Give
a Gift That Defends the Planet!
 Want
to avoid long lines and frivolous gifts this holiday
season? Looking for something unique to give those
on your gift list? Give
your friends and family a holiday membership package
from Rock the Earth! Each package includes
appealing and environmentally-friendly RtE merchandise
and offers the satisfaction of supporting a non-profit
organization that is working hard to protect the environment
for our and future generations.
In
2007 Rock the Earth made an impact on ground-breaking
decisions like persuading Wal-Mart to stop selling
cypress mulch from the Gulf region, and greening Jam
Cruise in which nearly 11 tons of glass, plastic and
metal waste were diverted from being deposited in
a local, mixed-waste landfill. Our work would not
be possible without the help of members and supporters
like you. As we take on new projects to Defend
the Planet One Beat at a Time, we know that we
can make a difference together by raising awareness,
activism and funds to protect our natural resources.
So,
give a great gift and help support our efforts to
protect beautiful and unique places like the Grand
Canyon National Park's Colorado River and Hetch Hetchy
Valley in Yosemite National Park, by sending RtE membership
gifts this holiday season! Packages include our
100% organic cotton/hemp blend shirts and tote bags,
fleece hats, CDs, DVDs, posters and one-of-a-kind,
glass earth pendants from Touch of J. Our limited
edition three poster set by noted concert artists
Justin Hampton, Jeff Wood and Gary Houston,
now valued at $250, is also available in our holiday
packages. We also have a special thank you gift for
RtE members that purchase holiday gifts, so order
yours today at www.RockTheEarth.org!
Place
your order by December 15th to ensure delivery before
Christmas.
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Federal
Court Rules on RtE Lawsuit (for now)
 On
November 26, 2007, US District Court Judge David G.
Campbell handed opponents of the 2006 Colorado River
Management Plan a setback. In a 32-page opinion, Judge
Campbell dismissed challenges by Rock the Earth, River
Runners for Wilderness, Living Rivers and Wilderness
Watch, to the plan to regulate the public and commercial
use of the stretch of the Colorado River through Grand
Canyon National Park. Intervening in the case on the
side of the Park Service were the Grand Canyon Private
Boaters Association and the Grand Canyon River Outfitters
Association.
Ignoring
regulatory and Park Service policy guidelines to the
contrary, Judge Campbell dismissed the claims by the
Plaintiffs to remove motorized boats from the river,
despite the fact that the Park Service had, for over
20 years, recommended that the river corridor be declared
Wilderness and motors be removed, as well as the fact
that the vast majority of comments to the plan favored
the same. Theorizing that overflights and other motorized
activities outside of the scope of the Plan would
still impact the natural soundscapes within the River
corridor, Judge Campbell accepted the Park Service
and Intervenors' arguments that the removal of motors
would not result in greater protection for the Canyon's
treasured natural quiet.
Continue
reading this article.
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RtE
Continues Fight to Ban Snowmobiles from National Parks
 Created
in 1872 as our first National Park, Yellowstone National
Park remains a crown jewel in the National Park System,
along with its sister Grand Teton National Park. The
pristine and naturally wild environment of these parks
is unique and arguably without equal. This is especially
true during winter months, when the impressive natural
beauty of the parks is enhanced by the peace and tranquility
of the frosty setting.
Over
the past four decades, the increasing numbers of snowmobiles
using the Parks-- from 1,000 visits in 1963-64 to
over 76,000 visits in 1999-2000-- tarnished these
treasures with dirty air, inescapable noise pollution,
and congestion. After a decade of study, in 2001 the
Clinton Administration National Park Service issued
regulations that would have phased out snowmobiles
by the 2003-2004 winter use season.
Continue
reading this article.
Final
Environmental Impact Statement | Record
of Decision
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Turn
Your Holiday Shopping & Surfing into Dollars for
RtE!
 Rock
the Earth is excited to partner with internet search
engine GoodSearch
and on-line superstore GoodShop
for a new way to help Defend the Planet One Search
at a Time. GoodSearch works just like any other
search engine, with the exception that each search
you conduct will directly benefit Rock the Earth.
At one cent per search, it's remarkable how quickly
the dollars add up.
Meanwhile,
partner site, GoodShop,
let's you do your holiday shopping at over 30 different
on-line stores such as Staples, Apple, Best Buy, Circuit
City and Barnes & Noble with a portion of each
purchase being donated to RtE!
