I can feel quite intensely that our living environment has changed a lot since I was a child. The blue sky we used to see often is now grey, and in winter we seldom need to put on lots of clothes to keep warm. Summer becomes more and more unbearably hot. Having read about the issue and saw a few documentaries on the topic, I feel that I have a responsibility to take action. I want to educate my children about this responsibility through setting an example. They are young (both in their teenage) and may not be able to tell the change in climate as much as I do. But as we are under the same roof, I believe that as a Climateer it helps me stay alert and focused so that I can do as much for the environment as I can.
With consumption it is a bit more complicated. Living an urban life in a big city and with material affluence, you can only go so far to change the young's consumption pattern so long as it does not put them under tremendous peer pressure. But definitely we can teach them to be not just go after trends and put things to waste because something new comes out. No matter we're talking about electronic gadgets or clothes, they have to know how to treasure what they have.
I wouldn't go as far as making a direct connection between environmental awareness and music. But I see a similarity in the way one could effectively live a musical life and an environmentally friendly life. Music benefits and enriches one's life if you really live it, if it becomes part of your being when you grow up. It becomes your second nature and you have a personal relationship with music without having to attend lots of expensive lessons to learn it. Same with awareness about our environment I guess. You have to start when you are young. Then as you grow up you will be able to judge for yourself what is right for the environment without succumbing to the ubiquitous consumer culture.
I think driving should be a shared footprint among the family, when you mostly use it as a family vehicle. I personally do not take pleasure in driving because finding places to park and the congestion is a nuisance. I drive my children to school but that's about it. I take public transport whenever possible.
Mainly at home I guess. I am already using all energy-saving bulbs and use air-conditioning only at night in very hot weather. But we could start stopping all stand-bys. The TV and Hi-Fi will be the first couple of appliances to go off! We also plan on getting a timer for the air-conditioner, so that it can switch off itself in the morning. I'll also find out about the recycling facilities around where we live to extend our recycling exercise from paper and cans only to cover plastic bottles.
With work flights there are little room to cut, as we cannot really perform via teleconferencing! =) But with the whole crew when we tour in Europe, we prefer to travel by coach or train anyway, as it is better to have all the instruments and the team altogether in one place. My personal flights may be reducible this year as we can plan holidays better.
As a musician our most impactful medium of expression is obviously music. We spread messages in subtler ways, like the themed concert we did about waterwater in October 2007. We work to remind people what is precioius and important to the human condition, part of it is nature, the environment surrounding us. Just like how we say music is best when it's live, we want to move people during their experience in the concert. Through touching their emotion we hope to bring them awareness of such values.
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