USA: Rocker Melissa Etheridge joins Al Gore in the fight against global warming as "An Inconvenient Truth" debuts on DVD

Grammy-winning Rocker Melissa Etheridge has contributed to the soundtrack for former US Vice President Al Gore's documentary "An Inconvenient Truth" in an effort to raise awareness for the fight against global warming. The film debuted on DVD on Tuesday (November 21) and contains the video for Etheridge's song "I Need to Wake Up," an anthem set against the backdrop of alarming environmental statistics and video footage supporting global warming. Etheridge drew from her recent eye-opening experience with breast cancer while writing the song, realising like so many others that she too had not paid enough attention to the overall health and well-being of the earth. "The film, you understand it's a man's journey with this subject also, and how his own experience with it, him hearing from his college professor about global warming, and seeing the work that this man did, and the truth to it, and him thinking 'oh my gosh, I'm gonna go to the senate, I'm gonna run for senate, I'm gonna present them with the information, and they'll change everything,' - because that's what you should do - and he goes there, and you realize that nobody wanted to hear that," said singer-songwriter Melissa Etheridge. "An Inconvenient Truth" offers evidence, both statistical and visual, that global warming is occurring at an alarming rate. The film is based upon a slideshow presentation created by Gore, who travelled with it around the globe in the years following the 2000 presidential election, in which he lost to George W. Bush. He has spent much of his career focusing on the issue, and now believes it to be his most important endeavour since leaving office. Should he have won the election, he would have likely become the most environmentally-friendly president since Teddy Roosevelt, a thought that still disappoints Etheridge some six years later. "I think that Al Gore didn't win because he wasn't supposed to, there were some things we needed to learn, we needed to see how bad it could get, we needed to see just what is possible when democracy is overcome by big business," said Etheridge. The Bush administration has been famous for its lack of action on issues regarding the environment, a point that is highlighted in the slideshow presentation with copies of memos thoroughly edited by a White House official with no scientific expertise, in an effort to undermine the urgency of the issue. Also explored by the film are the oil companies' ties to the president and the probability that global warming is to blame for stronger hurricanes like Katrina, which destroyed much of the Gulf Coast in 2005. Gore believes our biggest problem is the misconception that nothing can be done about global warming, and that preventing it would be too costly for the America. Etheridge has already begun changing aspects of her life to better the environment by using biodiesel instead of regular gasoline for all the vehicles used during her recent summer tour. And while she acknowledges that she is of a higher income class than most people, she believes that if there is enough consumer demand for eco-friendly products, there will be a sea change in the way America does business. "Yes I have the means to pay a quarter more - but if someone doesn't, and really wouldn't you rather put that quarter to that than, I don't know, a McDonald's burger?" Etheridge said.. Etheridge has released nine albums since signing her record contract in 1987, won two grammy awards in the nineties, and has become one of the most prominent member of the gay community since publicly acknowledging her homosexuality in 1993. In October of 2004 she was diagnosed with breast cancer, but after chemotherapy treatment she is now happily cancer-free. Like many people afflicted with the disease, she believes the toxins and waste created by humans is directly related to the rise of cancer as a prominent killer, making her all the more willing to help champion Gore's movement. "An Inconvenient Truth" has been shortlisted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as a possible Oscar nominee for best documentary. "I Need to Wake Up" could also make history if it is nominated for best song, as it would be the first song from a documentary film to be nominated in that category.

ITN Source | November 23, 2006

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