Music and the Environment

U.S. EPA fines Fender Musical Instruments Corp.

2009-09-25T12:27:00.000-05:00

As reported in the US EPA's Daily New Release

LOS ANGELES - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today fined Fender Musical Instruments Corp. $78,861 and Goodrich Aerostructures Group $66,500 for violating numerous federal hazardous waste requirements at their Southern California facilities.

“We trust today’s action sends the right message -- hazardous waste generating companies must follow all federal regulations to protect their employees, surrounding communities and the environment,” said Jeff Scott, the EPA’s Waste Management Division director for the EPA’s Pacific Southwest region. “Proper storage, handling, and preparation for emergencies involving hazardous waste are critical responsibilities.”

During a routine inspection of the Fender facility in 2008, EPA investigators found that the musical instruments manufacturer had multiple hazardous waste violations at its plant located at 311 Cessna Circle in Corona, Calif. Fender:
• stored hazardous wastes without a permit;
• failed to provide adequate aisle space for hazardous storage containers;
• failed to inspect hazardous waste storage areas;
• failed to close hazardous waste storage containers;
• failed to provide required personnel training; and
• failed to determine if wastes generated were hazardous.

Got What He Wanted

2008-07-22T18:25:00.001-05:00

I was in Alaska for a week in May, had a rental car, and thought it was crazy to be paying over $4.00 for gas. I don’t own a car, or have friends that drive very often, so the price creep of gas really hits me and my friends. In mid June I witnessed my first $40.00 fill up and today a coworker had to drive to a work meeting and I witnessed my first $50.00 fill up. I asked, “Is it worth it?” Both responded, “Yes.”

Going on tour is a bit out of reach for me these days, but I am certainly curious what the impact of higher gas prices has been on the music industry’s summer tour. I’ve made it to a couple of shows that required driving, but they were within 25 miles of home. Based on Rothbury and the recent rumor mill, I am trying to imagine a Phish tour with gas prices this high. Would we see $2 grilled cheese instead of $1 grilled cheese? Would there be a bigger “shakedown street” with more vendors trying to get gas money, or less due to the expense of driving between shows?

Whatever the impact may be, this has certainly highlighted a few key points for me.
•Live somewhere that doesn’t require you to have a car to meet your basic needs.
•Work somewhere that doesn’t require you to have a car.
•If you have to live and work somewhere that requires a car, drive less, encourage your political leaders to improve public transportation, ride your bike more, combine as many errands as possible into one trip, keep up with your car maintenance which can improve gas mileage, and try to work from home a couple days a week.

If you are going on tour, or just to a single show in your area, try walking, biking, riding the bus or train, or if you have to drive, carpool. The music community is full of like minded people, get to know some in your community and make an effort to ride share if you have to drive.

I haven’t noticed any obvious impacts to touring schedules, but we may see them soon. Residencies may become more common as bands look to cut down on their own travel. This could be an interesting trade off if a lot of fans converge on a single city, so there may be some advantages to a band traveling versus hundreds or thousands of fans traveling to get to the show.

So what does the future hold? Probably higher and higher gas prices, but there is room to change the way we get our energy. I was lucky enough to hear Al Gore speak on Thursday, July 17th, at Washington DC’s, DAR Constitution Hall. Better known to most people as a small/medium sized venue to see a show, Al Gore certainly rocked this audience receiving multiple standing ovations. Gore’s message was a challenge for the United States to produce 100% of our energy from renewable sources such as solar, wind and geothermal within the next ten years. This radical shift would also include more plug in hybrid cars, which Gore claimed could be bring the equivalent price of travel to around a dollar a gallon. Investing in these greener technologies is a potential boost to the economy and vital to the future of the planet. See Gore’s speech and learn more here.

So who is to blame for the situation we are in? Thomas Friedman certainly has his viewpoint, which became one of the most recommended articles on the New York Times website this week. Friedman basically says that rather than trying to break our addiction to fossil fuels, the current administration is trying to make it easier for us to consume them. He makes an interesting analogy stating that we would not try to lower the price of crack to break someone’s addiction, we would try to get them from using the drug in the first place. Perhaps a bit extreme, but as the current administration claims that opening up more off-shore drilling will lower gas prices, and that the current problem is nothing more than a psychological one, we certainly need someone to set us straight. The bottom line is that the oil companies aren’t using the current area allotted them for offshore drilling, there is still and Congressional moratorium on new offshore drilling and we won’t see any of this new oil for 10 years. Is that going to lower gas prices? I don’t think so.

See music. Not too much. Mostly close to home.

Every Day Is Earth Day

2008-05-21T20:45:00.001-05:00

For those spending Earth Day in Washington, DC, at the Green Apple Festival, your Earth Day was wet, very wet. It was a bit ironic that Mother Earth would be responsible for cutting the festivities short. Fortunately, those of us in attendance had a chance to visit the booths and hear a rockin set by Umphrey’s McGee. HeadCount was definitely one of my favorite booths to visit, not only because of their cause of registering fans to vote, but the enthusiasm of the people working at the tent. I actually caught some of those same folks featured in a CBS news segment on the evening news this week which was very cool.

Although I was disappointed that most of the festival got rained out, I think the annual event of Earth Day reminds people how important the environment is. I hope that some people take the information they learned seriously and become more aware of their decisions and how they affect the environment. Although Earth Day is officially celebrated once a year, we need to acknowledge the impacts we have on the environment every day. The awareness established on Earth Day is only a small part of improving our environment, but the choices we make as individuals can collectively make a huge impact.

One of the choices that we are fortunate to have in this country is choosing our political leaders. Another booth I visited was the League of Conservative Voters, which is an organization that provides information on how members of Congress and the president vote on pieces of environmental legislation, campaigns for environmental issues and tries to empower citizens with information on environmental issues. Although the primaries are almost over, I would still recommend checking out their page on how the 2008 presidential candidates compare on their environmental positions - http://lcv.org/voterguide/. I am advocating for one candidate over the other, but I think it is clear from the information provided which candidate has the best environmental record and plans for improving the environment in the future.

The environment is in the news everyday, whether it is high gas prices, debates over biofuels, endangered fisheries, threatened species, clean air, potable water or renewable energy. The value of a quality environment can be difficult to quantify, especially when we currently don’t incorporate the costs of environmental damage into our products. For any political candidate, the environment cannot be ignored. As citizens we must put the pressure on our politicians to take environmental issues seriously. A wealth of information is out there, make yourself aware, and make your politicians aware of your position on those issues. As citizens we must be involved to make our democracy work for us.

