George Perkins Marsh (1801-1882) [
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Perkins_Marsh ] worked as a US diplomat posted to the Ottoman empire.
But before all that...
AS THE STORY GOES:
One day when he was a young boy, Marsh went out fishing with his father along their favorite Vermont river, and they came across lots of dead fish floating in the water. His father asked the boy if he knew why all the fish were dying, but young Marsh couldn't answer. The old man pointed down at the fish, and then up at the hills.
"IF YOU WANT FISH, LOOK TO THE WATER," he intoned.
The lad noticed that the water of the river was not so clear as before; sand and mud filled the water, choking the fish's gills.
"IF YOU WANT WATER, LOOK TO THE MOUNTAINS."
The fish were choking on silt and sediment eroding off the hills above!
"But father," said young Marsh, "What's wrong with the mountains? Why are they killing the fish?"
"IF YOU WANT MOUNTAINS, LOOK TO THE FOREST."
High above them in the hills, they could see balds and clearcuts where logging operations had stripped the steep land of its protective timber cover, exposing it to the ravages of rainfall and wind.
And as for the "IT'S IN OUR HANDS" part?
Marsh later observed of the ruins of The Old World, "There are parts of Asia Minor, of Northern Africa, of Greece, and even of Alpine Europe, where the operation of causes SET IN ACTION BY MAN has brought the face of the earth to a desolation almost as complete as that of the moon." (Man & Nature, 1867, emphasis added) [
archive.org/details/manandnatureorp00marsgoog ] His dawning awareness of the worldwide fragility of nature & humanity's complicity in its irrevocable destruction heralded the very beginnings of organized active environmentalism in the US, leading to the Weeks Act of 1911 &c. ...
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AND NOW:
Fast forward to 21st century NH. The proposed "Northern Pass" powerline would run through the NH White Mountains, connecting northern hydro power with southern markets... This is not an innocent question of NH scenery & sovereignty; look at the long term effects of HydroQuebec on ecosystems & indigenous communities throughout the North Country! The NH Forest Society has worked to resist Northern Pass -- you'll find much more info at their site here: [
www.forestsociety.org/advocacy-issue/northern-pass ]
Our song here collects a few facts & voices & specs from the ongoing "Northern Pass" debate & sets them to an old song. The original music? Why, none other than a rollicking recording of "You Shall Be Free" by Woody Guthrie, Leadbelly, & Cisco Houston. [
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lo2JQYP0Hjg ]
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