To
get started, visit GoodSearch
or GoodShop
and type in "Rock the Earth" under
the "Who do you Goodsearch for?"
button. With that, every search and purchase you conduct
will directly benefit Rock the Earth. You can even
check the progress being made by Rock the Earth members.
If only 1000 friends of Rock the Earth utilize the
GoodSearch engine, we would raise nearly $8,000 in
a year.
Remember
to set your home page or search engine to GoodSearch
and raise money for Rock the Earth more easily than
ever!
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Rare
Poster Auction to Benefit RtE!
 The
winning bidder of this auction
will receive three limited-edition signed and numbered
posters (x/500) printed on 25% hemp / 75% post-consumer
waste paper.
The
limited edition prints include Emek's "Un-natural
Resources," Jeff Wood's "Pretty Fly
for an Earth Guy," and "Man as Caretaker"
by Gary Houston. Emek's "Un-natural Resources"
is highly collectable and was most recently used to
commemorate Pearl Jam's concert at the Santa Barbara
Bowl in 2006.
This
rare and collectable set by three noted concert poster
artists was a commissioned collaboration. All three
pieces contain the same four elements: Earth,
Air, Water and Humanity.
100%
of the proceeds from this auction will be donated
to Rock the Earth. Help support our work to Defend
the Planet One Beat at a Time!
To
start bidding on this 3-poster set go here.
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John
Butler & Brett Dennen Rock the Earth and San Francisco's
Ocean Beach!
 Rock
the Earth is very fortunate to work with many musicians
who are concerned about the environment, and who,
through their music, are able to inspire their fans
to take action of their own. John Butler is one such
musician.
While
in San Francisco, CA for a show on the John
Butler Trio's Good Excuse Tour, John
Butler and his pal Brett
Dennen, who is on tour with JBT, encouraged
fans to head down to Ocean Beach to pick up trash.
These environmentally-aware guys really walk their
talk, because both of them were out there with everyone
else collecting garbage! For two hours volunteers
walked up and down the beach and surrounding area,
picking up pieces of glass, cigarette butts, plastic
bottles and other random pieces of trash.
 Once
the work of the day was done, John and Brett played
some acoustic music to thank everyone for coming out
and taking part in the clean up. The day's events
wrapped up with a raffle of great donated prizes including
a RtE poster signed by both artists, boxes of CLIF
bars, Surfrider gear, and tickets to the John Butler
Trio show later that night at the Warfield. Volunteers
left the beach happy knowing they had lent a hand
in a successful event.
Coordinated
by CLIF Bar's GreenNotes
Program, Music
Matters, RtE, Surfrider
Foundation and Save
the Bay, the event brought together
about 250 people willing to do their part to clean
up Ocean Beach.
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Member
Benefits: New Rock the Earth Batik!
 It
has been two years since the last time we commissioned
a batik artist to create a hand-made, one-of-a-kind,
line of batik shirts for Rock the Earth. We have heard
the clamoring and requests! Thanks to the generosity
of batik artist Eric Mairona at Peak
to Peak Batiks, RtE has a beautiful
new membership gift. Eric's work has been used on
shirts by Leftover Salmon, Michael Franti & Spearhead,
the String Cheese Incident, Widespread Panic, High
Sierra Music Festival, Big Head Todd & the Monsters
and many, many others. This unique and limited
edition (only 60 created) long-sleeve shirt is available
in both men's and women's cuts, for new and renewing
members at only $75! Order
now as they will be going quick!
|
More Member Benefits: |
 |
20%
off all products from Guayaki
Yerba Mate |
 |
20%
off Eco
Express gift baskets (or donate
20% of all full-priced orders to Rock the Earth
by designating donation in comments section of
each order) |
 |
20%
off Bamboosa
products |
 |
20%
off SCIGear
merchandise |
 |
Special
contests and discounts on concert tickets |
| To
find out how you can take advantage of these Members
Only benefits, write to info@rocktheearth.org. |
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Rollin'
on a River: Riverkeeper Rocks the Earth
 Over
the past 3 years, Rock the Earth has been proud to
collaborate with the St.
Johns Riverkeeper in Florida. During
this time, RtE volunteers have been educating and
activating music fans all across the US about important
environmental issues and threats to this important
waterway. Not only is this amazing resource being
threatened by unsustainable development (much of which
takes place within critical wetlands), but also by
industrial polluters and water grabs that would threaten
clean water supplies and important aquatic resources
that rely on this waterway – the lifeblood of
the region. This past May, JJ Grey & MOFRO,
the Jaycees and others got together for a benefit
for the St. Johns River in St. Augustine, for which
Rock the Earth was recently given a portion thereof.
