As the world mourns Dolly Parton, who died at her home in Nashville on Tuesday, August 25, it feels important to also celebrate her climate advocacy. Sure, she may not have been your typical fleece-and-hiking-boot-wearing treehugger, but decked instead in sequins, she went out of her way to make it amply clear that she loved and was concerned about Mother Earth.
Dolly’s wide-ranging audience was well aware of her long-term passion for nature in her home state of Tennessee—the Smoky Mountains as well as the wildlife. Way back in 1990, Eagle Mountain Sanctuary was established at Dollywood in Pigeon Forge in partnership with the American Eagle Foundation—a 30,000-square-foot aviary to house nonreleasable bald eagles. Ironically, it closed earlier this year after suffering storm damage.
Dolly notoriously shied away from getting overly political, or appearing to take sides about controversial national issues, for fear of upsetting her fans. Despite this general stance, she sure did manage to share, in her calm and inclusive way, just how crucial she felt it is to protect the land from the effects of catastrophic global warming. She did this with personal donations—in 2024, she pledged a $1 million donation to Hurricane Helene victims and Parton’s businesses in east Tennessee matched the donation with their own $1 million contribution. Well known for her big-hearted philanthropy, Dolly also donated to other climate-related disaster relief efforts, including wildfires and floods.
She also highlighted the climate crisis with her music. Her 2023 song, “World on Fire,” is considered a climate anthem by many. It’s hard to listen and think she meant anything differently with lyrics like:
[Chorus]
Liar, liar, the world’s on fire
What you gonna do when it all burns down?
Fire, fire, burnin’ higher
Still got time to turn it all around
[Verse 1]
Now, I ain’t one for speakin’ out much
But that don’t mean I don’t stay in touch
Everybody’s trippin’ over this or that
What we gonna do when we all fall flat?
Dolly once lamented in an interview with National Geographic that we collectively need to pay more attention. “We’re just mistreating Mother Nature—that’s like being ugly to your mama.” Here’s to Dolly and her special desire to treat mama better.
Tell Congress: The Climate Clock Is Ticking. Act Now for Our Kids’ Future.