The Conservation Report

A Conservation Report Original

Friday, 7 September 2007

ARCTIC bids to keep the Arctic cool by assisting WWF

…for me I want to save my world. It just so happens that you’re going to benefit from it. That brings me good karma.

- Marcus Martin of ARCTIC

To raise a global warning about global climate change, the musicians of ARCTIC are using their exposure, fan base, and talent to provide that “every little bit helps” towards fighting a problem that our generation has inherited. Such endeavors are truly inspiring and telling of the human condition.

By Buck Denton

The Conservation Report: ARCTIC, many thanks for joining me here at The Conservation Report. It is very frustrating as the politicians in my country foot-drag on the issue of “what to do about climate change”. I believe good intentions exist in Congress but politics, a lack of understanding of the basic fundamentals of science, or the perception that doing something will result in losing, are just some factors, which stall the development of a mature model that addresses climate change “head on”. How do you understand the issue(s)? Should the issue(s) be difficult to understand?

Marcus: You’re right, there’s probably some good intentions in Congress. And you’re absolutely right that there’s a basic lack of understanding of the fundamentals of science. I think politics have probably stalled attempts to make a change, because you never know what’s going on in the back-room deals. Now you have big oil companies hiring publicists – and the publicists are hiring scientists. If we’re trying to keep politics and religion separated, we should also keep publicists and science separated.

I think the reason why it’s so difficult to understand is that there’s so many issues that are going on from “how to stop climate change” to “it’s not happening” to “it’s faster than we predicted” to “it’s slower than we predicted”, and it depends which camp you’re sitting in. And the issue shouldn’t be this difficult. We should be able to look at the facts and say “the climate is definitely changing”, and stop what we’re doing just in case. Because if we go too far, we’re not coming back.

People have to understand that it’s not necessarily that it’s going to be the end of the world – it’s the end of us. The planet will keep going.

The Conservation Report: How do you believe Canada is dealing with the issue?

Marcus: I don’t think Canada is dealing with it any better than the United States. We might be talking about it more, but we have our own problems adopting Kyoto – that’s a mess. The one hope that I have is that the First Nations will take control of some of this, because they have traditionally been closest to the land.

The Conservation Report: Since Marcus Martin grew up in the Arctic region of Canada’s Northwest Territories, what type of changes in the natural landscape has he or any of you observed firsthand?

Marcus: When I was there last summer, it was noticeably drier and warmer than I remembered growing up. I heard stories from up in the high Arctic that some of the permafrost was starting to melt, and that the freeze-up was happening later than even five years ago.

The Conservation Report: In America, many opinions exist about climate change. There exist cynical and fanatical opinions in addition to everything in between! Some people believe it exists, while others believe it is largely constructed by some type of agenda machine. Speak about the social landscape where you have lived or do live in terms of awareness or perceptions regarding climate change amongst your community, family, and peers.

Kirsten: Living in Vancouver, where many people come just to be near the oceans, mountains and forest, I think we’re exposed to a lot more information and activism about sustainability and climate awareness than most places. Recycling and composting are taken for granted, and there’s a lot of social pressure to use transit or bike rather than drive. But we tend to forget that it’s not like that in, for example, most of the southern States. So it tends to baffle us why anyone thinks it’s a conspiracy.

Marcus: It’s hard to have a level discussion about these things with anyone that denounces the reality of science in general. And it doesn’t seem like it should be an issue at all. Why would anyone not want clean air and water? Having an agenda that means having a better place to live – why is that a problem?

The Conservation Report: How do you respond to cynicism towards musicians who try to “save the world”?

Marcus: Actually, it’s quite selfish, because for me I want to save my world. It just so happens that you’re going to benefit from it. That brings me good karma.

The Conservation Report: Why did ARCTIC choose WWF as the instrument for supporting conservation efforts and fight global climate change in the Arctic region?

Kirsten: In our newsletters and on our web site, we include a “News of the North” section where we draw peoples’ attention to news about the environment and wildlife in the Arctic and beyond. We refer frequently to the WWF and their great work – their website is a terrific resource, with plenty of information about the initiatives and also steps that people can take on their own. We find many people like to be “armchair activists”, and they’ll gladly sign petitions and write letters if they understand why something is important.

Marcus: We’d like to be able to support all of the different groups that make a difference in our world, and we’d like to do more of this sort of thing in the future. But of course, if none of this was happening and we didn’t have to worry about environmental issues like global warming and oil spills, and other world atrocities, we could just keep all the money and throw a party.

The Conservation Report: Will the band go on tour through America, particularly in the Midwest or East coast? How will you travel? What type of steps will you take to be as eco-conscious as possible–if possible?

Marcus: Our goal is to tour America.

Kirsten: Which is actually more efficient than touring Canada, because here the major cities are all separated by huge sprawling distances. Along the west and east coasts of the States you can play tons of places in a relatively short drive.

Marcus: It’d be nice to be sponsored by a biofuel bus company like Unifried for touring North and South America. And the band doesn’t know this, but I want to go to Europe by cargo ship instead of plane. It’s going there anyway.

The Conservation Report: Again, thank you for the opportunity to interview ARCTIC. I wish you the best of luck in your endeavors, and I hope to see you live one day! Thank you very much!

ARCTIC’s auction can be viewed at http://www.projectarctic.com/wwf. Bidding will begin on Sunday, September 9, at 8 pm PDT, and it will end on Sunday, September 16.

Contact: Kirsten Bole |
Punchface Propaganda Machine |
PO Box 2961 Station Terminal |
Vancouver, BC Canada V6B 3X4 |
604-817-9373 |
pr@punchface.com

————- The buck stops here at The Conservation Report otherwise reach me at buckdenton@gmail.com