In Black, climate-conscious youth jazz band, answers questions 0

What work do you do?

We are in a jazz band called In Black. We are Carson, Christian, Langston, Lati, and Lauren, and we\'re all ages 14 to 16.

This week, In Black is doing a Solutions Tour in Southern California to promote awareness of climate change and how individuals can help reverse its effects.

The Climate Protection Campaign, which is an association in Sonoma County, Calif., devoted to lowering the carbon emissions of the county through various channels using different individual solutions, is giving us support for the tour with materials and literature. We also received support from several other organizations and businesses, such as the Natural Resources Defense Council and Clif Bar. We\'re promoting the NRDC\'s Move America Beyond Oil petition, and Clif Bar came in with a donation so that we could rent a biodiesel van from VIP Greenride in San Francisco. They also donated lots of different Clif Bars so that we can give them away to folks who sign our petition or fill out our Solutions Form -- and so we can eat them on the tour, of course!

Other companies have come in with support as well: Yokayo Biofuels and Santa Barbara Biodiesel have each donated tanks of biodiesel for our van! That was a huge help. And several hotels have donated rooms, or given us huge discounts: Best Western, Pea Soup Andersen\'s, Ramada Limited, and Howard Johnson in Anaheim.

As far as work goes, we\'re a group of young musicians trying to make a difference in the world through our music. We aren\'t getting paid for this; we just thought it would be great fun to do a tour, then realized that it should be as green a tour as possible, and things sort of took off from there.

How does it relate to the environment?

Christian.

In Black is a youth jazz band trying to save the world. More realistically, we are trying to reach people throughout California by giving them easy, individual solutions and attracting them to us through our music. That's what the Solutions Tour is all about. We hope to convince everyone to contribute to solving the problems of climate change, including ourselves! We are all still working toward being as green as possible, and each of our families is trying to come to it in their own way. But, hopefully, we'll all end up at the same place. We'd also like to hear what everyone's ideas are about solutions to climate change. That's why we have our Solutions Form, which people can fill out to tell us their solutions to global warming. We'll post as many as possible on our website, as well as some on Grist. If anyone wants to send us their ideas for solving the problem, .

What are you working on at the moment?

The Solutions Tour is our major project right now; that and just being teenagers and students. We're starting to think about college; band members Christian and Langston are the closest to going away to college, and they are getting more serious about choosing which college and what major. Other than that, our major projects involve just learning as much as we can and having a good time doing it.

How do you get to work?

Carson.

We are all independent study/homeschooled, except for Lauren, who was homeschooled but now attends a Waldorf high school. We have many activities and classes. Langston, Christian, and Carson have been taking classes at Santa Rosa Junior College. So, to get to these places, we all carpool or use public transportation as much as we can. Lati, along with her entire family, uses biofuel. The other three families are considering going to biofuel or a hybrid, but it involves the purchase of a new car, so they're all still looking into it. Lati's family is definitely leading the way.

Where were you born? Where do you live now?

Carson, Langston, Christian, and Lauren were born in California. Lati was born in Indonesia. All currently live in Sonoma County, in Northern California.

What environmental offense has infuriated you the most?

Lati.

As a group, we all feel that the most infuriating event against the environment was when Marin County, the county between Sonoma County and San Francisco, voted against a proposition that would have established a train running all the way from San Francisco to the northern part of Sonoma County. This was just a year or two ago. The proposition passed in Sonoma County, but lost by a couple of points in Marin County. This would have saved countless gallons of gas, removed tons of CO2 emissions, and made transportation to San Francisco much less of a hassle. It's ridiculous, because the track is already laid, all the way at least through Mendocino County, and there are even existing depots that are just sitting there, unused. We played at the San Francisco Zoo on Earth Day this year, and someone in the audience told us that long ago, when the Bay Area Rapid Transit was being built, Marin wouldn't allow BART to stop there, and that's why there is no BART service in Marin County. It's really shortsighted.

