The Hippies Were Right!

Well, at the very least about a few things.

Joni MItchell wrote Big Yellow Taxi and put it out as a single in 1970. The release of this pop anthem for the green movement coincided with the first "Earth Day" and help popularize eco-awareness.

Green activists back then pushed Congress to pass the Wilderness Act and ban the use of the synthetic pesticide, DDT. Scientists cite the ban on DDT as a major contributing factor in the return of the American Bald Eagle --"You dont know what you've got... Till its (almost) gone."

Mitchell released an updated version of "Big Yellow Taxi" on her new CD, Shine, just in time for eco-activism part II.

Here are the lyrics --

They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
With a pink hotel, a boutique
And a swinging hot spot
Dont it always seem to go
That you dont know what youve got
Till its gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot

They took all the trees
Put em in a tree museum
And they charged the people
A dollar and a half just to see em
Dont it always seem to go
That you dont know what youve got
Till its gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot

Hey farmer farmer
Put away that d.d.t. now
Give me spots on my apples
But leave me the birds and the bees
Please!
Dont it always seem to go
That you dont know what youve got
Till its gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot

Late last night
I heard the screen door slam
And a big yellow taxi
Took away my old man
Dont it always seem to go
That you dont know what youve got
Till its gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot