The likes of Sting, John Legend, the Roots, Bob Weir and Joss Stone will take to the National Mall Sunday as featured music entertainment for the Climate Rally. An assortment of speakers also will be at the free event, which celebrates the 40th anniversary of Earth Day.
Climate Rally, featuring Sting, John Legend, the Roots and more
Where: National Mall (accessible via several Metro stations, consult map for locations)
When: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday
Info: Free; earthday.org
“The performers and speakers are proven environmental stewards,” Nate Byer, the Earth Day 2010 campaign coordinator, said during a phone interview. “They have the power to deliver a clear message. They speak to a lot of people who aren’t thinking about this on a daily basis.”
The Climate Rally is presented by the Earth Day Network, whose mission is “to broaden and diversify the environmental movement worldwide, and to mobilize it as the most effective vehicle for promoting a healthy, sustainable environment,” according to earthday.org.
“Avatar” and “Titanic” director James Cameron and the Rev. Jesse Jackson are two of the featured speakers.
The event’s location — on the National Mall — is no coincidence.
“The whole purpose is to send a message to Congress,” Denis Hayes, an organizer of the first Earth Day in 1970 and is the Earth Day 2010 chairman, said during a recent phone conversation.
Hayes said environmental concerns back in the 1970s were easier to explain because they were obvious, like acid rain or smog. Today’s challenges, he said, are to get people to accept the science that show subtle climate change throughout time.
“We were protesting things that were immediate and could be sensed,” Hayes said. “[Now], they tend to be things we’re unaware of. It requires a higher degree of science.”
While the folks at Earth Day Network stress Sunday’s event is a climate rally with featured speakers and a message to be sent, it’s performances by Sting, Legend, the Roots and others that will draw thousands to the Mall.
“We need people to come out, listen to some good music and show it’s something they care about,” Byer said.
