Randalls Island faces three boroughs (Manhattan, to which it belongs, and Queens and the Bronx), and each opposite waterfront is chockablock with lower-income public housing. The environmental message would resonate strongly if tied to PlaNYC and health issues like asthma, cancers, lead, and stress-related diseases, which stem directly from our urban ecology. The music would have to appeal to a younger demographic positive message hip hop, rap, and new rock. New blood, new funding, and a renewed sense of mission could come with an additional Clearwater Festival at Randalls Island. In a sense, while the Clearwater Festival started as a way for folk musicians to use their popularity to raise environmental awareness, that dynamic has flipped: “green” is so trendy now that it’s subsidizing folk music. Over that same time, however, folk music has declined in popularity. In the past three decades the Hudson River has become cleaner than in anyone’s lifetime. He added his considerable creativity and energy to the environmental movement, which was roused by Rachel Carson’s “ Silent Spring.” Seeger is widely credited with playing a key role in the passage of the 1972 Clean Water Act. Seeger’s quest, despite long odds, wasn’t entirely quixotic. Many stretches of the Hudson River were written off as dead at that time, sludged over with sewage where it wasn’t sterilized by toxic industrial releases. The continuing voyage began with folksinger Pete Seeger, who vowed in the 1960s, to “build a boat to save the river.” At root, the campout concert a fundraiser for the sloop Clearwater, which sails the length of the Hudson River carrying educators who preach the environmental gospel and introducing generations of young people to the joys of living with nature. Estimates vary, but an attendance high point was reported as 15,000. Thousands of people gather on the Croton Point Park grounds each June for a weekend of music and other performances, nautical life and lore, and building environmental awareness. While continuing to support and enjoy the established festival in Westchester County, might it be time to strike out in new directions here in NYC? I say “sideways” because while many green gatherings in NYC are slick and smart previews of possible sustainable futures, this “Great Hudson River Revival” is an odd amalgamation of innovation and anachronism, of renewable energy and creaky sailboats (and creaky sailors). I’m excitedly anticipating my chance to step sideways into a greener parallel culture this weekend with the Clearwater Festival, and I hope you can join in.