Music by Joe Lyrics by Joe & Linda Linda – Vocals Joe – Vocals, Piano, Bass, Drums
Giving It Up – Explained
Lyrics by Joe & Linda
[Verse 1] I’m giving it up now I quit my job today I told them I won’t stay I told them that the world is waiting
For me to go Beyond the places I know Only then will I grow I don’t wanna wait until it’s too late for me
[Chorus 1] Today I wanna travel the world with you, with you Learn a new language and write a book or two, or two Fight next to Greenpeace, Amnesty, and Médecins sans frontières Green and blue highlights in my hair
[Verse 2] My time is now My dreams are meant to be I am young healthy and free If I don’t go now I might never
Go at all The chances are too small The writings on the wall Cause in twenty years who knows who I’ll be
[Chorus 2] Tomorrow I’ll buy my first home with you, with you Work in my garden and plant a new tree or two, or two Donate to Greenpeace, Amnesty, and Médecins sans frontières Grey and white highlights in my hair…
[Bridge] Time is passing too fast No moment will last No guarantee you’ll stay For another day Ooh….
All we have is now And our dreams So it seems Who needs retirement If your time’s well spent? Ooh….
[Verse 3] I’m giving it up now I quit my job today I told them I won’t pay Cause I can’t afford to waste my time
We recently watched the Netflix documentary “Breaking Boundaries: The Science Of Our Planet” and it inspired me to write this blog entry. For me this documentary organized and explained what often seems so overwhelming to us. We know there’s something wrong with the way we treat the planet and we have to save it and stop using plastic AND use renewable energy AND stop carbon emissions AND stop overfishing AND stop animal cruelty AND so many other things, that it seems completely overwhelming and confusing. There are so many things that we “should” do that – to me personally – I just loose the overview.
Johan Rockström, a Swedish scientist and the leading role in this movie, researched the question which systems keep our planet stable and together with David Attenborough as narrator they lead us through those 9 systems and what their boundaries are. Boundary means how far the system can be pushed before it reaches it tipping point – before it turns from re-generating to self-destructing. Even worse: these systems are all interconnected. If one fails the others are very likely to follow.
The goal of the documentary is not to scare people. As described in the movie: They are trying to turn on the headlights, so we can see the road that lies ahead of us and how we can navigate ourselves out of the current crisis into a safe future. A future that’s designed to not only not collapse the planets systems but to work WITH the systems since we rely on them as much as any other creature on the planet. It might not be a surprise how everyone can/must take part in this transition since we’ve heard about it since childhood, but for me it was another eye opener to see those systems explained and to connect the measurements that we can take to the specific systems. What can I do to help, and what exactly does it do for which part of the planets system? I like math, and if I can make sense of things through numbers or a graph. This was just perfect for me.
Climate change is not new: Melting glaciers, greenhouse gases, CO2-levels, rising temperatures and sea levels, etc… We’ve been warned before and even though there are indeed people that don’t believe in climate change, the evidence is all around us (more forest fires, melting ice caps, more floods, heatwaves, droughts).
What I didn’t know is that glaciers actually cool the planet not only through their temperature (obviously) but also through their color because they reflect 90 to 95% of the sun’s energy back into space. If they melt their color gets darker which makes them not only reflect less sunlight but – like a dark surface – absorb the sun’s energy and become self-heating! To reverse this effect (and get the glaciers back) it’s not enough to return to the original temperature from before the industrial revolution but it would actually have to be cooler than that! How are we going to do that?
As for the boundary of the climate system Johan Rockström states that 350PPM (parts per million) of CO2 in the atmosphere is the first boundary where we enter the danger zone. We crossed it in 1988! Right now we are at 415PPM marching towards the second boundary at 450PPM which is the high risk zone. At this point the earth’s climate will most likely tip over and become self-warming, since it can’t absorb any more carbon-dioxide. As for temperature that means that we CAN’T cross the 1.5ºC mark. Right now we are at 1.1ºC. The earth’s temperature had been relatively stable (+-1ºC) for the past 10,000 years which made modern civilization possible. In the past 50 years (not even one lifetime!) we’ve managed to push the earth out of that stable state and warm it by more than 1ºC.
The only chance we have is a fossil fuel FREE world economy within the next 30 years.
