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 SPECIAL FEATURE
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The Mother Nature Network by John Lynskey |
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Chuck Leavell is one of the most-talented keyboardists in rock and roll history, but the former Allman Brother and current Rolling Stone also is one of the leading tree farmers and environmentalists in the United States. Chuck's latest project is the Mother Nature Network, and it's clear that he puts as much energy and passion into caring for the land as he does when he plays music. To help promote awareness of Earth Day on April 22, please enjoy this insightful and informative conversation with Chuck Leavell of the Mother Nature Network. How did you come to be involved with the Mother Nature Network? Joel Babbit is a friend of mine from Atlanta who I have known for five or six years, and he has had a stellar career in advertising and public relations. Joel has represented companies like Dell Computer, AT&T and other biggies, he was largely responsible for all the publicity for the Atlanta Aquarium, and he worked for a year on the '96 Olympics. Joel is a real team player, a very brilliant guy, and very civically involved. Joel called me and asked me to meet with him, and he said, "Listen – I've been doing some research, and think we may have an opportunity here." I asked him what he had in mind, and he said, "I represent a lot of companies that want to get out to the public exactly what they are doing environmentally. They may be taking steps to save energy, or doing other things that are environmentally friendly, and they want the public to know. These clients come to me, asking where they need to be for exposure to get these messages out. It's obvious that the internet is a place that people are going to more and more for all kinds of information. My clients have been asking where on the internet they can get exposure, and I've been researching, and I want to show you what I've found." Joel showed me what he had found, and I was familiar with some of them, like www.treehugger.com, which has around for about ten years now. There also is www.grist.org, which is another fairly well-known environmental site. There are some others, but in my opinion, they weren't that great, and the information they were putting forward we felt could be better. We did find a lot of other organizational sites, like the Sierra Club, but that strictly focuses on one thing, and that is land. www.riverkeepers.org is another one that is not a bad site, but it is all focused on rivers. Al Gore's site is a technically amazing site, but it is all focused on climate change. We could not find what we thought was an iconic website dedicated to all environmental issues, all the way across the board, and easy to understand. One other thing I'll mention is there are a lot of governmental sites which are very accurate, but you have to be a rocket scientist to understand them – the information is extremely technical. Joel asked me what I thought, and after a couple of days of looking around and searching these sites, I told him, "Joel, you're right – there is no single, iconic website for the environment." He asked me, "Well, would you like to help build one?" and I told him yes, of course. At the time, Joel was president of GCI, Grey Communications International, probably the fifth-largest public relations and advertising firm in the world. Joel said to me, "Chuck, I'm willing to resign my position if you'll come on board with me," and I thought, "Wow – that is a powerful thing to do. Someone with a job that good is willing to give it up because they believe strongly enough that this environmental website is a good opportunity." I was all about it, so I told Joel, "I'm there for you." Joel went out, and within 48 hours, he had contacted Tom Bell, who is CEO of Cousins Properties, one of the largest real estate concerns in the country, and Pete Correll, who is the former CEO of Georgia-Pacific. Joel also reached out to Jerry Benjamin, who had worked with Pete, and a fourth gentleman named Doug Hertz, who is CEO of United Distributors, Inc, which is the largest beverage distribution firm in the Southeast. Within those 48 hours, Joel had a commitment of just under $10 million, so I was quite impressed! With those resources and Joel's talent and creativity, in no time we had opened our offices in Atlanta and we started hiring. That was about a year ago, and we've been building very steadily since then. At present, we have a staff of about 17 people, and some very strong talent, for somewhat sad reasons. CNN fired their entire Science, Tech and Environment division, so we were able to pick up Peter Dykstra, who was executive producer of that division. We also added Emily Murphy, who has worked for CNN, USA Today and National Geographic. A lot of young, talented folks have also joined us, people in their 20s who have a certain dynamic that they bring to the table. They are very technology-savvy, for one thing, and in tune with the environment. It's a great team, and getting better every day. Tell us about your role in the Mother Nature Network. My position is Director of Environmental Affairs, and I have an office in Atlanta, which is unusual for me; I've never had an office in my life, or a title, for that matter! This is really an exciting opportunity for me, and I have two video programs on www.mnn.com; "Love of the Land," which is about people facing issues with the environment, and "In the Green Room," which is conversations with noteworthy individuals. We started with John Bell of Widespread Panic, and other people who will be coming up on "In the Green Room" include Chevy Chase, Ludacris, and Ryan Klesko, the former Atlanta Braves' slugger. You can tell by that diversity that I'm trying to reach out to a wide array of people who have environmental connections and some high-profile public recognition. It's been an interesting journey, and this is the perfect time for me, since the Rolling Stones have been idle. That has allowed me the chance to really focus on this project, and dedicate my heart and soul to it. As Director of Environmental Affairs, I also oversee specific projects that we have, and I offer my input as to whether I think they are on the right path or not. We have weekly staff meetings, which I go to as often as I can, and sometimes participate in by phone. We also have quarterly Board of Directors meetings, because we want to be very accurate in what we report. We want it to be the truth, since we put it out there for all to see, and we want it to be presented in a way that is engaging. That is why we are heavy on the video side, because we believe that is something that people seem to enjoy. Video clips ranging from two to five minutes are very popular, and people want to engage in them. We have secured 24 episodes of the Captain Planet cartoon series, which was the first cartoon series dedicated solely to environmental subject matter. It had been sitting on the shelf ever since Ted Turner sold the company to Time-Warner. We've found that is a wonderful way to engage kids, but that series appeals to people who are a little older and grew up watching Captain Planet, and they have a certain affinity for it. Plus, the voices of the characters are folks like Sting, Elizabeth Taylor, Whoopie Goldberg, Tom Cruise and others – it's quite interesting. The Mother Nature Network also has a section that we call "Translating Uncle Sam," and that is about the government websites I