Posted on March 1, 2018 by Jeff Thaler
While many in Philadelphia were in the streets after the end of Super Bowl LII, and New Englanders promptly went to bed after the last pass hit the Minneapolis turf, the Doppelgänger of a native-born Minnesotan made a national appearance in the middle of that long, cold night.
By now, many have seen the 2018 version of “The Times They Are a-Changin,’” performed by someone born 10 years after the original version was created—one Jimmy Fallon. According to my consultation with Dr. Google, the only time Mr. Fallon has talked about environmental issues was back in May 2016 when he did a segment on Sarah Palin, climate change and climate scientists.
Therefore I think it is time that ACOEL commissioned Mr. Fallon to perform an updated version of that and another Dylan song, ones many of us could probably sing by heart (with a refresher class) even though written in the early ‘60s—that pre-NRDC/CAA/CWA/ESA/et.seq. classic, “Blowin’ in the Wind.” The original lyrics for both songs need to be refreshed, as do all of us who were alive and kicking back then, so here they are:
The Times They Are A-Changin’
Come gather ’round people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown `
And accept it that soon
Under water will be our coast and flood zones
If our kids’ future to you is worth savin’
Then you better start swimmin’
or you’ll sink like a stone
For climate times they are a-changin’
Come federal and state legislators
Please heed the call
Don’t stand in the doorway
Don’t block up the hall
For those who should be ashamed
Will be those who have stalled
Weather extremes are outside and they’re raging
Floods, fires and storms will break down your walls
For climate times they are a-changin’
Come bloggers, reporters, and skeptics
Throughout the land
Please don’t criticize
What you refuse to understand
Rising CO2 levels and temperatures
Are getting beyond our command
Your old fossil-fueled road is
Rapidly agin’.
Please embrace a clean energy new one and
Vote out of office resisting government hands
For climate times they are a-changin’.
Blowin’ in the Wind
How many droughts & fires must the world endure
Before we know they are a warning?
Yes and how many seas must flood our shores
Before we seek a solution?
Yes and how many times must the fake news fly
That climatic disruption is not real?
The answer my friend is blowin’ in the wind
The answer is blowin’ in the wind.
How many years will our beaches and airports exist
Before they are washed into the sea?
Yes and how many years can the glaciers survive
Before they are just memories?
How many heads must be buried in the sand
So that people can deny what should be seen?
The answer my friend is blowin’ in the wind
The answer is blowin’ in the wind
How many more years must we create greenhouse gases
Such that too many species can’t survive?
Yes and how many times will clean energy projects be held up
Before too many people have died?
How can we power our cars, lights and heat pumps
Without harming the world for our kids?
The answer my friend is blowin’ in onshore winds
The answer is blowin’ in offshore wind.
So break out your harmonicas and guitars, and we will sing the songs of climate changes while working to change our laws and policies for the benefit of all.
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