Which means that EVERYONE has to cut their CO2 emissions in half every decade. So if you have a newborn baby right now, there can’t be any cars running on fossil fuels by the time it turns 30. How crazy is that? It seems like a drastic change we have to execute in a short amount of time, but according to Rockström, it’s also the least we have to do to have a chance. That’s what Greta Thunberg meant when she said “[…] our house is on fire.”!
2. Biomes
Humans transform natural habitats into agricultural land, mostly for livestock and soy farming. The result is that the rainforests are drying out. The dry season in the Amazon usually lasts for 3 months max. Due to forest degradation and global warming, the dry season has become 6 days longer each decade since the 1980s. With the forest reduced and fragmented, it looses its ability to recycle water and generate rain. If the dry season lasts longer than 4 months the trees die and the jungle transforms into a savanna, also called savannization. On top of that, the dead trees release even more carbon into the atmosphere.
The first boundary for this system is the loss of 25% of the worlds forest cover. We are at almost 40% right now.
To get into the safe zone we simply have to plant more trees and stop destroying forests.
And that is something every one of us can EASILY do! Plant a tree in the backyard. Why not? Trees capture carbon, they prevent soil erosion, and they produce the oxygen we breathe (!!!) – to name only a few benefits.
3. Biodiversity
Now this almost made me cry:
In 50 years, humanity wiped out 68% of the global wildlife populations!
Only 30% of ALL birds on earth are wild. Only 4% (!!!) of ALL mammals on earth are wild species.
The more agriculture expands, the more wildlife shrinks. And the irony is that around 70% of the world’s crop species rely (to some extent) on pollinators whose population drastically declined due to the expansion of intensive monoculture and the overuse of pesticides. Global food production is wiping out the very thing it relies on. By the way, that also applies to the fishing industry. Watch “Seaspiracy” on that topic! We are far into the red zone of the biodiversity boundary.
The only chance we have is ZERO loss of nature from now onwards.
How can I help? Simply eat healthy foods: less red meat, more plant-based protein, more fruit and nuts, less starchy foods. Just be more aware of what you’re eating and where it comes from.
4. Freshwater
Johan Rockström calculated that every person uses around 3,000L of fresh water every day.
50L for hygiene and drinking
100L for washing and household (in the richer countries)
150L for the industry
2,500L for food
So by far most of the world’s fresh water is used to produce what we eat. According to Rockström’s calculations, we’re still in the green zone of the freshwater system (even though we rapidly move towards the danger zone), but here as well, it can be so easy to reduce the daily water usage of each of us by simply monitoring our eating habits more closely. I recommend “Cowspiracy” on that topic.
5. Nutrients
“Nutrients” here refers to the nitrogen and phosphorus cycles. Nitrogen is being taken out of the air and chemically converted into a form that plants can use, phosphorus is dug out of the ground and chemically developed so it is more efficient. With these elements as fertilizers the production of food around the world has quadrupled. That sounds great at first, since we need to feed a growing population, but it also became a habit to use far more fertilizer than the plants can actually use. The leftovers are being washed away into rivers, lakes, and the ocean, over-fertilizing them too. This effect is called eutrophication.
Once in the water the nutrients cause algal blooms (a rapid increase in the population of algea). Blue-green scum floats on top of the lakes. While decomposing it uses up oxygen. The reduced oxygen in the water changes the chemical composition of the sediment on the bottom of the lake, which leads to the sediment releasing even more phosphorus. It’s a vicious cycle. The same thing happens in the oceans which explains all the dead zones that we already have worldwide, where the marine life either died due to the lack of oxygen, or simply left that area (out of the same reason). If you haven’t seen it I highly recommend the documentary “Mission Blue” about the condition of our oceans!
We are already deep in thedanger zone of the nutrient boundary.
6. Ocean Acidification
⅓ of the CO2 emissions have ended up in the oceans. As a result the oceans pH changes and becomes less alkaline or more acidic. This process is called ocean acidification. Over the past few decades, the oceans have become 26% more acidic. Right now we are still in the green zone but pushing towards the danger zone since the the CO2 concentration in the atmosphere remains high and the acidification of the oceans continues.
