Simon plans US tour to promote biodiversity
NEW YORK — Folk rock legend Paul Simon has announced a US tour to promote biodiversity efforts as fears mount for the long-term survival of life on Earth.
The 75-year-old songwriter, who a year ago had been mulling retirement, says all proceeds from his 17-date tour would fund the E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation.
Started by the Harvard scientist of the same name, the foundation supports education and research into biodiversity — the interconnected lives of the planet’s vast array of species.
Wilson, one of the foremost experts on ants, has warned that the planet is in the midst of a sixth great extinction as the destruction of rain forests, climate change and other human actions cause species to die out at a fast-accelerating rate.
Simon says he met Wilson in 2007 and was struck by his phrase that “Earth’s a jewel, but it’s endangered.”
“It’s going to take a little while, maybe 100 years, maybe 200 years, to fix it. But we can, and then it would be like living in paradise.
“But he said it’ s only going to take 75 to 100 years to make it into a desolate place,” Simon says.
Simon will open his tour on June 1 in St. Augustine, Florida, and play 16 solo shows across the country, mostly in open-air venues.
The 17th show will come when he headlines Eaux Claires, the festival in Wisconsin launched three years ago by Bon Iver frontman Justin Vernon.
Simon, formerly in a duo with Art Garfunkel, released a string of classic hits including Bridge over Troubled Water and Mrs. Robinson and helped shape the genre of world-music fusion with his 1986 album Graceland.