mentioned. They are very accurate and informative, but they are very poorly written and poorly presented. We have a couple of guys who call up N.O.A.A. or F.E.M.A. or the E.P.A., and they go through the information that is posted there. For example; the F.D.A. had something on the content of mercury in fish, and their presentation looks very much like an Excel spreadsheet – it's just simply numbers and columns. We took that same information and we made it graphic with images of fish, we used bar graphs and we made it much easier to digest and understand. We also have something called the "MNN Local Reports," which I think is very important. You will see a map of the U.S. on the site, and each state will have at least one, and in some cases, more, college correspondents. That correspondent is exclusive to us, and they have to gain that position by proving that they are good reporters, and they promise to make at least four reports a month to www.mnn.com. You know, a lot of people living in let's say, Nebraska, may not be so concerned in what's going on in South America, but they are very concerned about what's going on in their own region. We think it's really a great thing to have these local reports from each state coming from a young person at a college or university, because it does a couple of things. First of all, it gives the young person a chance to try out their communication skills, and they might become interested in a career in television, or becoming a writer. It also gives our site very local commentary on what's going on in each state, in each region. Right now, our only partner is The Nature Conservancy, www.nature.org. They are such a well-respected outfit, and everybody sees TNC as a very balanced entity. Some of these organizations can be very extreme, one way or the other. The Nature Conservancy has been around since 1951, and they do fabulous work. They don't go too far to one side or the other, so we partnered with them. On our site, each state has a chapter of The Nature Conservancy, and you can get state-wide reports about what the TNC is doing. We have an array of very talented bloggers, starting with Vanessa Vadim, who is Jane Fonda's daughter. Vanessa is one of the "greenest" persons on the planet; she rides a scooter around, and hardly uses any electricity. She lives in the Atlanta area, but she has found a way to live eco-friendly in a big metropolitan center. She has a regular column on our site called "Ask Vanessa," and has a real presence at the Mother Nature Network. How "green" do you see the rock and roll world getting? That's a very good question, and, unfortunately, I think the answer is not so green. I work with the Rolling Stones, and there is a lot of carbon output to be had on a Stones' tour. We're talking about private planes, lots of transportation vehicles, and lots of fans who come from all over and travel very long distances. It's only rock and roll and we love it, and we want to continue to do it, but it would be nice to find some more eco-friendly ways to do it. Having said that, there have been some green inroads made. The UK portion of our Forty Licks Tour, for example, was made carbon neutral by partnering with a group that was then called "Future Forests." Between the Stones and FF, we planted enough trees to offset the carbon footprint of that portion of the tour. In Europe, there is a lot more rail travel by fans coming to the shows, and there is a lot more carpooling. On our site, there is information on "Zimride," where, for example, if Widespread Panic is playing in Nashville, you can find ways to carpool to the show and save energy by doing that. We are trying to find ways to engage the rock and roll world in that regard, and there are some bands that are addressing this issue. Willie Nelson has his bio-diesel efforts, and has his continued dedication to Farm-Aid and the American farmer. The Indigo Girls have always been socially aware, and they do what they can to promote eco-friendly touring. U2 is a good example; Bono is out there talking about environmental issues, as well as the social issues he is concerned about. There are good things being done in the music world; Jack Johnson is another great example, and so are Alanis Morissette and Jackson Browne. There is a studio in Atlanta called Tree Sound that uses solar energy and other alternative energies as much as possible, so some steps are being taken, but I personally would like to see more of that. I would like to mention that Ronnie Wood has sponsored "Wood's Woods," where he gave money to plant trees as a gesture to offset his carbon footprint, so that is another example of rock artists trying to do the right thing. What are your early thoughts on the Obama Administration and the environment? Yeah, well, hallelujah! That is my first thought! Now we have an administration that is embracing science again, rather than trying to embrace corporations that are creating large carbon footprints. It's certainly no secret that the Bush Administration did all they could to promote oil companies and fossil fuel companies, and gave breaks to companies, that, in one form or another, were either using a lot of energy or causing a lot of pollution. That was their way of trying to encourage big business, and in my opinion and in the opinion of most people, that was not the best way to go about what we need to do. Look; I believe in some government regulation, but I don't believe in over-regulation. I do think we have the science out there to find out how far we need to go with these issues. One of the things that I'm very interested in that is being developed is what is called "Cap and Trade," which has to do with carbon emissions. Let's say a company has a cap placed on them for how much carbon output they are allowed to have. If it is an electric company, and they use coal to produce energy, that creates a lot of pollution. There is going to be a cap on how much pollution they are allowed to emit in the production of their product. So you find out scientifically what that level is, and then the trade part of Cap and Trade is that if the company exceeds those limits, they are required to buy carbon offsets to offset what they exceeded. Right now, this is just being discussed in the Obama Administration, and they seem to be moving forward with this concept. The other concept being discussed is a "Carbon Tax," which would be exactly what it sounds like – a tax on emissions beyond a certain point. Either one could help us be cleaner and greener, but right now I think Cap and Trade will come into play. There are a lot of details to be worked out, but the fact that they have the right people in place will allow us to finally address these issues. I do think President Obama is looking to find solutions, and will not turn his back to environmental problems, as the previous administration did. As you can see, we are trying to cover a lot of area with what we are doing at www.mnn.com. We are getting the most talented people we can, and we're trying to cut across all age barriers to engage kids, high school and college students, as well as the adult population. It's all about environmental information and awareness. To learn more about the Mother Nature Network, please visit www.mnn.com. For more information about Chuck Leavell, please visit www.chuckleavell.com. Also look for an interview with Chuck regarding his career and history with the Allman Brothers Band in Issue #61 of Hittin' the Note, which will be available on May 26.  
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