Dude, Where’s My Water?

2008-03-24T18:56:00.000-05:00

It seems like everyday is a holiday, but I’m not complaining. Established by the United Nations General Assembly after the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro, March 22^nd is World Water Day - http://www.worldwaterday.org/. In the United States, we often take for granted the quality of our drinking water and sanitation services. It’s certainly not perfect, but we have one of the better systems in the world. For developing countries, especially in rural areas, drinking water and sanitation services are less than ideal and present many challenges included sickness death. Water and sanitation are critical factors to alleviate poverty and hunger, for sustainable development, for environmental integrity, and for human health.

Despite our readily accessible and safe tap water, Americans are fascinated with bottled water. Fortunately this trend is facing mounting criticism as highlighted by the title of a recent New York Times Freakonomics blog post that declared, “Bottled Water is the Enemy” - http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/02/20/bottled-water-is-the-enemy/. For some startling facts about bottled water, check out the Food and Water Watch website, - http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/water/bottled. Bottled water uses over a million gallons of oil for the plastic bottles, those bottles are recycled less than 15% of the time and it will cost you, about $10 a gallon vs. $0.02 for tap water. Still not convinced? Well, tap water is regulated by the EPA and is tested frequently to meet regulations, while bottled water may only be tested once a week, much less frequently.

I know I am a step behind on this one as festival season has already begun, but as you venture out for your spring, summer, or fall run of shows, think about where you are going to get your next drink of water. One choice you have is to take along a reusable bottle, such as a Nalgene, or the ever so trendy KleanKanteen or Sigg (no endorsements should be inferred, my mind is not made up yet, which is best). These bottles will cost you about $20, hold about 32oz (about 4 glasses) and can be filled up easily. For extended trips, consider purchasing a reusable 5 gallon jug. My buddy and I used one last fall and it worked very well. The cost of the reusable container pays for itself very quickly when you consider paying $2-3 in the lot and $4-5 inside the show for a bottle of water. Many venues are now allowing fans to bring in empty bottles that can be refilled at water fountains inside. If the venue does not allow you to do this, arm yourself with the facts (see above) and talk to the venue manager or write them a letter when you get home.

So why do Americans still purchase over 28 billion bottles of it last year? This illustration from Steve Greenberg begs the same question - http://www.greenberg-art.com/.Toons/.Toons,%20Environ/BottledWater.html.

Green Gadgets

2008-02-22T12:06:00.005-05:00

It seems that the buzz in this year’s campaign has revolved around the word change. No matter which party you belong to this should be a good thing. As the primary campaign continues, especially in full force for the Democrats, campaign dollars keep on flowing on ads, events, and other questionable expenses. Maybe one of the changes we need is to change the massive amounts of money spent on the campaign, but I digress.

I found an awesome blog while looking for materials for this months post. The blog is called Greenbase. I thought I would highlight some of the super cool posts that this blog has posted about recently. The blog has posted about some awesome gadgets related to music that seem to environmentally friendly.

If you are going on tour, you might need to rent a van for those long hauls. It looks like Enterprise, Alamo and National will being offering carbon offsets with your rental. At $1.25 a rental this seems like a pretty good deal, especially since the company will match the offsets up to the first million dollars spent on offsets by customers. I have previously written about the effectiveness of offsets, so the company is going a step further to also underwrite the planting on 50 million trees.

While in your rental van, you made need some extra entertainment. One option is a solar powered Mp4 player that allows you to play music or video games. The device stays charged via the sun and you have the option to plug other devices into it to get charged as well.

For those planning to hit the festival circuit this summer, but not willing to give up access to your power craving electronics, you may want to check out this solar table. I can just picture Shakedown with a bunch of people selling grilled cheese of this thing, or walking through the campgrounds to see someone blogging from the table about the festival.

Having problems getting a signal for your wireless device? Check out this solar powered Wi-Fi repeater. Looking for a signal takes a lot of power, so before your device runs out of juice, let this gadget do the work.

There is a lot more cool stuff where this came from, so be sure to check out Greenbase the next time your looking for some information about music and climate change.

New Beginnings

2007-12-21T18:54:00.000-05:00

The end of the calendar year represents a time of change, or at least an excuse to talk about the changes we hope to make in the coming year. Personally I view each day as a new beginning, something someone much wiser once said that has stuck with me. So whether you like to make change happen every day or just a couple times of year, I would like to offer a few things to reflect on.

For me the music venue I frequent the most is about a mile and a half away. I am typically running late for the show and I end up in a taxi cab. My hope for the new year is to walk, ride a bus, or take the subway the next time I am going to a show.

In 2007, I virtually eliminated the purchasing of CD’s in favor of online music purchases and exploring free music through podcasts. I hope to continue this trend in 2008, and although I am sure I will acquire new music, I hope to re-visit the music I have. My iTunes Library is out of control and totally unorganized. I really hope to explore the Smart Playlist feature as well. Here is a great link for someone other ideas are organizing your music collection, http://www.43folders.com/2007/10/15/put-your-itunes-library-diet.

When I am at a show, I will most definitely be drinking the most local beer that comes as draft. It is pretty sickening to see the number of bottles generated at each show. Local beer comes from closer to home, is typically fresher, and supports the people around you. Kegs can be reused and are much more efficient than individual bottles. Draft beer is often more economical as well, typically a pint (16.9oz) costs the same as a bottle (12oz).

For your pre-show indulgences, consider grabbing a growler or two from your local brewpub. If you are purchasing wine, again consider local wineries that use organic and sustainable farming practices, and use real cork to bottle their wine. Here is a great link to an article for the reasons why, http://www.viropop.com/post/4641/wine-think-local-organic-and-eco-corked.

Shaving is certainly optional in the jamband community, as it should be. If you are considering shaving your beard during this New Year, or maybe this spring when it warms up, consider the type of razor you are using. The triple-blade-action I currently use is a vast improvement over the single blade disposable that was in my house growing up, but it seems I spend a heck of a lot on each razor and throw one away every two weeks or so, depending on my shaving frequency. I read a great article that highlights the benefits of what some might call, the “old-fashioned” or more traditional double-edge razor. Feel like saving $140 a year, check out this article, http://zenhabits.net/2007/12/the-zen-of-shaving-how-a-double-edge-razor-can-change-your-life/.

The choices we make in the coming year can help improve the environment and save you money at the same time. Being conscious about our decisions sometimes takes a little more time and initial thought and investment, but usually pays off in the long run. Above all, making changes that are better for the environment makes me feel better and hopefully has a positive impact to those around me. A friend reminded me the other day how fortunate we are to even have the time to think about these choices. Most people around the world have to focus on their everyday needs and may not have any choices at all. If you are fortunate enough, or conscious enough, then the choice is clear, go green in 08.