Who is your environmental hero?

Al Gore, for creating an effective way of informing people about the problems of climate change.

What's your environmental vice?

We use our heaters in the winter, during heavy -- and cold -- rains. And, of course, our families driving non-alternative-fuel cars (all but Lati, that is). But that will change, hopefully, within the next year.

What's your favorite meal?

Locally grown, organic strawberries.

Which stereotype about environmentalists most fits you?

Langston.

We believe that stereotypes lead people to judge without cause -- but if we had to pick one, it would be that we avoid listening to anybody else and talk as much as we can. Loudly. (This is just a joke. We only do this to our families. Also a joke -- really!)

What's your favorite place or ecosystem?

Tahoe, for the snow -- which is disappearing as temperatures and CO2 emissions continue to rise.

If you could institute by fiat one environmental reform, what would it be?

We would have everyone use biodiesel.

Who was your favorite musical artist when you were 18? How about now?

Well, none of us is 18 yet! But as of right now, it's hard to pick just one. But probably it would be Herbie Hancock, because he has had such a big influence on jazz and wrote many of our favorite songs. Also, Lauren loves Elvis, and we all tease her about that.

What's your favorite movie?

Lauren.

Well, we probably couldn't agree on a favorite movie, but the one that has had the most impact on us all has to be An Inconvenient Truth (obviously).

What actor/actress would play you in your life story?

Carson: Alan Alda.

Christian: Ewan McGregor.

Lauren: Christina Ricci.

Lati: Lati!

Langston: Christian!

If you could have every InterActivist reader do one thing, what would it be?

We would have you turn off your lights, right now, and turn your computer off. And blow up your car, using gasoline from the U.S. And shoot your TV. Please.

Whose idea was it to have the Solutions Tour? Are you connected to an organization? Do you talk about your ideas when you do a gig? What is the band going to do when college takes a member away?    -- Elaine Sinclaire, Bloomington, Calif.

The Solutions Tour was a collective idea. We wanted to do a tour, and Lati said, "We should take a biodiesel bus!" It grew from there into the Solutions Tour as the idea took off.

We are connected to the Climate Protection Campaign in Sonoma County, but they only give us literature. We are not funded by a group, but we do take contributions (hint, hint!), and use the money only for the tour. We do talk about our ideas during our performances, in between songs.

As far as band members leaving, we know of other teenagers who are interested in joining the band (including Langston's and Carson's little sister, Sawyer). In Black will probably continue in some form, although right now it's impossible to say for sure. We do not lack for musicians to replace leaving ones.

Traditionally, jazz hasn't been known as much of a vehicle for political messages, at least not nearly as much as rock or folk. What is the relationship of the medium of jazz to your message, or is there any?    -- Deen Freelon, Seattle, Wash.

There is not really a relationship. We were a jazz band that wanted to do a tour, and it just evolved into an environmental cause. So we play music, interject some solutions, and talk a little about the problems of climate change in between songs. It works pretty effectively, although sometimes the most we can do is talk about our website and condense what we have to talk about in order to give as much information as possible in a short time.

Is it ever hard presenting your message to people who might not take you seriously just because you're young? How do you respond if that happens?    -- Kate S., Seattle, Wash.

We have not yet had a problem with someone who did not take us seriously. We've played about 10 concerts for the Solutions Tour now and we have received enthusiastic responses everywhere we went. If we ever were confronted by someone who did not take us seriously, we would try to hold a civilized conversation. Some people you simply cannot change, and we accept that.

Do you have an idea for the poor and less educated that will bring them on board?    -- Lori Broesamle, St. Clair Shores, Mich.

It seems to us that the poor and less educated are taking public transportation because they cannot afford a car, or carpooling, like many immigrants in California. The problem comes from the educated, who have the most wealth and therefore the largest amount of emissions. The poor are not causing most of the problem in America, so whether or not they know about the problem is really not important. They behave as if they do know.

