"On May 28, 2003 in Hollywood they came, they played, it hurt everyone's ears, but it made a point. The oceans of the world today are in as much discord as a bad symphony. Whether it's the death of coral reefs, the collapse of world fisheries, or the appearance of "Dead Zones," the problems are many and as unpleasant as the "music" that arose from our bad symphony.

The only requirements of the actors recruited for the Shifting Baselines Ocean Symphony was that they genuinely care about the fate of the oceans and that they have no skill in playing the instrument they were given. They showed the former by making time for the event. They showed the latter... painfully well.

The event was filmed for a Public Service Announcement (PSA) for Shifting Baselines that appeared in the fall of 2003. The PSA will draw the comparison of lowered standards for the oceans to, "What if our standards for music were so low we thought this was beautiful?"

Listen to the "music?" !