Dixie Chicks Sing Out for Conservation

©WCS/J.Maher

Concerned about global warming and the health of the planet, the Dixie Chicks are putting conservation at the front of the lineup in their 2006 Accidents and Accusations concert tour. The band is partnering with the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and Conservation International (CI) to help offset the carbon emissions resulting from the tour.

For every ton of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere by the trucks, buses, airplane travel, hotel rooms, concerts venues, and fans driving to and from their concerts, the Chicks will donate a sum to the Makira Forest Project, a WCS initiative in Madagascar. The band’s investment will be used to help preserve the 832,000-acre tropical rain forest in the northeast region of this island nation off the east coast of Africa.

The release of carbon dioxide into the Earth’s atmosphere is the leading cause of global warming. Its impacts include volatile weather, increased disease, the death of coral reefs, and the melting of polar ice caps. More than 20 percent of humanity’s annual CO2 emissions result from the burning and clearing of tropical forests and other eco­systems. Thus, funding projects that prevent forest destruction helps “offset” these emissions and reduces the concentration of greenhouse gases.

The Makira Forest Project
Over the next 30 years, with support from WCS and CI, the Makira Forest Project will help store approximately 9.5 million tons of carbon dioxide. In addition to providing climate benefits, the project preserves important habitat for many plants and animals threatened with extinction, and supports local farmers in their efforts to develop agriculture techniques that reduce pressures to clear forests for farmland.

Other supporters of the Makira Forest Project include Pearl Jam, S.C. Johnson, NAVTEQ, and Mitsubishi.

©WCS/J.Maher

There’s No Place Like Madagascar
The island that separated from continental Africa more than 100 million years ago is home to a tremendous array of plants and animals, some of which exist nowhere else on Earth. In Madagascar’s northern forests of Masoala and Makira live ring-tailed and mouse lemurs—stalked by the weasel-like fossa. Just off the island’s east coast, in Antongil Bay, humpback whales gather to breed and calve. The southern Spiny Desert is home to the endangered radiated tortoise and forests of curvaceous octopus trees and thorny songo be plants.

WCS scientists have been working in Madagascar for 14 years, and our country program has helped to create national parks and reserves to protect these and other threatened wildlife species. In the face of rampant poverty, a high population growth rate, and a lack of alternative livelihoods to agriculture, our scientists are finding innovative ways to prevent deforestation of the island while also supporting the Malagasy people.

How Can You Help?
Just as Dixie Chicks Martie, Natalie, and Emily are offsetting their personal emissions for the year, so can you. Calculate how much carbon your daily activities generate at www.conservation.org. Once you’ve figured out the scope of your own climate impacts, you’ll learn ways to offset that impact, including supporting the Makira Forest Project.

The Chicks also encourage their fans to take other simple, everyday actions to protect our environment, such as walking or riding a bike instead of driving a car, purchasing a fuel-efficient vehicle, installing timed thermostats and compact fluorescent light bulbs in order to reduce home electricity usage, and taking the train or driving instead of flying.

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