Just give me the warm power of the sun
Give me the steady flow of the waterfall
Give me the spirit of living things
As they return to clay
Just give me the restless power of the wind
Give me the comforting glow of a wood fire
But won't you take all your atomic poison power away
Everybody needs some power, I'm told
To shield them from the darkness and the cold
Some may seek a way to take control
When it's bought and sold
I know that lives are at stake
Yours and mine of our descendants in time
There's so much to gain and so much to lose
Every one of us has to choose
~ John and Johanna Hall
I guess that my recent posts indirectly inspired this one. Yesterday's mention of the Three Mile Island meltdown and the reference to "I Give You Power" in the post the day before commingled in my brain to point me to this song. It wasn't a hard sell; I have always loved this song, ever since I first heard it at a No Nukes concert at Madison Square Garden in September 1979. I think the song may be found on a John Hall album of the same name, but I linked a youtube video from one of the No Nukes concerts for this post. If you watched the video, you may have recognized Carly Simon, Jackson Browne, Graham Nash, and Bonnie Raitt singing along with Hall. Browne, Nash, Hall, and Raitt formed MUSE (Musicians United for Safe Energy) after the Three Mile Island meltdown and performed at five concerts at the Garden for their No Nukes effort.
John Hall, originally with the group Orleans ("Still the One"), became active in the movement to curtail nuclear energy after learning that a power plant was planned for Cementon, New York, near his home in the Saugerties. That project was kiboshed after Three Mile Island. Hall went on to be very active politically, serving as the Democratic representative for the 19th district from 2007 to 2011.
In recent news, we learned that our current administration has pulled us out of the Paris Climate Accord, a slap in the face to environmentalists, and well, to the world. At the same time, the news has shown us images of the world's largest floating solar power plant . . . in China. In a twist of irony, it turns out the lake supporting the solar plant was created by rain after the surrounding land collapsed following intense coal mining operations over a period of years. You might remember coal? That outdated fossil fuel that caused some job losses? You know, coal . . . the industry that our leader wants to revive and part of why he pulled out of the Paris Accord. Maybe he'll also bring back 8-track tapes and telephone answering machines? I myself have been hoping that they start making Sony Walkmans again. I'll put mine right there in my belly bag.
By all reports, there were 22 Senators who supported the decision to pull out of the Paris Accord and penned a letter to Trump urging him to do so. Coincidentally, they are all beholden to Big Oil. Their campaigns have received more than $10 million from oil, gas, and coal companies in the last three election cycles. Is anyone surprised by this?
As for me, just give me the warm power of the sun. (She said, on yet another rainy day in the Northeast.)
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