In the lead-up to Earth Day 2020, animals have run wild in urban spaces, Los Angeles residents have been able to see their city again, and "oil futures" appear to be anything but. For today's celebration of the natural world, Bill Nye has shared a playlist to mark the occasion.
Nye's Mixtape for Mother Earth lines up old favourites from the likes of Frank Sinatra, the Beatles, B.B. King, and Hank Williams alongside newer material from Taylor Swift, Meghan Trainor and Steve Aoki.
While he doesn't pick up the mic to kick scientific truth himself, Nye does manage to work in some in some musical takes in some accompanying liner notes you can find ahead of the mixtape stream below.
"At 14, I rode my bicycle to the first Earth Day on the National Mall in my hometown of Washington, D.C.," Nye told the platform. "In those days, it was all about pollution. Today, it's climate change — and this year's pandemic."
Nye added, "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!"
Check out Nye's Mixtape for Mother Earth below, where you can also find his track notes.
Mixtape for Mother Earth:
1. Riders in the Sky - "Don't Fence Me In"
"This is the best version of this song ever. (Yes, my friends, it's better than Bing Crosby's, which suffers from a deliberate tempo.) Humans have long felt they could roam the world without worry. This tune is happy, to be sure. It kicks us off with a view of the planet before we needed Earth Day."
2. Tom Lehrer - "Pollution"
"The need for Earth Day goes back at least to 1965. Don't believe me? Have a listen. This guy is brilliant."
3. Hank Williams - "Lost Highway"
"This is us, people. When it comes to climate change and self-preservation, we're often alone and lost. A Hank Williams song is a celebration of excellence."
4. Creedence Clearwater Revival - "Green River"
"Most of us live near or depend on a river. His deliberate twang drives the message: We need our home."
5. The Polynesians - "Hilo Bay"
"Earth is a beautiful place."
6. Frank Sinatra - "Fly Me to the Moon"
"When this song was recorded, such a flight seemed easy enough. Well, it isn't. And our planet is the only practical place for us to live. Nowhere else to fly to, really."
7. Barry McGuire - "Eve of Destruction"
"Pretty much spelled it out. When one considers climate change, 1965 was indeed the eve of something astonishingly difficult for humankind to manage."
8. B.B. King - "The Thrill Is Gone"
"No going back, people. We can't live without preserving our environment."
9. The Beatles - "Help!"
"Crying for help isn't going to bring some alien cavalry to our aid. We need help, not from an anybody, but from everybody."
10. Taylor Swift - "Cruel Summer"
"Let's not call it alarmist. Let's call it facing the cruel fact of climate change. And it rocks."
11. Steve Aoki - "Noble Gas"
"The idea of a noble gas is fascinating. There are great lessons to be learned by comparing the climate of Earth with those of Venus and Mars."
12. Meghan Trainor - "Woman Up"
"We're all in this together. Let's dance!"
13. The O'Jays - "Love Train"
"We are all one species, more alike than we are different. Turn this one up loud. Let's change the world."
Nye's Mixtape for Mother Earth lines up old favourites from the likes of Frank Sinatra, the Beatles, B.B. King, and Hank Williams alongside newer material from Taylor Swift, Meghan Trainor and Steve Aoki.
While he doesn't pick up the mic to kick scientific truth himself, Nye does manage to work in some in some musical takes in some accompanying liner notes you can find ahead of the mixtape stream below.
"At 14, I rode my bicycle to the first Earth Day on the National Mall in my hometown of Washington, D.C.," Nye told the platform. "In those days, it was all about pollution. Today, it's climate change — and this year's pandemic."
Nye added, "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!"
Check out Nye's Mixtape for Mother Earth below, where you can also find his track notes.
Mixtape for Mother Earth:
1. Riders in the Sky - "Don't Fence Me In"
"This is the best version of this song ever. (Yes, my friends, it's better than Bing Crosby's, which suffers from a deliberate tempo.) Humans have long felt they could roam the world without worry. This tune is happy, to be sure. It kicks us off with a view of the planet before we needed Earth Day."
2. Tom Lehrer - "Pollution"
"The need for Earth Day goes back at least to 1965. Don't believe me? Have a listen. This guy is brilliant."
3. Hank Williams - "Lost Highway"
"This is us, people. When it comes to climate change and self-preservation, we're often alone and lost. A Hank Williams song is a celebration of excellence."
4. Creedence Clearwater Revival - "Green River"
"Most of us live near or depend on a river. His deliberate twang drives the message: We need our home."
5. The Polynesians - "Hilo Bay"
"Earth is a beautiful place."
6. Frank Sinatra - "Fly Me to the Moon"
"When this song was recorded, such a flight seemed easy enough. Well, it isn't. And our planet is the only practical place for us to live. Nowhere else to fly to, really."
7. Barry McGuire - "Eve of Destruction"
"Pretty much spelled it out. When one considers climate change, 1965 was indeed the eve of something astonishingly difficult for humankind to manage."
8. B.B. King - "The Thrill Is Gone"
"No going back, people. We can't live without preserving our environment."
9. The Beatles - "Help!"
"Crying for help isn't going to bring some alien cavalry to our aid. We need help, not from an anybody, but from everybody."
10. Taylor Swift - "Cruel Summer"
"Let's not call it alarmist. Let's call it facing the cruel fact of climate change. And it rocks."
11. Steve Aoki - "Noble Gas"
"The idea of a noble gas is fascinating. There are great lessons to be learned by comparing the climate of Earth with those of Venus and Mars."
12. Meghan Trainor - "Woman Up"
"We're all in this together. Let's dance!"
13. The O'Jays - "Love Train"
"We are all one species, more alike than we are different. Turn this one up loud. Let's change the world."