An Opportunity to Share

2007-11-17T10:55:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving is a holiday where we give thanks. The origins go back to the Native Americans sharing food and other important aspects of life with the newly arrived settlers. In modern times it is a chance to get together with family and friends, sometimes traveling far distances, take a day or two or three off work, and excuse to eat lots of turkey, real or faux. It amazes me that we still have Thanksgiving on a Thursday, who is really going to work on Friday? The people working are those that work jobs in the “retail” sector as the Friday after Thanksgiving has turned into the biggest shopping day of the year. So have major retail corporations had secret meetings to make sure Thanksgiving stays on a Thursday? What is it that makes people want to go shopping that Friday?

Since this column is about music and the environment, I’ll try to connect the two to Thanksgiving. First, on the music side of things, I often find myself catching up with old friends, and we all try and take control of the stereo to play our new favorite songs from the last year. With the advent of the mp3 player, this no longer requires burning cd’s or making tapes. We can hook our mobile devices directly to the stereo, eliminating the need for cd’s. If there is something that we can share with each other, legally of course, there are multitudes of websites that allow you to post files for later download, sendspace and yousendit are two that I familiar with. The other great thing about these websites is that we can share all year long, we don’t have to worry about mailing something, which would require a visit to the post office and a few bucks.

The other thought relates to the day after Thanksgiving and how you plan to shop for music this holiday season. A recent acquaintance made an important distinction for me in relation to plastic cd cases. The conversation went something like this:

Q: Do you buy Cd’s?

A: Sometimes.

Q: Do you keep the plastic cases or do you upload the music and then discard the cd and/or its plastic case into storage?

A: I always upload to iTunes and put the rest in storage, most of the time.

It made me think that there are a handful of cd cases on my bookshelf, representing some of my favorite cd’s that I want handy in case a mobile mp3 device is not useable. This is especially true for box sets. So what I would recommend this holiday shopping season is to think about the music you are buying for yourself or for a friend. Do you really need to CD case or is it easier to just buy the music online?

Finally, someone I met recently said that they had no idea what global warming was about. They did not watch the news very much and what news that they did see had not mentioned it. I guess I take it for granted sometimes that even though media coverage of environment problems is increasing, there is still a need to educate people about the environmental issues we are facing today. Here are a few items to explore this month.

Are you going to be asked by your parents, wife, partner, or roommate to get rid of some of your old stuff? If so, check out this article from Grist and visit Earth 911. While on these sites, do a little exploring and see if there is a good topic to bring up at Thanksgiving Day dinner.

Are you driving home and want to get better fuel economy and lower emissions? Of course you do, so check out this page from Environmental Defense.

Did you have a good year selling grilled cheese in the parking lot and you are going shopping the day after Thanksgiving? You may have seen NBC’s Green Week, and Al Gore rushing off to save a whale in trouble on 30 Rock, or not, but MSNBC has a good article, with some good links. Save the Whales, or just try and make everyday Earth Day.

Are you flying home? Take an empty reusable bottle and fill it with water after the security checkpoint to avoid having to buy bottle water or soda. You may not know it, but bottled water has huge impacts.

Thinking about taking a nice long car road ride to enjoy the fabulous fall colors in a nearby forest? I know in some places fall was not around for very long this year. Consider riding your bike around the neighborhood instead. Or instead of driving around the park, plan a nice hike instead. The US Forest Service offers a great guide to Fall Colors in your area.

I Don’t Like Driving

2007-10-26T18:17:00.000-05:00

Mike Gordon and Leo Kottke – Car Carrier Blues – “I Don’t Like Driving, Take the Train If I Could Choose.”

My boss sent out an email a few weeks ago that said we had some extra travel money. As someone that enjoys traveling, I got excited. Of course, going places for work, is nothing like the joy of traveling to go see your favorite bands, but somehow I keep coming back to the analogy that I am about to go on Fall Tour. I can better understand the excitement and the reservations that extended travel can create for frequent travelers, like the bands I love to go see.

My observation is that bands and fans do the most amount of traveling in the summer. Hopefully that meant carpooling or some other sort of energy saving practice for fans and bands. Thankfully most of bands associated with this site; do not have separate buses for each member.

So as students go back to school, and band's go home to see family and friends, perhaps some people will make a more focused effort to stick around their local area to reduce their environmental impact caused by traveling to shows. I feel lucky being in DC that most of the places I want to go see music are within walking, biking, bus, train, or some other form of mass transit (I am still working on my non-polluting combination tele-port/time travel machine). It is also exciting to think that you might actually spend more time seeing music than traveling to see music. Don't get me wrong, road trips are fun, but it is kind of like driving an hour to enjoy nature by taking a 30 minute hike. To me that just does not add up.

So if you are lucky enough to live in a big music market, think about how you are going to get to your next show. More than likely you have some sort of alternative to driving, something to make up for all of the miles logged this summer. I will certainly be thinking about my travel impacts while on my upcoming work trips and maybe some of these will lead to ideas that could transfer over to traveling to see music.

A Look Inside the Music

2007-08-20T19:16:00.000-05:00

There are a few songs that continue to stay in my head when I think about music and the environment.

String Cheese Incident – 100-year flood

“The water's rising and the rain's still coming down, There's a river five feet deep running down Main Street.” By no means have we had anything that compared to the 1993 Mississippi River flood, but this year has seen flooding in many places; Maine, Oklahoma, Texas, Minnesota, Wisconsin and other states as well. Recent reports from climate change experts claim the amount of flooding with continue to rise over time. This beautiful song from SCI’s early days tells the story of 1996 flood that resulted in a dam break. We may one day find ourselves redefining what it means to have a 100-year flood as these instances become more frequent and severe.

String Cheese Incident – ‘Round the Wheel

Possibly out of context, but on the opposite end of flooding, this SCI song cries out, “I’ve been waiting for the snow to fall.” As some of the world will experience greater amounts of precipitation, others will face severe drought situations. The ski bum inside of me hopes this never affects any of my favorite places to ski, or some of the places I have yet to try. The emergency preparedness person inside of me hopes that business and residents in these areas have plans in place to deal with such situations or the economy of these Regions will take a big hit. Water is needed for just about everything, snow for the mountains, and the snowmelt to fill reservoirs for drinking, irrigation, industry, and recreation.

