Radiohead and Philosophy - Brandon W. Forbes [52]
Other measures to reduce energy consumption and waste involve the actual performance and staging of the band. The lighting and visuals designer for the band has introduced LED lighting systems which use far less energy than heat-generating incandescent lights and can therefore be powered by alternative power sources. Currently the band charges large batteries with electricity thereby avoiding running large fuel-consuming generators. The crew is currently looking into charging these batteries with solar and wind systems and perhaps even hydrogen in the near future.
Radiohead is so committed to the cause that, in an interview with John Elliott, Yorke said: “You have a certain amount of credit you can cash in with your celebrity and I’m cashing the rest of my chips in with this” (Sunday Times, May 29th, 2005). He has been deeply disturbed by the current global climate crisis and blogged on the Radiohead website:
THIS IS WHAT I AM DOING NOW. This is big shit. This is the big ask. About climate change the stuff that wakes me up at 4 am in a sweat, . . . is that normal? I worry too much, apparently. . . . THOMx.
Yorke was so moved by the crisis that he dedicated his solo record (The Eraser) to addressing global climate change. He told the Los Angeles Times his inspiration for the album came from British environmentalist Jonathan Porrit, who dismissed any efforts of government to stop global warming—“saying that their gestures were like King Canute trying to stop the tide,” Yorke recalled. “And that just went ‘kaching’ in my head. It’s not political, really, but that’s exactly what I feel is happening. We’re all King Canutes, holding our hands out, saying, ‘It’ll go away. I can make it stop.’ No, you can’t” (Los Angeles Times, June 28th, 2006).
This Is Really Happening (So Do Something)
Radiohead’s contribution to environmental ethics begins with their music, some of which serves as a warning, a narrative about the current state of our environment. Lyrics like those from “Idioteque,” “The Clock,” and “And It Rained All Night” articulate a sense of internal conflict and moral despair. The songs focus our attention on a morally important question, namely, the human, anthropogenic origins of global climate change. Like other compelling environmental narratives, like Thoreau’s Walden or Aldo Leopold’s A Sand County Almanac, they ask us to deeply consider humanity’s impact upon the land and the environment. If we are convinced by the principles and reasons articulated by these narratives then we are obligated to act accordingly or risk, once again, akrasia.
But Radiohead also serves as a model for an environmental virtue ethic. The band’s commitment to Friends of the Earth is a commitment to a virtue based ethic insofar as the organization links environmental problems and human flourishing. If we are to flourish as people, this ethic holds, then we must fight environmental injustice and repair our damaged ecosystem. Adhering to environmental virtues such as simplicity, recycling, sustainability and the reduction of our carbon footprints are not only important for our survival—they allow us to flourish. In the band’s commitment to these environmental virtues, they changed course. They altered their behavior and took steps to live lives and make music in ways that are consistent with reason and, remain consequently, morally virtuous.
Of course Radiohead is not going to save the universe. We must all act together to promote these environmental virtues. But for those starting down a more environmentally sound life, or those having difficulty with the follow-through, music like Radiohead’s can be inspiring.
So when you’re on your way to Lollapalooza and “Idioteque” starts playing from the Kid A in the CD player:
We’re not