Twenty years after Hurricane Katrina ravaged his hometown of New Orleans, Jon Batiste has released a new song imploring people to take action against climate change “by raising your voice, and insisting, and voting the right people into office.”

“As an artist, you have to make a statement,” the global star said in an interview in August with the international media collaboration Covering Climate Now. “You got to bring people together. People power is the way that you can change things in the world.”

Jon Batiste Statement:

My song ‘Petrichor’ is a warning set to a dance beat. This song is the narrative backbone of my new album “BIG MONEY”. If we don’t have a livable planet, what do we have? The life support systems of the earth — the oceans, air and food are under threat. This planet is a miracle given to us by Yahweh. We are the stewards of Earth, our common home.

Petrichor is a word for the wonderful smell and feeling of the earth after it rains. I sing “Petrichor: No More” because the natural world is suffering while the planet is burning. There is a blanket of pollution around the earth, trapping heat, making it hotter, making the storms stronger. It is the result of a blanket of pollution around our souls and value systems. Let us come together to phase out pollution and save our beautiful planet.

We are out of balance. We have over-stretched the natural limits of what the earth can bear.

A society based on love must be fair. People are suffering, and so is nature. A society where people treat their neighbors as themselves wouldn’t allow this massive imbalance in wellness. We can do a lot better than that.

We are out of balance. Let’s bring Earth and our society back in divine alignment. It’s up to us to protect it. We know how.

Read more: https://www.jonbatiste.com/petrichor/#/