Leo Kottke and Mike Gordon – The Grid

“Yes I did, I wanted to find myself, Off the grid.” As energy independence continues to be a national security issue for the United States, our individual energy dependence is a thought provoking topic. What if we couldn’t rely upon the often reliable electric grid. Just as we take for granted water coming out of the tap when we turn the faucet handle, so to do we take for granted the lights coming on each time flip the light switch. Most likely written by Gordon, this quirky tune tells the story of someone not really thinking about not being able to rely on the grid, but someone wanting to get off the grid and away from it all. Our modern urban culture has led to much economic efficiency, but the ability to survive without our infrastructure is something most of us would not know how to do. Is there a critical point where more people will seek a life outside of the city or town? We may already be there as we return to a more distributed electricity generation system with wind farms, methane generation from agricultural and municipal waste, and solar panels in high demand.

“Don’t Let It Bring You Down (Neil Young)”, “Tonight’s the Night (Neil Young)”, for change in a better direction, at least I hope so. Maybe with all of this attention on climate change will take us away from the 80’s attitude of, “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough (Michael Jackson).” Regardless, you may as well, “Funkify Your Life (The Funky Meters).”

To reduce your impact on the environment, consider making your next iTunes purchase through Tunes for Trees (http://www.tunesfortrees.com/). For every 10 songs, they will plant a tree and have planted over 2,000 trees since launching Earth Day 2007.

V Festival Goes Green (from DCist)

2007-08-06T18:30:00.000-05:00

http://dcist.com/2007/08/06/the_virgin_fest.php

Nobody that went to this year's festival left without learning a few things about environmental consciousness. The program guide informed us that an average festival of this size produces about 192,000 pounds of landfill waste. To get that number closer to zero, there were 50 "waste reclamation stations" around the venue, each with compost, recycling and landfill bins, and volunteers to tell you which receptacle your trash went in (it's worth noting that those volunteers were very well educated on the subject and willing to answer questions and engage in conversation). Cups, utensils and even garbage bags were made from compostable corn, all paper products were made from recycled material, all inks were soy-based, all energy was solar, wind or bio-diesel, and public transportation was encouraged. They even got festival-goers involved with the green efforts by rewarding people who collected empty bottles and cans with prizes from band merch to iPod speakers.

Greening Your Book and Music Collections ( A Fresh Squeeze)

2007-08-04T14:42:00.000-05:00

http://app.e2ma.net/app/view:CampaignPublic/id:6513.675661677/rid:b8bee1c44f0b470b80bd4e0470047814

Most of us have been guilty of it at some point or another: scanning our friends' libraries trying to uncover clues to their true nature. But tracks and titles alone won’t tell you how green they might be.

Now, two new websites let you express your greenness while expanding your collection of books and music. Eco-libris, based in California, allows bibliophiles to plant a tree for each book they read. Founder Raz Godelnik explains, “the idea behind Eco-libris is to enable book lovers and readers to take action and to make their reading habits more sustainable.” For $5, you can offset 5 books and plant 5 trees in a developing country.

Tunes for Trees is a similar concept but for music lovers. Started by Live It Green, a Chicago-based company, Tunes for Trees has partnered with iTunes to plant 1 tree for every 10 tracks purchased through the site. The cost of each song is the same, and you needn’t buy 10 to get started. Every track purchased counts towards planting a tree. It’s a simple idea, according to Hans Fedderke, founder of Tunes for Trees. “You’re already online buying music, why not do some good?”

Both Tunes for Trees and Eco-libris took care in selecting their tree-planting partners. Fedderke, whose site works with Trees for the Future, says the group was chosen because of its history and credibility. Eco-libris, according to Godelnik, used a screening process headed by environmental experts to select its three partners. Organizations had to guarantee that the trees would benefit local communities as well as the environment. “We wanted to know that the right species were being planted in the right places,” Godelnik says.

To learn more about Tunes for Trees and Eco-libris, visit their websites. You can also read about their partner organizations: Trees for the Future, the Alliance for International Reforestation, Sustainable Harvest, and Ripple Africa.

Jack Johnson Records New Album In Eco-Friendly Studio (http://www.ecorazzi.com/?p=2807)

2007-08-04T14:40:00.000-05:00

On the music side of green entertainment, we’re starting to see more artists taking their earth-friendly values away from the tour scene and into the studio. Recently, we talked about a UK group called Razorlight recording a single at a solar-powered studio called The Premises. Taking this a step further is the original “green jammer”, Jack Johnson.

Jack is no stranger to the environmental scene, having been praised for his eco initiatives on the Hawaiian islands many times here. Sometime after his fourth album, the surfer/rock star decided his Brushfire Records HQ in LA needed to be more in line with his green values. Now, as he starts jammin’ away on a fifth LP, the finishing touches are being placed on a new, eco-friendly structure. From the article,

“‘They’re still laying the bamboo floor in the control room,’ Johnson tells Billboard.com, ‘but we’re loading the equipment into the studio and ready to get started.’”

While fans (including your’s truly) are getting excited for Jack’s new release, his commitments to Live Earth will prevent us from enjoying some new grooves anytime soon. Originally slated to headline Live Earth Australia, Johnson is instead one of the leading acts next to Aussie favorite Crowded House. Either way, we can expect the same style and tone that has turned Johnson into a rising star and inspiring activist.

“The new songs, he says, deal with ‘a little bit of peace, a little bit of that feeling of the whole climate change and being overwhelmed by that [and] little sappy love songs, like usual. A little bit of everything.’”

Sounds like easy listening to me.

Did iTunes help me reduce my environmental impact?

2007-06-15T08:14:00.000-05:00

What would America be without the freedom to make most of our own choices? Where would the environmental community be today without Global Warming? We can all connect with freedom and the environment in our own way. In the environmental community and in the music world there are some choices to be made about the environment. One of the steps I recently took was to load my music collection into iTunes and to only buy music in digital formats.

It has been a year since I made this transition with my music collection. My well used and now squeaky five disc changer is lonely. In fact it is about to lose its place in my surge protector for other gadgets. When I made the move away from CD’s I did so for convenience and space. I wanted to know if this transition also reduced the impact I was making on the environment. I am not smart enough, actually to not dis on myself, not patient enough at the moment to try and figure out the energy consumption caculations, but here are some thoughts about it.

