Pitchfork

With both the U.S. presidential election and the third anniversary of the Hurricane Katrina disaster looming, a bunch of musicians have banded together in an attempt to ensure that the interests of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast at large don't go unheard by the next administration, be it Barack Obama's or John McCain's.

R.E.M., Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor, My Morning Jacket, Pearl Jam, Galactic, the Coup's Boots Riley, Allen Toussaint, Dr. John, Buckwheat Zydeco, Jackson Browne, the Neville Brothers, Indigo Girls, OK Go, 311, and Howlin' Wolf associate Hubert Sumlin are among over 90 acts and music industry folks who have signed a letter calling upon Obama and McCain to attend a September 18 presidential forum in NOLA and each "share [their] vision for leading the Gulf Coast's recovery."

As the letter puts it, "We are asking that the future President of the United States direct the resources and attention necessary to restore coastal Louisiana and secure the future of Louisiana's communities."

Much of the danger posed to those communities stems from the loss of vital wetlands. "Due to the nation's need for energy and dependable shipping lanes," the letter reads, "we are losing a football field's worth of wetlands every 45 minutes to erosion. This unrivaled land-loss threatens the nation's fishing, our energy, our ports, and most importantly, leaves New Orleans increasingly vulnerable to storms such as Katrina."

The forum is being sponsored by Google, YouTube, and several New Orleans universities, while the letter to Obama and McCain was spearheaded by the Gulf Restoration Network and Big Easy blues musician Tab Benoit's Voice of the Wetlands organization. Check out that letter in .PDF format here, and consult this factsheet and the links above for more info on what's happening and how you can help.