by Eve took a stance on climate control today during President Day weekend, rallying with the Hip Hop Caucus and over 35,000 protestors. The 34-year-old multi-platinum recording artist joined the rallying group, who marched to the front of the White House steps to support action to contain climate change. The protestors are in favor of rejecting the proposed Keystone XL Pipeline Project and want more investments put toward positive climate solutions.
Eve wasn’t the only star showing support, actress Rosario Dawson, DJ Kalkutta, and a number of national leaders were in attendance for the rally toward a more green, less polluted earth. The Hip Hop Caucus co-convened the momentous event with the help of organizations like the Sierra Club, 350.org, and 168 partner organizations from around the country, helping to establish it as the largest climate rally in U.S. history.
“Profiteers from dirty energy, like oil and coal, insist on continuing to extract fossil fuels, even though we have alternative clean energy solutions at our fingertips. A few are getting richer, and the rest of us, and future generations are paying the price,” said Rev. Lennox Yearwood Jr., President and CEO of the Hip Hop Caucus and Master of Ceremonies of today’s rally. “As Hip Hop gets more and more engaged in the issue of our planet’s health and survival, we will see the global movement for climate solutions grow and grow; that is our goal, and that is our power.”
Yearwood is actually one of the 48 celebrities and environmental leaders who were arrested this past weekend, February 13, in front of the President’s residence. The group was raising awareness about the Keystone XL Pipeline, which is a proposed $7 billion pipeline that would run nearly 2,000 miles to connect Canada’s oil sands to refineries around Houston and the Gulf of Mexico. The pipeline would be able to carry more than half a million barrels a day, however, putting environmental risks on the backburner. According to the tarsandsaction.org, one of the many risks include if a rupture were to take place in the pipeline it could lead to, “a BP style oil spill in America’s heartland, over the fresh drinking water for 2 million people.”
The caucus and other environmentalists and supporters are not only calling on President Obama to reject the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline but want to the President to further climate control by imposing more limits on carbon pollution caused by U.S. power plants.
Eve and DJ Kalkutta, who Dj-ed two sets for the large crowd, helped to showcase the need for hip hop to focus in and participate on the large issue that will affect millions – from the rich to the poor.
“It is the poor here in the U.S. and around the globe who suffer the most from consequences of polluted air and water, rising sea levels, and more frequent and harsher natural disasters. The Hip Hop community must own this issue, it is our futures at stake,” said the New York-based DJ and producer.
Grammy-award winning rapper EVE, preformed for the environmental friendly and concerned crowd, who came from more than 30 states across the U.S. to get the President’s attention. Her album Lip Lock will be released on May 14 and with feature artists like Snoop Dogg, Juicy J, Pusha T, Dawn Richards, and more. DJ Kalkutta also entertained the crowd DJ-ing two sets.
To get more information on the Forward On Climate Rally you can go to www.forwardonclimate.org. More information on the Hip Hop Caucus can be found at www.hiphopcaucus.org.