7. Novel Entities
Novel entities are any human made pollutants (basically all the waste we produce from nuclear waste to heavy metals to micro plastic). Humans have created 100,000 new materials, and since they are new, it’s difficult to determine their long term effects on the planet. Johan Rockström couldn’t identify a boundary for this system but it is obvious that most of these new materials have the potential to cause planet-wide disruption if not controlled. I highly recommend “A Plastic Ocean” to see how plastic is already causing problems worldwide!
So for each of us, it simply means to be aware of which and how much of these materials/pollutants we use. Eliminate waste and turn the linear system of production into a circular one, where products are designed so that the raw materials can all be recovered/reused. This way our use of resources could be infinite!
8. Aerosols
75% of the aerosol pollution is from fossil fuel combustion. The aerosol particles in the air cause “global dimming” which we see as a haze in the sky that blocks out sunlight (you would think that this is a good thing). Since the earth’s glaciers are having a harder time reflecting sunlight, the aerosols could help in that matter. But apparently this effect also masks 40% of the global warming effects that are already in place right now. We just don’t feel it as strongly because of the aerosols in our air. Additionally – who would have thought? – over 7 million people die per year due to air pollution, and on average, it takes off 3 years of each person’s life expectancy!
It’s difficult to identify this system’s boundary as well, but according to Prof. Veerabhadran Ramanathan from the University of California at San Diego, who had been consulted as an expert in that matter, we are far into the red zone.
The solution here as well: Less fossil fuel combustion.
9. Ozone Layer
Finally the 9th system: the ozone layer. This is actually the only boundary where we’re heading into the right direction. And why is that?
When the antarctic ozone hole was discovered in the 1980s, it caused a global panic. Immediately the nations phased out the chemical pollutants that caused this change in the atmosphere. So it IS actually possible to make a quick change if everyone understands how serious the situation is and contributes. Not only every individual, but ALSO companies, politicians, and whole nations! We already were in thehigh risk zone of the ozone layer and we returned into the safe zone. Were the 80s a different time? Did people care more then or perhaps they were easier to scare? I don’t think so! So why couldn’t this immediate/effective change happen nowadays?
Summing Up
There are 9 systems:
Earth’s Climate (danger zone)
Biomes (danger zone)
Biodiversity (high risk zone)
Freshwater (safe zone)
Nutrients (high risk zone)
Ocean Acidification (safe zone)
Novel Entities (not yet quantified)
Aerosols (not yet quantified/likely in the high risk zone)
Ozone Layer (safe zone)
The impact is:
increasing droughts
more forest fires
accelerated ice melts
accelerated thawing of permafrost
collapse of coral reef systems
coral bleaching (watch the documentary “Chasing Coral” on this topic!)
mass extinction
wildfires
pandemics
The solution:
[…] now it’s a question of framing the entire economic growth model around sustainability and have the planet guide everything we do.
Johan Rockström
How?
Reduce carbon emissions to ZERO and stabilize the global temperature as low as we possibly can – bends the global curve of emissions now – benefits Climate (1), Biodiversity (3), Ocean Acidification (6), Aerosols (8)
Plant more trees and stop deforestation – draws down the carbon that’s already overheating the planet – benefits Climate (1), Biomes (2), Biodiversity (3), Freshwater (4), Nutrients (5)
Eat healthy food – balances the food industry and makes you healthier (no-brainer!) – benefits Climate (1), Biomes (2), Biodiversity (3), Freshwater (4), Nutrients (5)
What we do between 2020 and 2030, […] it will be the decisive decade for humanity’s future on earth. […] What happens over the next centuries will be determined of how we play our cards this decade.
Johan Rockström
and
It’s a remarkable time to be alive.
David Attenborough
And if I may add: It’s also a very scary time to be alive. It’s a big responsibility we have right now and I am worried that humankind hasn’t developed far enough yet to carry this responsibility. In between social media addicts, profit oriented companies, and corrupt politicians, I want to believe that every person on this planet has a heart that wants every species on this planet (including the generations to come) to live a peaceful and healthy life. I want to believe that there is compassion and good in everyone and that every person understands NOW or in the very near future that it is up to every one of us to change our lives immediately. It doesn’t help to point fingers at big companies or politicians and tell them to go first. (Well, of course it helps to point them out and demand them to adjust their ways, but so much can already be done if you start in your own home).
