Grammy© nomination
James Taylor
One Man Band March 29: Edinburgh March 31: Belfast April 3: Brussels April 5: Amsterdam April 6: Paris April 8: Frankfurt April 10: Lucerne April 12: Florence April 14: Milan April 15: Rome April 17: Hamburg April 18: Odense April 20: Stockholm April 21: Oslo April 23: Copenhagen April 28: Reykjavik
Photo credits: 0108A |
 For our January newsletter, James talks about his life-long love of the sea and the current fate of the oceans. James has served on the Board of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) since 1992. NRDC is the nation’s most effective environmental action organization and is supported by 1.2 million members. Right now, one of NRDC’s top-priority campaigns is protecting whales and other marine mammals from an onslaught of deadly military sonar. High-intensity sonar blasts whales with noise billions of times more intense than levels known to disturb them. Despite the mounting toll of whale deaths, the U.S. Navy has refused to take precautions that would protect mammals during military training. In a series of recent legal victories, NRDC has forced the Navy to put measures in place to protect whales during its upcoming military maneuvers near the Channel Islands -- home to five endangered species of whales. Where did your love of the ocean come from?
was of some sailors and a whale that came up near them through a blowhole in the ice. That was my introduction to whales. My father also was a sailor, and I sailed up the coast from North Carolina to Martha's Vineyard with him one summer and I remember all the marine life in that passage. We used to go up to Martha's Vineyard every summer because of my Mom. Her dad and her brother were commercial fishermen and boat builders. They lived on the sea her whole life. My mother felt very connected with that, and so did I. When my grandfather was in the naval surplus business, I spent many a long day in his company, working on wooden life boats or sailing up and down the Merrimac in some refit naval craft or other. So both sides of the family, my mother and my father, were seafaring. Why are you so concerned about the fate of the oceans? We are running out of time to save them. We thoughtlessly pollute them with little awareness of the profound effect that we're having. I remember when I fished with my grandfather, the purseseins would be winched up on board and the strings released and the entire catch would be up to your knees on the deck. My job was to identify and throw overboard the trash fish that weren't part of the catch. Now, those are the fish that are on every menu — you know, monk fish, goose fish, all of these fish that were once considered throw-away stuff. People are eating them because the cod are gone. The hake are going, What about the impact of military sonar on marine mammals? For us to create something as callously destructive — as
unconsciously destructive — as high intensity sonar, something that causes unimaginable torture to these ancient, venerable sea creatures just epitomizes our human disregard for the ocean. It really needs to stop. How do you reconcile the Navy's use of lethal sonar with your family's respect for the Navy? I still have deep respect for the Navy. And it's not just because my father was a commander. It's because my family always viewed the Navy as supporting science. Science was the Navy's connection with the International Geophysical Year and that was all about nature. And I believe that part of the Navy's mission going forward should be helping the scientific community to protect the oceans. That is a noble role and only the Navy can do it.
You've been on NRDC board of trustees for many years. Why did you take on that role and responsibility? When I do work for NRDC or other public efforts that aren't
directly associated with my music, there's always the risk of false
advertising, if you will. I'm attracting people because they're
interested in my music, but then I'm using that attraction as a sort
of a soap box with which to sell a political idea. I only do it when I
feel really strongly that I have to do something. So it's not a casual
connection that I have with NRDC. |
ction to the sea. We were
living in North Carolina when my father was drafted into the Navy in
1955. As part of the Navy's association with the International
Geophysical Year, he went to the South Pole to help establish the
first scientific base there. He was the medical doctor. He had always
been fascinated with polar exploration, and the Navy experience had a
profound impact on him. It figured largely in the family story. We
used to ask him to show us the slides he took in Antarctica. One of
them 
