Reggae Artists to Lend Their Voices to Address Climate Change

Entertainers To Lend Their Voices For Climate Change Education
Category: Awareness

Article courtesy of thewickedesttime.com

A group of Jamaica's entertainers, among them Tony Rebel and Richie Ramsay, has expressed a willingness to use their voices to help educate the island's people about climate change and the threats it presents.

The commitment comes in the wake of a climate change workshop and field trip to Cascade Portland, hosted last Thursday, expressly to bring them up to speed on the dangers of a changing climate.

Those dangers, as outlined by presenter at the workshop Clifford Mahlung - a meteorologist and one of Jamaica's climate negotiations - include:

. increases in the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, such as floods and storms;

. extinction of species of plants and animals;

. sea level rise; and

. changes in agriculture yield.

"I am going to try and sensitise people about what I learned," Tony Rebel said at the workshop, which attracted the participation of a group of more than 20 entertainers, climate specialists, journalists and other stakeholders.

Ramsay, a singer and songwriter, said that they would have their work cut out for them.

"People don't want to hear anything from singers/songwriters. It's all about the hype," he told the Sunday Observer.

Still, Ramsay said that he was undaunted.

"I am not shying away from it. I am here to make my voice heard if the platform is given. I do care and I would like to add my voice," said the man who also plays the guitar.

Already Ramsay has sought to do so, certainly insofar as it concerns raising people's awareness generally of the need to preserve the environment.

Mother Earth's Cry forms part of his 13-song album Riot & Revolution that was released at the beginning of 2007. In the song he asks: 'You're complaining that your water bill's too high but do you know how many rivers have run dry? Do you know how many trees have died? Do you know there's a hole in the sky?'

Wayne Wesley, of the 12 Tribes of Israel, has also noted his intent to spread the word on climate change.

"Trust me, I am very enlightened. I was aware that they were destroying our world, but this morning it became more clear," he said. "So we have to get it better now to benefit our seeds. Our young ones are the future so we have to try to get the message out there to them quickly."

Boom Dawn, also of the 12 Tribes of Israel, noted that she too would be looking to pen a few words in the interest of Mother Earth.

"Mi a guh build a tune about the environment. I have a song out called What's going on? and I am going to build an environmental tune off of it. It bad!" she told the Sunday Observer excitedly.

Panos Caribbean, in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme and the Met Office, last Thursday hosted the workshop and field trip to Cascade in Portland. It was the second workshop to be put on by the partners and forms a part of a broader national strategy to raise awareness on climate change. The campaign also includes, among other things, a media campaign and a school sensitisation programme.