We are grateful for the support that we have received
from Riverkeeper, JJ Grey and Madison House, and look
forward to continued collaboration with the St. Johns
Riverkeeper in the future to protect this vital resource.
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 ARIA
Foundation Also Rocks the Earth
Meanwhile,
this month we were also surprised when we received
an unsolicited grant from the ARIA
(Artistic Resources In Action) Foundation
in the amount of $1,000! ARIA is a 501(c)(3) public
charity that is a community foundation servicing the
music industry. This grant from ARIA came directly
out of our work with Bonnie Raitt in 2005-2006.
We are grateful for the grant and look forward to
collaborating with one of the most environmentally
conscious artists in the world again in the future!
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Who's
Your Planet Defender?
 In
April of 2006, Rock the Earth presented our inaugural
Planet Defender awards to three inspirational defenders
of the ideals that Rock the Earth believes in. In
2007, RtE handed out the awards to The Barenaked
Ladies in the "Rocker" category, Blue
Ocean Institute's Carl Safina in the "Community
Leader" category, and the Illick's Mill Project's
Karen Dolan in the "Grassroots Activist"
category. These winners were chosen from among dozens
of nominations made by Rock the Earth members and
friends.
In
January, we will once again put out a call for nominations
of those individuals who embody Rock the Earth's mission
of Defending the Planet One Beat at a Time.
Keep an eye out for those folks who you feel are helping
to protect our planet's most precious places, and
nominate them for the prestigious Planet Defender
Award. Winners will be announced on Earth Day, April
22, 2007.
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Volunteer
with Rock the Earth
Rock
the Earth is on the road, powered mainly by volunteers.
Have you considered volunteering with Rock the Earth?
You can do it from the road or at home! We have dozens
of opportunities, and can certainly find one that
matches your skills. During this time of year,
we especially need help around the office in Denver
with our year-end donor appeals. If you have a few
hours to donate, we could use your help! Other
volunteer opportunities include the following:
- Tabling
events
- Coordinating
volunteers
- Fundraising
& membership drives
- Legal
& technical assistance
- Assisting
with data entry & mailings in our Denver office
- Writing
press releases
If
you're interested in volunteering with us, please
send an email to volunteer@RockTheEarth.org
to find out how you can help Rock the Earth! Be sure
to include your city and state so we know the region
of the country you live.
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Brett
Dennen Rocks the Earth: Interview
 2007
marks the end of an incredible year for California
based singer-songwriter, Brett
Dennen. Following the release of So
Much More and nonstop tour dates, he was named
one of Rolling Stone's "Artists to Watch"
in November, one of three "Tunesmiths to Watch"
by Entertainment Weekly and was the subject of a feature
in the LA Times who cheered, "Dennen is ecstatic
and hopeful." This summer he hit the #1 slot
on USA Today's Playlist, charted at #1 on both eMusic
and the iTunes Folk Charts, completed a successful
nationwide tour with John Mayer and sold out venues
like the Fillmore in San Francisco. Recently, Brett
joined Rock the Earth with John Butler to clean up
San Francisco's Ocean Beach. Read about that in the
article above.
More about Brett can be found at www.brettdennen.net.
What
environmental issue(s) do you consider to be the most
critical at this time?
There
are many problems facing the world and the human population.
I don’t believe it is a matter of what movements
are better to get behind, or what causes are better
to support. What matters most is that we support something
positive that is good for the world and humankind,
no matter how big or small it is. Everything in the
universe is connected to something else, like a web.
If we focus our energy and bring about positive change
to one thing, that change in some way, will affect
everything else. Therefore it is important to realize
that every individual has the power to change the
world, as well as a responsibility to do so along
with everyone else.
What
has inspired you to combine environmental activism
with your music?
I
believe that music is activism. Music moves people
and inspires them. There is no reason to move people
without a message, so that’s why I make sure
that people know what my message is.
Where
is your favorite place in nature to go to find solace
or inspiration?
Up
along Sonora Pass, in the Stanislaus National Forest,
within the Emigrant Wilderness, there is a place called
Granite Dome. I have spent countless times there.
I have grown up there in its colorful summers. I have
faced many challenges climbing it and getting down
off it, and every time I catch a glimpse of the bigger
picture. I realize how small I am, but how I can achieve
great things. Every time I learn something about myself.
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Rockin
the Earth: Home for the Holidays (Photo)
John Butler, RtE Executive Director Marc Ross and
Brett Dennen.
(Denver, Thanksgiving 2007)
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