguished climate scientists to call attention to the widespread impacts of climate change. In addition to Will Kimbrough, the song features contributions from eight preeminent artists -- including Jefferson Starship lead singer Cathy Richardson, singer/songwriter/activist AY Young, six-time Grammy nominee John McCutcheon, former Bob Dylan violinist Scarlet Rivera, and former "The Voice" contestant Raine Stern -- as well as more than 2,500 youth from four continents.
"We want 'I Wanna Be Cool' to be a modern-day 'We Are the World' for climate action," said Pete Kronowitt, Music Declares Emergency US Board Member. "From the initial songwriting workshop in 2022, to the submission of dozens of backing tracks by global youth choirs, to the pro-bono work by Imaginary Forces to produce the music video, the creation of 'I Wanna Be Cool,' has been an incredibly collaborative effort and represents how collective our world's approach to combatting climate change must be."
The Be Cool! Campaign promotes three global areas of action -- civic engagement, greenhouse gas emission reduction, and climate education -- and encourages participants and viewers to engage with the following non-profit partner organizations to mitigate the growing climate crisis:
Headcount, to boost young voter registration and turnout to advance climate-conscious candidates and policies;
Rewiring America, to electrify and reduce the use of fossil fuels in homes, schools, and other community facilities;
Climate Science, The Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, The Climate Action Project, and the National Environmental Education Foundation to improve education about climate change
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2023 was the warmest year ever recorded and the 10 hottest years since 1850 have all occurred in the past decade. And based on data from the United Nations Development Programme's 2024 Peoples' Climate Vote survey, more than half of those polled under 18 are "more worried" about climate change than they were the year prior.
"It's past time to mobilize in defense of our planet and advocate for sustainable environmental policies," said Fran Schulberg, The ClimateMusic Project Executive Producer. "The music industry can do a great deal to promote environmental stewardship and inspire collective action, and Music Declares Emergency US and the ClimateMusic Project are proud to leverage the emotional power of music to foster this positive change."
* Stream ‘I Wanna Be Cool’ HERE.
* To learn more about the Be Cool! Campaign and take action to address the global climate emergency, visit https://climatemusic.org/BeCool/.
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To schedule interviews with those involved with the campaign -- including Will Kimbrough, Brant Miller, Pete Kronowitt, and Fran Schulberg -- please contact Emily Troisi at press.us@musicdeclares.net.
About Music Declares Emergency US: MDE US is a collective of music industry professionals, artists, and organizations collaborating with grassroots climate partners to reduce industry contributions to greenhouse gas emissions. MDE Chapters worldwide have collected over 8,000 signatures supporting a declaration calling for an immediate governmental response to protect all life on Earth. Signatories include Annie Lennox, Arcade Fire, Billie Eilish, Bon Iver, Chicano Batman, Major Lazer, Bootsy Collins, The 1975, Fantastic Negrito, Juanes, Massive Attack, Machel Montano, Pretenders, Tegan and Sara, Tom Morello, KT Tunstall, Brian Eno, Tycho, and Tom Odell. Starting in the UK in 2019, MDE currently has 16 active national chapters. The climate crisis is the greatest challenge of our time, and the power of music should spearhead the movement to create a safer, fairer, more sustainable world. The climate crisis is about science, not politics. There is #NOMUSICONADEADPLANET.
About The ClimateMusic Project: The ClimateMusic Project brings together renowned scientists and world-class musicians to create music and visual experiences to motivate action to address climate change. Since launching in 2015, it has reached many thousands of people worldwide, partnering on programs with global institutions such as The National Academy of Sciences, The World Economic Forum, and The World Bank. It has also garnered extensive international media coverage, including profiles by The New York Times and by the BBC.
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