It reminds me of the house concerts we play, where at the end of a song, nobody wants to be the first one to clap. There’s a brief moment of silence until someone makes the first sound and only then everyone else joins in. Maybe that’s part of human’s nature; to not want to stand out because being part of a group was a big part of survival in ancient times. But in this case, it’s about the survival of the planet itself. So: BE PART OF THE START! Start the change and inspire people around you to do the same. And besides, there’s already a huge movement in the world (e.g., Fridays For Future, a growing vegan community, the zero waste lifestyle, package-free stores, second-hand stores, and ocean/beach clean-up projects). The movement has started, and it slowly gains momentum. But we’re quickly running out of time. It’s not about being perfect and doing everything 100% right immediately. It’s about being AWARE of the problem and STARTING to move in a better direction.
Almost one year ago, we watched the documentary “Quincy” while waiting in Reykjavik for our connection flight from Düsseldorf to Chicago.
It’s about the life of Quincy Jones. How he came to be the successful musician, arranger and producer.
With the documentary came so many quotes (most of them by Quincy, but also Ray Charles and Frank Sinatra) that I absolutely love and feel they are super inspiring. So here I list them for you 🙂
“To know where you came from makes it easier for you to go where you’re going.”
“Your music can never be more or less that you are as a human being.”
“The first thing is to be humble with your creativity and graceful with your success.”
“Keep your score paper and pen right near you, ’cause if you’re not up, God will take it down the street to Mancini.”
(about writing at night and that the muses come out at night)
“If my mother could go crazy, who couldn’t?”
(about the senselessness he felt when he was a kid growing up in the ghetto in Chicago)
“One night, I broke into the armory. In the room, there was an old upright piano. I tinkled on it for a moment and I knew this was it for me, forever.”
(about discovering music at the age of 11)
“Just that idea, to see black men that were dignified and proud. I said ‘That’s what I want to be. I want to be in that family, I’d do anything to be in that family.'”
(about the musicians Quincy met when he started to play music)
“I’m Quincy Jones and I play trumpet, and I want to write.”
(Ray Charles on first meeting Quincy Jones)
“Every music has it’s own soul, Quincy. It doesn’t matter which style it is, just be true to it.”
(Ray Charles)
“I had no control over where I lived, no control over my sick mother. I couldn’t control the angry whites who still called me ‘nigger’ when they caught me alone on the street. But music was one thing I could control. It was the one thing that offered me my freedom.”
“You need confidence, sure […] I’m not denying that. But […] an ego is usually just […] overdressed insecurity. I think you have to dream so big, that you can’t get an ego. ‘Cause you’ll never fulfill all those dreams. There’s always more to come and learn.”
“Once a task has just begun, never leave it ’till it’s done. Be the labor great or small, do it well or not at all.”
(Quincy quotes his Dad Quincy Delight Jones, Sr.)
“I don’t think you can write, can create anything without feeling right with the truth.”
“Not one drop of my self-worth depends on your acceptance of me.”
(Quincy Jones and Ray Charles back in the 40’s)
“Learn to deal with the valleys, Quincy. The hills will take care of themselves.”
(Count Basie)
“I want you to be one of the people that helped de-categorize American music.”
(Duke Ellington to Quincy Jones)
“I came up in that school of, like, all kind, every kind of music. There’s just two kinds, bad and good.”
“Quincy, there are only 12 notes […] and you should really investigate what everybody did with these 12 notes.”
(Nadia Boulanger)
“I’d rather say ‘I’m sorry I did’ than ‘I wish I had’.”
“My feeling is always leave at least 20 or 30 percent of room for the Lord to walk through the room. Because […] then you’re leaving room for the magic and […] records are about capturing magic, real magic moments […] at that time, and capturing them on tape. […] And love is the other word, too. When the love is in the studio, because that contributes more to magic in the studio that anything else.”
(about recording music)
“Bigotry is a terrible disease. […] I began to make noise about it. I said ‘If they all have to live on the other side of town, then you don’t need me.”
(Frank Sinatra on how he changed the whole racial situation in Las Vegas in 1964)
“In all the years working together, just like with Ray Charles, we never once had a contract. Just a handshake.”
(on working with Sinatra)
“In order for music to grow, the critics must stop categorizing and let the musicians get involved in all different facets of music. We will die if we get stuck in one area of music.”
“You realize […] the true essence of time. And you tell your friends you love them now. Not tomorrow or next week. Let them feel your love.”
