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New York—Two years ago, it was Amnesty International. Then it was the American Farmer. Now pop stars are embracing a new cause—Earth Day.

As April 22, the 20th anniversary of the first Earth Day, approaches, scores of pop stars are preparing to take the stage in benefit concerts championing the world’s troubled environment.

“A galaxy of stars will be participating in the 3,600 Earth Day-related activities being planned in the United States alone,” said Susan Alexander, communications coordinator for Earth Day 1990, headquartered in Palo Alto, Calif.

In New York tomorrow, rock stars including Hall and Oates, the B-52s, Carly Simon, and The Roches will appear in Central Park. Tonight, stars in the nation’s capital will gather at the Merriweather Post Pavilion for a similar concert.

Along with the hoopla, however, is the question of whether these performers are truly environmentalists or are merely jumping on the ecological bandwagon for publicity and profit.

“Certainly, that question should always be raised when you’re talking about a business like pop music,” Grammy Award-winning pianist and songwriter Bruce Hornsby told Reuters in a telephone interview from his recording studio in Los Angeles.

“Maybe that’s happening but that should never stop one if they feel strongly about something, I think music is important for increasing awareness and will increase pressure on politicians to act,” said Hornsby.

He will perform along with 10,000 Maniacs, Indigo Girls, and other well-known rock bands in tonight’s concert in Washington [D.C.]

Hornsby, whose hit single, “The Way It Is,” propelled him to stardom, incorporated environmentalism into his songs three years ago, before it became the vogue that it is today.

In his song called, “Look Out Any Window,” the Virginia native told about pollution in the Chesapeake Bay.

“It often strikes me that it [pollution] doesn’t hit people until it hits them where they live. But I think that’s changing. Now the awareness is so great, and Earth Day is such a big event that it is reaching everyone and having a cumulative effect,” Hornsby said.

Other pop stars slated to perform on Earth Day shared similar sentiments, but some are not so sure performing will be enough.

“Music is only as effective as fashion is to raising consciousness. If you feel it from enough angles, it raises awareness,” singer Michelle Shocked told Reuters.

“But it still doesn’t have as much of an effect as if a whole neighborhood gets together and puts a bin for recycled bottles outside of a local supermarket,” added Shocked, an environmental activist.

Jazz saxophonist Branford Marsalis said the music business had changed since the 1960s, when a cause and a pop star were often expected to go together.

“It’s a very different time we’re in. Now, music’s not about music. It’s about entertainment and top stars are running around on stage scantily clad,” he said.

“Years ago, people were writing songs about the environment, but they weren’t famous and it wasn’t hip, so people just laughed. Now, all these famous people are suddenly concerned about it.

“There’s definitely an exploitive element … but a lot of people are very sincere. And because of who they are, they’re using their clout to do something good.”