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Green Day Takes On Big Oil

The members of Green Day are living up to their band name. Concerned about American dependence on oil, punk's most successful trio has joined forced with the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC), a partnership that can be fully explored on the new website www.greendaynrdc.com.

"George W. Bush admitted the truth: we're addicted to oil," singer Billie Joe Armstrong said in a new video promoting the coalition. "[But] instead of kicking the habit, he's making us more dependent."

With its 1.2 million members, NRDC may not have quite the same base as Green Day (who are 30 times platinum in the U.S. alone), but, nevertheless, they are widely considered to be one of the most effective environmental non-profits in the country. In the past, NRDC has played a key role in keeping the Artic National Wildlife Refuge free from drilling, removing lead from gasoline, and protecting endangered species.

"It's okay and very rebellious to speak up and take responsibility for our environment, to take care of the air that we breathe and the water that we drink," Armstrong wrote in a letter to fans.

In addition to encouraging citizens to take steps to decrease American dependence on foreign oil supplies -- by building cleaner vehicles, encouraging refineries to produce ethanol, and setting tougher carbon dioxide standards for power plants -- the Green Day/NRDC coalition has a few other target issues as well: cleaning up the toxic mess in New Orleans, protecting whales from the Navy's sonar training, and guarding the California condor from extinction.

"We've got the solutions," Armstrong said. "But we need the leadership in Washington."

--The ARTISTdirect Staff
12.04.06