“If we don’t consider the fragility and finite capacity of our planets oceans, we may destroy our most precious resource. Our ocean will only survive if the world agrees to sustain her.”
- Pearl Jam guitarist Stone Gossard
A scene from the “Amongst the Waves” video
Backspacer, Pearl Jam’s ninth studio album, was released independently and debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard charts. Now, with their third single “Amongst The Waves” going strong, these longtime environmental stewards released the “Amongst the Waves” video as part of the launch of their Oceans Campaign. The cornerstone of the campaign is www.pearljam.com/oceans, their newest environmental advocacy tool which gives many clear action steps for fans wanting to support a sustainable ocean, and raises awareness of the efforts of various organizations working diligently on ocean preservation.
Proceeds from the US sale of “Amongst the Waves” benefit Pearljam.com/Oceans partner organization Conservation International's Marine Programs, www.conservation.org/marine. Universal Music/Island Records has also agreed to donate proceeds from international sales of the video in participating territories for the next six months.
The video has already been viewed by hundreds of thousands of fans and has been picked up and directly embedded on over 100 websites including National Geographic, Greenpeace, Oceana, Treehugger, VOLCOM and PlanetGreen.Discovery. It is streaming for free at www.pearljam.com/oceans and worldmusic.nationalgeographic.com/.
Building upon a strong foundation of science, partnership and field demonstration, Conservation International (CI) empowers societies to responsibly and sustainably care for nature, our global biodiversity, and the well-being of humanity. CI is applying smart solutions to protect the resources that we all depend on for a stable climate, fresh water and healthy oceans. CI is renowned for its leadership and expertise in partnering with global businesses, having helped shape the conservation work of some of the world’s most influential companies including Walmart, Starbucks, McDonald’s, and Bank of America. For more information, visit www.conservation.org.
Over the years, Pearl Jam has given financial and leadership support to Surfrider Foundation, Honor The Earth, Cascades Conservation Partnership, Big Wave Invitational Benefit Concert (Eddie Vedder Solo), The Kelly Slater Foundation "Save Trestles” Benefit Concert (Eddie Vedder Solo), Stewardship Partners, Veterans Green Jobs Alliance, Buffalo Field Campaign, and Gulf Restoration Network.
Recent highlights include their 2006 launch of www.pearljam.com/activism, which unified the various activism components of their website and gave fans a home base to keep up with efforts and updates. In 2009, Pearl Jam entered Conservation International's "Great Turtle Race," sponsoring a turtle they named "Backspacer." The band pledged, along with other race sponsors, to match donations made to CI's marine conservation programs in their turtle's name dollar for dollar.
Pearl Jam guitarist, Stone Gossard, has shown further financial and leadership support to the Seattle Land Conservancy (with Jeff Ament), New Apollo Energy Project, Wild Salmon Center, Conservation International, Cascade Land Conservancy, Green Empowerment, Washingtonians For Energy, and People For Puget Sound and Wild Salmon Center. Gossard also toured in 2008 as part of Timberland’s Dig It environmental initiative.
Even further, Pearl Jam has been a leader in creating innovative Carbon Mitigation programs to offset the Carbon Footprint of ALL of their tours since 2003. That includes hotel rooms, flights, busses, trucks, airfreight and the impact of concert attendees. To this end, one of their leading partnerships has been with Conservation International (CI).
Pearl Jam offset the 5,700 tons of CO2 emissions generated by their 2003 concert tour through an investment in CI’s Conservation Carbon program. This funding supported a joint project between CI and the Wildlife Conservation Society to protect rain forests in northeastern Madagascar.
In 2006 Pearl Jam launched a "Carbon Portfolio Strategy" where their carbon offset donations went to nine different organizations including American Solar Energy Society, Bonneville Environmental Foundation, Conservation International, Green Empowerment, Honor The Earth, Cascade Land Conservancy, IslandWood, EarthCorps and the Washington Clean Energy Initiative.
For their 2009-2010 World Tour Pearl Jam partnered with the Cascade Land Conservancy, a national leader in urban forest restoration, to plant approximately 33 acres of native trees and plants in communities around the Puget Sound.
Having stormed the stage and rocked the world during the Alternative Rock Movement of the early 90’s, Pearl Jam continue to be pioneering leaders forging pathways towards a more sustainable planet for all of us.