Without going scientific on you all, I wanted to look at the impact of the resources involved in making, using, and eventually disposing of my music collection. An important assumption I made was that I would have a computer even if I did not have the capability of using it to manage my music collection. I did not dismiss this as a factor right away, but I was encouraged by a few interesting facts about my laptop. I was encouraged when visiting the website for manufacturer of my laptop because they provided me a great deal of information about the materials and energy use of my computer. They have made great strides in reducing the amount of lead used as well as reducing the amount of carbon dioxide emissions. Additionally my laptop is set up with a number of energy saving features. Best of all, when I am done with this machine they will recycle it for free. Computers, hard drives, and iPod’s still have some environmental related issues, but I was feeling a little bit better knowing that some efforts were being made to reduce the environmental impacts.

So by no longer using CD’s as my favored music media type, was I really reducing my environmental impact? The US EPA has conveniently developed this poster with the life cycle of a CD (http://www.epa.gov/osw/students/finalposter.pdf), which shows some of the steps involved in making a CD. From the mining and processing of the raw materials, and the manufacturing and packaging of the CD, a large amount of resources are consumed, waste generated and energy used to make the CD’s we listen to. Obviously by eliminating the use of CD’s, I was eliminating all of the associated environmental impacts CD’s have on the environment.

Without taking the environmental impacts of my decision into account ahead of time I own a laptop and an iPod and needed an external hard drive to fit my whole music and movie collection. Since I have this technology, making a trip to the store (although for me that means walking or hopping on a bus) and buying a CD is not an option I have even considered in over a year. The transition for me was a simple and rewarding process. I no longer have to deal with stacks and piles of CD’s. I can get rid of my CD books and I no longer need to use some of my already cramped space for storing them.

Not everyone is going to do this and I still appreciate the occasional trip into my neighborhood music store. There is something about thumbing through shelves of CD’s and supporting your local music business (Although I do not live in San Francisco, I have enjoyed my two trips to Ameoba music, which sells used CD’s). On the other hand, the convenience of the internet and the ability to download virtually any music out there is incredibly powerful. I no longer have to deal with changing CD’s in my antiquated disc changer, or take the time to make a mix CD when I am in the mood for variety of styles. In many ways iTunes and iPods have automated and organized our music listening experience. I probably listen to more music now than I ever have before. The instant gratification of having something right at my finger tips is incredibly powerful and has shaped my music listening experience. At the same time I have reduced my environmental impact by eliminating CD’s.

A Band’s Actions Can Be As Loud as Their Music

2007-06-15T08:13:00.000-05:00

The jamband community has been making a lot of strides in their efforts to reduce their footprint. From the days of Phish having a green crew, and playing a show powered by solar power (7/15/94), more bands are implementing initiatives that are making a huge impact. So let’s just take this moment to recap all of the great environmental happenings that have been making noise recently.

The Green Apple Music Festival is truly an example to highlight the growing awareness among fans and musicians. What better way to raise awareness than to host an earth friendly festival on Earth Day at multiple locations across the country. The huge number of bands and fans is an indicator that the jamband community is conscious of the environmental problems we are facing. Green Apple had a zero waste goal, offset all of their emissions, and raised awareness by providing education and outreach. Hopefully many fans that traveled to the event also offset their own emissions. I can only hope that this type of effort to make a festival more green is an everyday occurrence rather than a once of year special occasion.

As evil as most people think oil companies are, Shell Oil stepped up after Hurricane Katrina to ensure funding for Jazz Fest and has recently committed their support until 2010. At this year’s Jazz Fest, Shell sponsored a tent, sans music, to allow fans to “conserve their energy”. Inside the tent were exhibits and staff providing information and outreach on energy conservation. Although you could probably say they are talking out of both ends, this is just an example of the environmental movement becoming a part of our music experience.

Not only did this year’s Langerado festival use Clean Vibes for their trash and more importantly recycling services, but you could also ride your bike to the festival. The festival took advantage of existing trails and provided bike racks for fans. I could not think of a better way to get to a festival. Langerado also provided education and outreach opportunities and has a five year plan to make the event one of the greenest in the country.

Jack Johnson sponsored his own green festival this spring, the Kokua Festival in Hawaii. The festival had a zero waste goal, had water stations to encourage fans to use refillable water bottles, had eco-friendly merchandise, used bio-diesel for vehicles and generators, provided locally grown and organic concessions, encouraged bicycling, provided an outreach and activities tent, off set their emissions, and contributed to the 1% for the Planet effort.

On an international level Al Gore’s Live Earth event should have a huge impact. This event spans all seven continents and features some of the biggest names in the music industry. Unfortunately, some members of Congress still don’t think global warming is a problem and Gore’s bid to have one of the events on the lawn of Congress was turned down. Regardless of the ignorance of our politicians and the people that vote for them, as music fans and individuals we can take actions into our own hands.

Besides whole festivals taking today’s environmental problems some bands are taking their own initiatives as well. Umphrey's Mcgee recently initiated a program that allows fans who use their online ticketing system to add a nominal fee on to their ticket price to offset their emissions when traveling to the show. In addition for every ticket purchased through their ticketing system a tree will be planted. I can only hope that is a matter of time when other ticketing outlets offer this type of service.

Willie Nelson is probably the most famous musician that powers his tour bus with bio-diesel. Other bands have started to adopt this practice as well. So I ask the same question, when will this become the standard and not the exception?

Groups like Reverb and Rock the Earth are helping musicians and fans become greener. Reverb consults with musicians to help them make greener choices while touring and has done some extensive outreach. Rock the Earth has partnered with many musicians and festivals to provide outreach and has taken direct action on other environmental issues. Check out their sites to see all the green they are spreading and to see what you can do to help.

As music fan’s we can support our favorite bands in greener ways as well. Support your favorite bands when they are closer to home so you are not driving as much. If you drive or go on tour this summer, make sure you carpool and pack light. Extra weight in your car/van/bus will bring down your gas mileage. Pick up your butts and recycle when you can. Although there is some debate over the impact of off-setting your emissions that is certainly an option to consider.

I always find it refreshing to take a moment to reflect and what I found reflecting on music and the environment in the last six months or so is very refreshing. This is just a sample of everything being done by the music industry to become greener. At some point I hope that this type of activity won’t need special attention because it will become everyday news. As a cautious optimist I know that even when the environment is a common part of our day, we all will need to continue to spread the word and do our part.

Kakua Festival - Greening

2007-02-23T15:31:00.000-05:00

KOKUA FESTIVAL GREENING

http://www.kokuafestival.com/greening/

Jack Johnson and all parties involved in producing the Kokua Festival are committed to environmental sustainability and making the Festival as “green” as possible. In keeping with this mission, the following actions are being taken in 2007 to help reduce the environmental impact of the Kokua Festival:

Zero-Waste – The festival will again aim to be zero-waste in 2007, with recycling and composting stations located throughout the festival grounds and volunteers monitoring the stations to ensure proper disposal of all waste. All containers, serving dishes, utensils, napkins, etc. will strive to be bio-compostable, recyclable, or re-usable.

