One of my environmental advocacy “heroes of all time” passed away last night. Pete Seeger’s legacy is tremendous: a folk singer who used his lyrics and music to advocate for positive change in America and throughout the world. In the Sixties, he spearheaded the movement to raise consciousness about water quality, when he wrote and sang “Sailing up my Dirty Stream” — a song about the Hudson River which had become a polluted, “open sewer.” Thanks to Seeger and his Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, the river was cleaned up. Thinking of his impact on Canadians — and the Ottawa River which marks the boundary between Quebec and Ontario for hundreds of kilometres — his advocacy is represented by the Ottawa Riverkeeper — an initiative that is part of the world-wide Waterkeeper Alliance started by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Seeger’s advocacy raised our awareness about “not only” water, but also civil rights, issues related to nuclear energy, and more. To me, advocacy such as Seeger’s proves that our words, our deeds, our art represent important instruments which can champion change for a better world. His 94 years offer us an inspirational legacy. What will our legacies offer our community and our world?
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