Has being homeschooled or doing independent study allowed you to explore environmental issues more than traditional high school might have?    -- Harold Richmond, Gloucester, Mass.

We all can pretty much agree that being homeschooled or doing independent study has not boosted our awareness of environmental issues (Langston went to traditional high school for the past two years, so we do have an idea of what we're talking about). However, we do believe that we have been much more encouraged to be active in the problem, like doing the tour, rather than agreeing that there is a problem and expecting other people (or the adults) to fix it.

That's great that Lati's family uses biofuel. Has she spent much time in Indonesia, and if so, can she speak to the environmental awareness there?    -- Holly R., Oregon City, Ore.

Lati says: I haven't been back to Indonesia since I was eight months old, so I wouldn't be able to tell you my direct experience. But my father has been back several times, and my mom has told me stories, and I can tell you this: they lead very simple lives. When my dad was 16 years old, he'd never been out of Java. My grandfather made a dollar a day climbing palm trees to get sap to boil down to palm sugar. Although Western culture is finding its way into their lifestyles, most Indonesians still lead simple lives.

What are the main sources of biodiesel, and are there any environmental downsides to biodiesel?    -- Mark Schulte, Los Angeles, Calif.

Lati says: Yes, there are downsides to biodiesel. My family uses recycled biodiesel (made from used fast-food grease), but if you buy virgin biodiesel it often means that the producers clear-cut forests (like the Amazon) in order to grow the various oil-producing plants. Biodiesel is not the ultimate solution to the clean-fuel issue, but it is one step closer. Biodiesel produces 70 percent less carbon emissions than regular gasoline, which is very important in combating the problem of climate change.

In your experience, how does art interact with activism? Do you see a connection between the two? Does one inspire the other in any way for you?    -- Jean Hegland, Healdsburg, Calif.

We believe that art is communication. Although we do not use music as a direct medium in this case (e.g., environmentally conscious lyrics), we still make our presentation much more interesting than if we merely gave lectures on climate change. Instead, we want people to feel uplifted by our music and believe that there is hope to solve the problem. We simply want to inform people about the individual contributions they can make to help: taking public transportation, lobbying the government to increase research into clean alternative fuels, supporting such bills as California's SB72 (which would require school districts to purchase biodiesel-powered buses), etc. We use our music to help communicate that message. So yes, there is definitely a connection, although not as obvious because our music isn't environmentally oriented.

As for inspiration, we largely say yes. Music has always challenged society's perceptions, and all of us continue to listen to such music today. We have been inspired by other artists and will continue to be throughout our lives.

Does it really matter whether I use paper vs. plastic bags? Or are natural cloth bags the only real alternative? Also, on your current tour, do you get many people coming up to you to ask about environmental issues, or does it seem like you're just talking to people who already "get it"?    -- Carol Noack, Healdsburg, Calif.

Well Lauren did some research on this subject and came up with this:

Worst: Plastic. Creating plastic bags uses a lot of petroleum. It is extremely wasteful. Reusing them is great, but they will end up in a landfill someday and it would be preferable to avoid supporting the production of plastic bags. They aren't really able to be recycled, no matter what you hear.

Better: Paper. Paper does involve polluting processes such as clear-cutting trees and using petroleum to create them, but they don't use as much as plastic. Paper bags are easy to reuse and biodegrade easily.

Best: Cloth. Cloth is undeniably the best. Cloth bags compensate for the initial waste produced because they are, obviously, reusable. They are washable and can be used for ages. You could also make your own from recycled fabric and be super efficient!

We have encountered people who are already pretty aware of climate change, but they might not be very knowledgeable; they might not know what it is they should be doing to help with climate change. We're still learning that ourselves. Our hope, especially since we toured in California, is to give people some ideas for what they can do. It is one thing to be an expert on the issues facing the world, and another to take an active part in solving the problems.

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