Water Stations – New to the Kokua Festival in 2007 is an initiative to encourage fans to carry reusable water bottles and fill up for free at one of the water stations located around the Festival grounds. There will be special edition Kokua Festival water bottles available for purchase inside the gates; fans are also encouraged to bring their own empty water bottles to the event.

Eco-Friendly Concert Merchandise – Our t-shirts are made from organic cotton and our concert posters are printed on 100% post-consumer waste recycled paper. We will also be selling re-useable Kokua Festival bags made of organic cotton – fans are encouraged to use them at their local grocery stores instead of paper or plastic.

Biodiesel – Production vehicles and generators used at the Kokua Festival will run on bio-diesel fuel.

Kokua Village – Fans will be able to visit the Kokua Village featuring local food and beverages, products and services from green companies, alternative energy demonstrations, interactive games and crafts for the kids, and information from environmentally active groups from around the islands will also be featured.

Locally-Grown, Organic & Natural Concessions – A variety of locally-grown, organic and/or natural food and beverages will be available for fans to purchase at the festival.

Locally-Grown, Organic & Natural Catering & Food Donations – Our festival catering crew will purchase locally-grown, organic and/or natural food for the artists, crew, and VIP hospitality area. Any leftover food will be donated to local shelters.

Travel – We strongly encourage all attendees to utilize alternative methods of transportation to get to the Kokua Festival. Bicycling is a great option – bike parking will be provided at the front of the venue, and all fans who bike to the show will receive a raffle ticket for a chance to win a number of prizes (winners to be announced during the show.) Public transportation, driving a hybrid or biodiesel vehicle, and carpooling are also good options. If you are flying into Hawaii for the Kokua Festival, consider offsetting some or all of your flight by purchasing wind credits.

Earth Day Resolution – Fans are also encouraged to pledge to reduce their own environmental impact leading up to the festival and throughout the year. Visit www.myspace.com/kokuafestival for details.

CO2 Offsets & Climate-Neutral Certification – After all possible actions have been taken to reduce the environmental impact of the Kokua Festival, the remaining CO2 emissions will be calculated. We will offset these emissions by assisting with renewable energy programs in Hawaii so that the entire Festival can be certified climate-neutral.

1% For The Planet – An alliance of businesses committed to leveraging their resources to create a healthier planet, members of 1% For The Planet donate at least 1% of their annual net revenues to environmental organizations worldwide. Jack Johnson has been a member of 1% For The Planet since 2003.

We thank you for your support as we try to make the 2007 Kokua Festival the most eco-friendly event yet!

Kakua Festival - JJ Rocks the Earth

2007-02-23T15:29:00.000-05:00

EDDIE VEDDER JOINS JACK JOHNSON AT THE FOURTH ANNUAL KOKUA FESTIVAL

February 02, 2007

http://www.kokuafestival.com/news/

APRIL 21st- 22nd 2007
WAIKIKI SHELL, OAHU

Hawaii’s own, Grammy-nominated musician Jack Johnson is proud to host the Fourth Annual Kokua Festival on Earth Day weekend- April 21st and 22nd, 2007 at the Waikiki Shell in Honolulu, Hawaii.

The festival’s incredible music line-up includes Jack Johnson, Eddie Vedder and Boom Gaspar of Pearl Jam, young troubadour Matt Costa, and local Island favorites: Ernie Cruz Jr., and the Girlas.

All proceeds go to the Kokua Hawaii Foundation, a non-profit organization founded by Jack and Kim Johnson to support environmental education programs in Hawaii. The funds raised from the Kokua Festival will be used to further support school recycling on Oahu, sponsor field trips and curriculum, and develop the new farm-to-school program ‘AINA in Schools.

In addition to the eclectic mix of live music, the Kokua Festival’s Kokua Village lets fans experience eco-friendly clothing from Patagonia, sustainable shoes from Simple Shoes, and organic yogurt from Stonyfield Farm. Many other local food and beverages, products and services from green companies, alternative energy demonstrations, interactive games and crafts for the kids, and information from environmentally active groups from around the islands will also be featured.

The Kokua Festival aspires to reduce its environmental impact by offsetting the festival’s emissions, running generators and festival vehicles on bio-diesel, recycling, using biodegradable concession ware, and offering eco-friendly merchandise including reusable totes, bottles, and organic cotton clothing. Fans are encouraged to make an “Earth Day Resolution” to reduce their environmental impact leading up to the festival and throughout the year.

Live Earth Fact Sheet

2007-02-23T15:21:00.000-05:00

http://liveearth.org/?p=22#more-22

AL GORE, KEVIN WALL, PHARRELL, MANÁ, CAMERON DIAZ LAUNCH UNPRECEDENTED CAMPAIGN, CONCERT TO COMBAT CLIMATE CRISIS

“Live Earth” Concerts in All 7 Continents to Reach Global Audience of Over 2 Billion

Los Angeles, CA – Detailing a historic effort to engage billions of people across the globe, Kevin Wall, Al Gore, Pharrell Williams, Maná, Cameron Diaz, and the MSN Network today launched Save Our Selves (SOS) – The Campaign for a Climate in Crisis. The announcement was made at the California Science Center.

SOS is designed to trigger a global movement to combat our climate crisis. It will reach people in every corner of the planet through television, film, radio, the Internet and Live Earth, a 24-hour concert on 7/7/07 across all 7 continents that will bring together more than 100 of the world’s top musical acts. Live Earth alone will engage an audience of more than 2 billion people through concert attendance and broadcasts. MSN has partnered with SOS to use its reach to make the Live Earth concerts available across the globe. The Live Earth audience, and the proceeds from the concerts, will create the foundation for a new, multi-year global effort to combat the climate crisis led by The Alliance for Climate Protection and its Chair, Vice President Al Gore. SOS was founded by Kevin Wall, who won an Emmy as Worldwide Executive Producer of Live 8.

“Our climate crisis is the paramount challenge facing humanity. SOS is more than a global distress call. SOS will give the world the tools we need to answer that call with meaningful action. The most important part of SOS is how individuals, corporations, and governments respond,” Wall said. “Our climate crisis affects everyone, everywhere, and that’s who SOS is aimed at. Only a global response can conquer our climate crisis. SOS asks all people to Save Our Selves because only we can.”

