Who's Gonna Save the Earth? Asks Neil Young on The Colbert Report

by Rona Fried 

Watching Neil Young on The Colbert Report last night reminded me of the good ‘ole days, when Save the Earth was plastered everywhere and wasn’t considered a corny thing to say.

In fact, it’s so rare these days to hear someone as concerned as me be so forthright and direct about the constant assault on our environment.

Would you impeach Obama for going back into war in Iraq?, Colbert asked in his usual right-winger impersonation. Young replied, No, but I’d impeach him for fracking!

Wearing a shirt emblazoned with the one word, EARTH, after a hilarious interview, Neil Young sang his new song, "Who’s Gonna Stand Up and Save the Earth?"

My heart quelled listening to it, my soul refreshed by another person who "gets" it. "Protect the wild, tomorrow’s child, protect the land from the greed of man, end fracking now, let’s save the water and build a life for our sons and daughters. Who’s gonna stand up and save the earth? Who’s gonna say that she’s had enough? Who’s gonna take on the big machine? Who’s going to stand up and save the Earth? This all starts with you and me."

Colbert strummed and sang along in duet style, playing a climate denier. "What if the problem isn’t really real? The problem will probably fix itself if we just drill the Continental Shelf."

The whole program is worth watching, here’s the interview: 

We’ve been hearing a lot from Neil Young lately as he’s become outspoken on tar sands oil, calling Alberta’s tar sands a "wasteland" that "looks like Hiroshima." A few weeks ago, he and Willie Nelson played to a sold-out crowd at Harvest the Hope: A Concert to Protect the Heartland … from tar sands oil. He’s crossing Canada with David Suzuki on his Blue Dot tour.

Watch the other segments of last night’s Colbert Report: