If you’ve clicked the sun in the banner above, and have the sound turned up on your computer, you will have heard our Saveit4aSong climate change anthem, Take It All Away, by A.J Moore. The aim of the song is to help raise public awareness through the emotive power of music.

Here’s an explanation about the meaning behind the lyrics.

“I heard a widely travelled man, tell a softly spoken tale…”

It’s worth mentioning that this song was originally inspired by the work of BBC Presenter and Naturalist, Sir David Attenborough. He has been making compelling wildlife documentaries since the 1950’s and has become a household name in the UK. Although recognised around the world for his soft, traditional-English voice, it is his passion and enthusiasm that have made him a unique icon. When Sir David tells a story about the life of any creature, he really makes you empathise with the trials of its daily survival. We believe that, over the past 60 years, Attenborough’s wildlife films have had a huge influence on society’s increased interest in the natural world.

“And from his voice the truth was cold, underlined by every story he’d ever told…”

Another important point to note is that Sir David has been voted ‘the most trusted man in Britain’ according to one poll. This is due to the fact that he has remained focused on conservation throughout his career and has never agreed to appear in any lucrative commercials or irrelevant celebrity shows. So, when Sir David Attenborough, who has been travelling to remote places and observing wildlife all around the world for the past 60 years, states that he is finally certain that climate change is attributable to human activity, then surely, there is no further question. He confesses that he recognizes his responsibility as a conservationist in the public eye, and was therefore, reluctant, for a long time, to campaign about climate change – thus waiting until he was absolutely certain of the facts. See the clip below from a speech he made for the Fauna and Flora International in Washington, USA on May 4th 2007.

“Forests cleared for land and wood, how many species lost for good?”

We all know that species are being wiped out as a result of us clearing forests and natural habitats for development and farming, and many of us are aware that the rising sea temperatures, acidification of our oceans and trawler fishing are destroying sea-life. But not many people know that the rate at which species are being lost is now running at 1000 times what it should naturally be. Here is one of our favorite Attenborough clips that successfully highlights the tragedy of this problem through listening to the amazing sounds from the Lyre Bird. This creature has an incredible ability to reproduce any sound it hears. The sad thing is, that this Lyre Bird is mimicking the sounds of chainsaws clearing away the forest upon which it needs to survive. Check it out below:

“It’s all a question of what we’re valuing”

Billions of years of evolution are the foundation for the life we have on Earth today. Humans have developed incredible brains, and it’s our ability to think, learn and understand that has made us a successful species on Earth. But alongside us are the plants and creatures that, over the same time-period, have developed their own incredible abilities for their individual survival needs. The point is, that in recent Centuries, we have begun to study the science of nature and although we may think that we already know a lot about it, this knowledge is only scratching the surface of what there is still to understand.

Aside from the fact that we are fully dependant on healthy eco-systems for our food and water, at Saveit4aSong, we believe that nature holds invaluable answers to living a better, sustainable future. And these answers have an infinite value to all of humankind. We urgently need to re-evaluate the profit from a forest logger’s yield or a sea-bed trawler’s net, verses the price of what they are potentially extinguishing forever. For example, let’s pretend for a moment that there is one termite’s hill left on the Earth. What value would you place on it, if you knew that it’s architecture had the structural engineering design for a building that didn’t need heating or air-conditioning and maintained its internal temperature whether it was 5 or 35 degrees outside? Or let’s consider the Namib Beetle. This tiny insect has naturally developed the ability to collect large amounts of pure drinking water from a light morning mist. Imagine the value of this capability for people in dry places all around the world? These are just two examples among the thousands of natural techniques that are inspiring scientists and technology across the globe. One company called the Zeri Foundation have been cataloguing these findings and have put the best into a book called Nature’s 100 Best. (Read our blog for more information.)

“Whilst I sit and watch my screen, where children run as waves come crashing in”

Due to the sophistication of today’s communication technology, when a disaster happens we are now able to broadcast and view the devastating effects it has on the local community from anywhere around the globe. It is a proven fact that weather related disasters will increase in number and strength as the climate warms. This means, more violent storms, forest fires, floods from heavy rainfall and burst river-banks. Sea-levels are expected to rise, submerging vast areas of inhabited coastland. (Sadly, there are already refugee camps where people have had to leave their homes due to the effects of climate change and many more are expected.)

“Under this sky, we’ve grown too tall”

Since 1965, the number of humans living on Earth has more than doubled from 3.3 billion to 6.8 billion by mid 2009. Over 50% of these people live in towns and cities, and unfortunately most are disconnected from the reality that we are still dependant on biodiversity and the Earth’s resources for our food and energy. We’ve become reliant on consumer goods, and the ease of buying our food from local stores and restaurants. Our heating, air-conditioning and electricity are available via the flick of a switch, and water runs at the twist of a tap. The convenience of city life allows most of us to concentrate on making money without worrying about where our food and energy is coming from. And along with making money is the perpetual desire to earn greater sums and purchase more things. And this is where the problem lies. We often have more than we need and the Earth’s resources are struggling to supply the demand. We must not forget that whilst we are surrounded by our impressive, man-made structures, we do not have a ‘dominion’ over the Earth, but we are, instead, entirely dependant on its resources to keep us alive.

“So now we’ve got to help each other, cos the Earth won’t let us take it all away”

And that brings us to our final point. When talking around the subject of climate change, it is often implied that we are killing our planet, but this is not exactly true. Whatever happens to our Earth’s climate and environments, the Earth will continue. It is the life on Earth as we know it that is being destroyed, and that undoubtedly includes ourselves.

Climate Change is therefore a global problem that can only be tackled by a global community. This means we have to work together in order to minimize our effect on the planet. And through science and innovation we have a wonderful opportunity to do so.

Read the full song lyrics below

I heard a widely travelled man
Tell a softly spoken tale
About the ways our world is changing
And from his voice the truth was cold
Underlined by every story he’d ever told

Oooowooohhoooohh…
And then it all became so clear to me
It’s just a question of what we’re valuing

And in this light we all will fall
Under this sky we’ve grown too tall
So now we’ve got to help each other ‘cos The Earth wont let us take it all...

Fossils burn and rivers rise
Our barriers can’t hold the tides
There’s a growing guilt I’m feeling
Forests cleared for land and wood
How many species lost for good?
Oooowooohhoooohh…

And in this light we all will fall
Under this sky we’ve grown too tall
So now we’ve got to help each other ‘cos The Earth wont let us take it all away

(Solo)

Whilst I sit and watch my screen
Where children run as waves come crashing in
Its all a question of what we’re valuing

And in this light we all will fall
Under this sky we’ve grown too tall
So now we’ve got to help each other ‘cos The Earth wont let us take it all away

And in this light we all will fall
Under this sky we’ve grown too tall
So now we’ve got to help each other ‘cos The Earth wont let us take it all away

...Take it all away
...Take it all away