While sun-bathing in Hawaii, actor Woody Harrelson felt himself being nudged off his rock by a wet dog named Wookie. The scene reminded Harrelson of what is happening to the planet: People are being ‘nudged off the rock by Wookie’ — the giant corporations that are stealing the earth’s resources.
“We the people have been wookied off the rock,” Harrelson declared. “And what I’m going to talk about is how we can wookie ourselves back on.”
About 1,500 people crowded the EMU Amphitheater Friday afternoon — some stepping on bushes and others sitting on trees — to hear Harrelson speak about saving the environment through “Simple Organic Living.”
The speech helped kick off a Holistic Options for Planet Earth (HOPES) conference that took place last weekend. In the first minutes, Harrelson jumped between stories, answered questions and praised the emerging sun before he finally spoke about organic living and the corporations that are killing the planet.
“These industries have kidnapped our mother — Mother Earth — and we’ve got to get her back,” he said.
Three of Harrelson’s friends, including two lawyers, eventually took the stage, and all described different aspects of the organic living theme.
Harrelson and his friends have been biking down the Pacific Coast Highway from Seattle to Santa Barbara, Calif., stopping at several colleges and universities along the way. A bio-fueled bus called the “Mothership,” which runs on hemp oil and vegetable oil and is painted on the sides with rainbows, unicorns and a bright blue sky, follows the group.
Harrelson concluded his speech with a poem he wrote, and when everything wrapped up around 4:20 p.m., the audience gave him a standing ovation.
—Emily Gust