Heavy metal musicians aren't just harbingers of doom. They are also voices of social consciousness. In this talk, Peter Buckland provides over 40 years of songs on the threats from nuclear war, globalization, the invasion of Iraq, demagogue politicians, and human-caused climate change.
Peter Buckland leads a couple of lives. One life takes him into his work as the Academic Programs Fellow at Penn State’s Sustainability Institute and into service as a municipal official with a call to environmental justice and equality. Another life has been steeped in studying, teaching, composing, and performing music since childhood. Sometimes these lives merge in curious ways. He’s written on what can we learn about environmental ethics and environmental degradation from thrash metal songs and how musicians created the sonic form of late Cold War paranoia and environmental degradation. He lives in State College, Pennsylvania with his partner Meg and his son Sacha.
This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at