Editing John Denver (section)

== Political views and activism ==
In the mid-1970s, Denver became outspoken in politics. He expressed his ecological interests in the 1975 song "[[Calypso (John Denver song)|Calypso]]", an ode to the eponymous exploration ship {{RV|Calypso}} used by [[Jacques Cousteau]]. In 1976, Denver campaigned for [[Jimmy Carter]], who became a close friend and ally.{{CN|date=April 2025}} Denver was a supporter of the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] and of a number of charitable causes for the environmental movement, the homeless, the poor, the hungry, and the [[HIV/AIDS in Africa|African AIDS crisis]]. He founded the charitable [[Windstar Foundation]] in 1976 to promote [[sustainable living]]. Denver's dismay at the [[Chernobyl disaster]] led to precedent-setting concerts in parts of communist Asia and Europe.<ref name="bio2" />

During the 1980s, Denver was critical of [[Presidency of Ronald Reagan|Ronald Reagan's administration]] and remained active in his campaign against hunger, for which Reagan awarded Denver the Presidential World Without Hunger Award in 1987.<ref name="bio2" /> Denver's criticism of the conservative politics of the 1980s was expressed in his autobiographical folk-rock ballad "Let Us Begin (What Are We Making Weapons For?)". In an open letter to the media, Denver wrote that he opposed oil drilling in the [[Arctic National Wildlife Refuge]]. He had battled to expand the refuge in the 1980s, and he praised President [[Bill Clinton]] for his opposition to the proposed drilling. The letter, which Denver wrote in the midst of the [[1996 United States presidential election]], was one of the last he ever wrote.<ref name="bio2" /> In 1992, Denver and fellow singers [[Liza Minnelli]] and [[John Oates]] performed a benefit to fight the passage of [[1992 Colorado Amendment 2|Colorado Amendment 2]], an anti-gay ballot measure that prevented Colorado municipalities from enacting anti-discrimination protections.<ref>{{Cite web |last=By |date=December 22, 1992 |title=Benefit planned to fight anti-gay law in colorado |url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-1992-12-22-9212220448-story.html/ |access-date=July 18, 2023 |website=Orlando Sentinel |language=en-US}}</ref>  Denver was also on the [[National Space Society]]'s board of governors for many years.