“You get inspired by so many things and you never stop. […] You think you can get it all in and that’s the dangerous part.”
“You know, this is not about race. This is about humanity. You know, you didn’t have to go to Mars to make E.T..”
(Quincy to Steven Spielberg to convince him to direct ‘The Color Purple’)
“You got to let go all of the past, […] bring the good parts forward, forget about the negative stuff, and go on. Because whenever you get hung up and locked into the past, you’re robbing yourself of the present and definitely the future.”
“You only live 26,000 days […] I’m gonna wear all of them out. And if I get to 80, that’ll be 29,000. I’m gonna wear them all out, you know? They’re gonna know we came through here.”
(to Oprah Winfrey in her show)
“It’s a journey, coming up in this fucking country, man. Chicago… No joke. I didn’t see anybody white until I was 11 years old.”
“And the kids, the kids’ minds, most of them, are not into that shit, ’cause you have to be taught how to hate. That’s not natural, to hate somebody because of their skin. You don’t have nothing to do with that. So how people can judge somebody by the color of their skin is fucked up, you know?”
Yesterday we saw Bohemian Rhapsody (in Germany it was released on Oct. 31st so we got an early start 😉 ) and we really, really liked it. The movie shows how Queen came to be, grew bigger, and particularly how Freddie Mercury evolved throughout this whole time. We liked how the movie tastefully hints at certain details (such as the crazy parties and Mercury’s sexual life) without being too graphic. It focuses on the music and the development of the band members and the characters around them. It was great to see how the dynamic of the band was on stage as well as in the studio, and even in private as friends. I also thought that it was a very interesting choice to let the movie start and end at the Live Aid Concert in 1985 (which by the way is an exact copy of the original; every movement was recreated just as it really happened!). Some information about Freddie Mercury’s life after Live Aid and his death (1991) are mentioned during the end credits next to pictures of the real Freddie Mercury.
Still, this movie is very inspiring since it shows how hard and passionately Queen worked their way to the top of the music industry. I was reminded of a quote by Quincy Jones who said, “I think you have to dream so big, that you can’t get an ego. ‘Cause you’ll never fulfill all those dreams. There’s always more to come and learn.” In this movie you continually see Queen attempting to reinvent themselves and do what had never been done before. Not only is Freddie Mercury (with his extraordinary taste in clothes and powerful stage presence) a huge part of the creative process, but also Brian May, Roger Taylor, and John Deacon. All of the band members needed each others input and were searching for that extra bit of different that made their music so exceptional. The whole band and their dynamics are portrayed in such a likable way, that as musicians, we left the cinema full of gratitude to be able to do the best job in the world.
It’s a fun movie with a lot of touching, entertaining, and funny scenes. It also features top-notch actors (who seemingly play their instruments) and of course many selections from Queen’s extensive catalogue. If you’re a fan of their music, you’re sure to enjoy this film!
When I finished my blog post yesterday I was thinking that I should advertise some of the documentaries Joe and I watched that we think are simply amazing.
The first documentary we watched with the ocean as the topic was Chasing Coral (2017). It describes how corals all over the world are dying due to global warming. Even a few degrees make enough of a difference that the corals are vanishing and what used to be a colorful, lively reef, slowly turns into a graveyard of coral skeletons. It’s disturbing and sad to see how quickly this beautiful world on the bottom of the ocean vanishes and since it’s so hidden from the eye of the everyday person, nobody really seems to care because they don’t know.
We were shocked after watching this documentary and followed a recommendation on Netflix called A Plastic Ocean (2016). The writer Craig Leeson started to research the current situation of the ocean after noticing that more and more plastic was floating on the surface. He shows where plastic comes from, how it ends up around the neck of sea lions, in the noses of turtles, and in the stomachs of sea birds and how it turns beautiful beaches into landfills.
Finally we learned of Dr. Sylvia Earle who is one of the leading activists for preserving ocean life. The documentary Mission Blue (2014) tells her life story and how she continually fights for the ocean. Mission Blue is also the name of her campaign which has the goal to create a global network of marine protected areas, so called “Hope Spots”. There is so much to learn in this documentary; not only about the marine life, but also about activism, being brave, and standing up for what is right.
Joe and I highly recommend these documentaries and if you have any recommendations yourself, thoughts, and/or other platforms where one can take action, please feel free to share!
Joe & Linda 