“In order to solve the Climate Crisis, we have to reach billions of people. We are launching SOS and Live Earth to begin a process of communication that will mobilize people all over the world to take action,” Gore said. “The Climate Crisis will only be stopped by an unprecedented and sustained global movement. We hope to jump-start that movement right here, right now, and take it to a new level on July 7, 2007.”

“At MSN, we have the worldwide audience and the technology stage to help unite a global community around SOS and Live Earth,” said Joanne Bradford, corporate vice president and chief media officer of MSN. “Anyone around the world with an Internet connection will be able to come to MSN to view not just the concert events, but also an extensive collection of interactive media that will entertain, educate, inspire and ultimately drive change.”

Wall announced 25 of the 100 top musical acts that have answered SOS’s call and are performing at Live Earth. SOS is also engaging other celebrities, CEOs, athletes, academics and government leaders to engage their constituencies. Please see that attached list of 25 artists.

“More than 100 artists are performing at Live Earth and they’re all headliners. That’s what it takes to engage billions of people. We’re not just engaging fans of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Snoop Dogg, or the Foo Fighters and Faith Hill. We’re engaging them and everyone in between,” Wall said. “We’ve been overwhelmed by the response from the artist community and are feverishly working out the logistics for all of the bands that want to be involved. Today we are announcing just the first 25 and will soon be announcing even more headliners who, for contractual reasons, cannot be announced today.”

The campaign’s identity is based on SOS, the international Morse code distress signal: three dots, followed by three dashes, followed by three dots. SOS is the most urgent, universal message we have, and SOS will use that signal as a continuous distress call to prompt individuals, corporations and governments around the world to respond to our climate crisis with action.

“SOS is creating an unmatched communications platform to take on an unparalleled crisis,” Wall said. “Our message must saturate the globe if we’re to succeed, and we will. In the US, we’re partnering with NBC-Universal and its networks. On satellite radio, we have SIRIUS and XM. In the UK, we’re partnering with the BBC. In Japan, we have a historic partnership with two broadcast partners. We have already secured television, Internet and wireless coverage in 120 countries, and the rest are soon to come.”

Wall announced that Live Earth concerts will take place in Brazil, Shanghai, Japan, Johannesburg, London, Sydney, and the Eastern United States.

Live Earth will be broadcast worldwide on MSN, which was the first sponsor to answer SOS’s call. MSN is one of the world’s most popular Internet destinations, and as such will allow the SOS campaign to have a global reach. MSN has services in over 42 markets and 21 languages, and more than 465 million people around the world visit MSN each month. Beginning today, people can go to http://liveearth.msn.com and begin participating in the global movement, and on 7/7/07, to watch the Live Earth concerts.

Live Earth is being produced by Control Room, of which Kevin Wall is the CEO. Control Room has produced and distributed more than 60 concerts since its founding a year and a half ago featuring Beyoncé, Madonna, Green Day, Dave Matthews Band, Keith Urban, James Blunt, Snoop Dogg, the Rolling Stones, among others. Its multi-partner network provides a global reach for live offerings through broadband, television, digital movie theatres and mobile phones throughout the U.S. and the world.

Live Earth will implement a new Green Event Standard that will become the model for carbon neutral concerts and other live events in the future. The Green Event Standard is being developed in partnership with the U.S. Green Building Council to create a way for venues to be LEED-approved.

+++++++

LIVE EARTH FACT SHEET

Live Earth - The Concert for a Climate in Crisis

7/7/07

Concerts on all 7 continents:

Shanghai
Sydney
Johannesburg
London
Brazil - TBD
Japan - TBD
United States - TBD
Antarctica - TBD

100+ artists
Current and legendary artists across all genres performing multiple hits.

Announced today:

Pharrell
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Foo Fighters
Snoop Dogg
Lenny Kravitz
Bon Jovi
Paolo Nutini
Sheryl Crow
AFI
Melissa Etheridge
John Mayer
Damien Rice
Corinne Bailey Rae
Duran Duran
Snow Patrol
John Legend
Black Eyed Peas
Akon
Enrique Iglesias
Fall Out Boy
Maná
Keane
Kelly Clarkson
Korn
Faith Hill w/ Tim McGraw
Bloc Party

Celebrities and thought leaders
Entertainers, athletes, scientists, government leaders and CEOs helping engage their constituencies with SOS.

More than 1 million audience members
Live concert attendance reaching more than 1 million people.

More than 2 billion viewers
Multi-platform distribution (television, radio, internet, wireless) reaching in excess of 2 billion people across the globe.

The global audience gathered for Live Earth, its ongoing actions, and the proceeds from the concerts, will form the foundation for a new, multi-year international initiative to combat the climate crisis led The Alliance for Climate Protection and its Chair, Al Gore.

Live Earth 7-7-07 Green Event Standard

2007-02-23T15:15:00.000-05:00

http://liveearth.org/?p=13

In partnership with the U.S. Green Building Council, SOS – The Campaign for a Climate Crisis will implement a new Green Event Standard with Live Earth that we hope will become the model for carbon neutral concerts and other live entertainment events in the future, as well as anticipate the opportunity to develop this standard into a LEED-approved certification process for entertainment venues.

John Picard, the award-winning sustainability expert and former member of President Clinton’s Green White House task force, is leading the SOS team of sustainability expert. By embedding a team of world-class sustainability experts within the production staff, waste streams will be designed out prior to its negative environmental impact. From power generation at the concerts to garbage generated by concert goers, Live Earth will bestow an eco-friendly legacy on the live entertainment industry.

Among the steps being taken are:

All electricity that powers the shows will be from renewable sources, either through utility supplied renewable energy, biodiesel generators, or renewable energy credits

Concessionaires will be encouraged to use and directed to suppliers of agricultural / biodegradable plastics (i.e. made from corn). Also, concessionaire waste will be minimized through a comprehensive recycling system organized at the venue.

Venue offices, walkways, etc will be retrofitted with compact fluorescent (CFL) light bulbs, where possible.

The entire production design will follow sustainable light design principles. Production lighting will include the use of LED light bulbs and production/artist trailers will be incorporate low impact technology in areas such as air conditioning units.

SOS staff and artist air travel will be offset through carbon credits.

Ground travel will be hybrid or other clean fuel where possible.

Hotels will be directed to change light bulbs to CFLs, use nontoxic cleaning products, and have recycling containers present in the rooms.

What Happens to the Festival Waste?

2007-02-17T10:39:00.000-05:00

In the spring of 2002, I was planning my summer touring schedule and realized I did not have any money. How was I going to catch a lot of great music without any money? My first decision was to try and make it to a festival where many of my favorite artists were playing. I was relatively lucky that this was the first year for Bonnaroo and that Clean Vibes (http://www.cleanvibes.com/) was hiring staff to help keep it a “clean” festival.

