In a new song by Pearl Jam and music video in collaboration with SeaLegacy (@sealegacy), famous frontman Eddie Vedder uses his voice to speak for those who can't speak for themselves: our oceans and the planet.
The song is titled "Dark Matter," and the chorus says, "It's strange these days when everybody else pays for someone else's mistake." In the video, the song plays over a mix of awe-inspiring scenes of nature, wildlife, and communities and the catastrophes that devastate them.
"We are on the front lines of a new climate era. … Without our voices for the oceans and the Earth, our fellow species will vanish in silence," the video's caption reads, further stating that the point of the video is to sound "the alarm for the plight of our planet through the eyes of nature."
Vedder and Pearl Jam have been vocal advocates for the environment and the need to stop rising global temperatures for decades, with many of their songs speaking to environmental issues. To celebrate Earth Day in 2022, Vedder called the International Space Station and spoke with NASA astronauts about the effects of a changing climate on Earth from those looking at it from above.
As the caption reads, the oceans and Earth can't speak for themselves. Unfortunately, aside from this video, the data also speaks for them, and it isn't good. A new scientific assessment found that wildlife populations worldwide have dropped by an average of 73% since 1970.
The video shows tornadoes, raging wildfires, oceans and beaches littered with plastic, and swirling hurricanes, among other catastrophes wreaking havoc on our planet. Rising temperatures are caused mainly by human activity, and as the planet grows hotter, their effects are seen in worsening extreme weather.
While anyone can debate whether people's minds can be changed easily these days, celebrities using their voices to speak for the silent victims of these events is one way to reach a large audience and effect change — and an increasing consensus of major voices can turn a conversation from niche to mainstream. Realizing the opportunity their platforms provide them, other megastar musicians are taking the opportunity to do the same, including Billie Eilish.
Metallica set an example through action by using hydrogen-powered vehicles on their recent tour, Coldplay even introduced ways for fans at concerts to generate power through dancing and jumping with kinetic flooring, and Radiohead has been ahead of the game for decades by refusing to ship their gear via airfreight, avoiding plastic at all costs, and running their tour bus on biofuel before it was remotely commonplace.
Even if you don't have an audience like these celebrities, talking to your friends and family about climate issues is a great way to affect change on a smaller scale. At its core, this is what the video and Vedder's lyrics are trying to do: show a sign of support for reducing pollution in order to protect ocean life and other wildlife.
🗣️ Do you worry about air pollution in your town?
🔘 All the time 💯
🔘 Often 😢
🔘 Only sometimes 😟
🔘 Never 😎
🗳️ Click your choice to see results and speak your mind
Aside from talking to your circle, making changes in your daily actions, like using less plastic and taking public transportation — whether to work or see T Swift — can go a long way toward this goal.
"Thank you for using your voice to help to protect What really matters!" wrote one of the video's viewers.
"Great collaboration," said another, "will certainly wake those up that need to be."
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