While studying environmental policy and management at Indiana University I was used to thinking about environmental issues in a more academic setting. Bonnaroo was an eye opener for me about the huge impact that me and fellow fans were having on the environment. I got to see the festival site before any fans arrived and see it the minute they all left. When I arrived I immediately thought of the farm my Dad grew up on and how pristine the whole place looked. When all the fans left I was struck by how many parking lots and festivals I had been to and not realized what everyone left behind. It took us over a week to pick up every visible piece of trash (~350 tons) and recyclables at Bonnaroo that year. From cases of empty beer cans to bottle caps and cigarette butts, we picked up the biggest and smallest of treasures that were left behind, not to mention some heady ground scores. Despite the huge mess that we had to deal with, we were dealing with some of it in an environmentally friendly way and 113 tons of aluminum, glass and other items were recycled.

Although I had to go back to school that summer, Clean Vibes has continued an aggressive touring schedule, thanks to the leadership of Anna Borofsky. I was able to recently reconnect with Anna B and ask her a couple questions about Clean Vibes.

JW: Were there any particular moments in the past that inspired you to start Clean Vibes?

AB: Well, CV started as a dept. within GNP, the company that put on the Phish festivals. After spending 2 weeks cleaning up Lemonwheel and being horrified by the mess that was left, I felt like I either needed to abandon the music scene all together as it seemed so in contrast with my beliefs, or make an active effort to change things...so I chose the latter.
One moment of reassurance that helped make clear why we should form an actual company with CV happened a few months after the NYE 2000 Big Cypress show. I was at a show at Higher Ground in Burlington, VT and a stranger came up to me and said “You aren’t wearing your orange jumpsuit! But seriously, thank you so much...you made it so easy for us to recycle at Big Cypress that when I got back, I started recycling at home.” That single statement was enough to motivate me for many more years.

JW: Are there any bands or festivals that really stand out in terms of their efforts to provide a more environmentally friendly music experience?

AB: Spearhead always makes an effort to recognize the power of a quick shout out to the fans to help with the clean up of the venue...and Michael Franti almost always grabs a trash bag and lends a hand himself!
Hot Buttered Rum, among others, makes a huge statement and minimizes their environmental impact of touring by traveling in a bus powered by veggie oil. Plus, on this past Jam Cruise, they took the time to head into the depths of the ship to the trash room to play a set just for the CV crew working on board!

JW: Where do you see it going in the future? Is there any chance of branching out to different types of music scenes?

AB: Well, we have always said that the greatest success of Clean Vibes would be that we are so successful in spreading the Clean Vibe and educating folks about being responsible for their own waste, that the company folds for lack of business! This, however, does not seem like it will happen anytime soon. Obviously our roots and our hearts are with the jamband community, but we have looked into branching into country music festivals, and other no music based outdoor events as these are untapped audiences and events that often need a dose of the Clean Vibe. We would also like to find a way to become a year round presence within the jamband scene, as I think our mission could apply to the scene beyond the festival realm.

The chances of Clean Vibes being able to branch out are more likely to occur now than it ever. The attention to the waste problem in this country has recently been overshadowed by high energy costs and Al Gore’s Inconvenient Truth, but waste prevention and recycling have a positive effect on our energy problems and global warming. The manufacture, distribution, and use of products—as well as management of the resulting waste—all result in greenhouse gas emissions. Greenhouse gases, which trap heat in the upper atmosphere, occur naturally and help create climates that sustain life on our planet. Increased concentrations of these gases can contribute to rising global temperatures, sea level changes, and other climate changes.

Recycling saves energy. Manufacturing goods from recycled materials typically requires less energy than producing goods from virgin materials. When people reuse goods or when products are made with less material, less energy is needed to extract, transport, and process raw materials and to manufacture products. When energy demand decreases, fewer fossil fuels are burned and less carbon dioxide is emitted into the atmosphere.

So what can you do as a music lover and conscious human being do to help reduce your impact on the environment when enjoying a show?

· Drink Keg Beer – If you have the option, buying your beer when served from a keg reduces the amount of bottles and cans that are used. Although some venues and festivals offer recycling, not using bottles and cans helps prevent the waste from being generated.

· Take Your Recyclables with you – If you’re hanging out in the parking lot before a show, take a garbage bag and a recycling bag with you. If you can take a few extra bags and encourage others around you to do the same.

· Keep your butt in your pants - cigarette butts are trash too.

Possibly the Scariest Question You Ever Asked: “Mom Where Did All My Tapes Go?”

2007-02-17T10:37:00.000-05:00

I have been away from home several years now, but was fortunate to leave lots of “memorabilia” cluttered in my bedroom. I knew I was pushing it by not dealing with my stuff, but did not realize the impact of coming home over Christmas to see my room transformed. My stuff was all gone, not even stashed in the attic. I thought, “Oh crap, what about all of my old Phish tapes?”

Of course I had not listened to the tapes in many years, but always enjoyed popping in a favorite set whenever I was home. Having to say, “Mom, where did all of my tapes and CD’s go?” was not a question I was prepared to ask. The quality of music available now was far superior, but there was something comforting about having my tapes around whenever I was home. I was fortunate that the tapes were not thrown to the curb; they were stashed in the garage, or as my mom said, “All of your shit is out in the garage. Please donate or throw away what you want, but don’t bring it back in the house.”

So what the hell am I going to do with my 300+ Phish tapes and other “bootlegs”? Can I really just throw it all away? After a few hours of thinking and reminiscing with a few classics, I started to pursue some alternatives to throwing them away. It was harder than I thought and knew there were other conscious fans out there that were thinking, “How can I keep my tapes out of the landfill?”

Tapes and CD’s can have a huge impact on the environment. According to the Worldwatch Institute, more than 45 tons of used CDs are discarded globally every month. CDs and DVDs are made from mainly plastics and metals, such as aluminum, polycarbonate (a type of plastic made from crude oil and natural gas), lacquer made from acrylic, gold, chemical dyes partially made from petroleum products, and numerous other materials such as water, glass, silver and nickel. When they are manufactured and eventually disposed, they can release chemicals that contribute to global warming and create environmental and health problems. When we "reduce" - like borrowing a DVD from the library instead of buying it, reuse or recycle them, or download music from the internet, we conserve natural resources and decrease the quantity and toxicity of our trash. For information on the Life Cycle of a CD visit this website, http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/osw/students/finalposter.pdf.

Recycling also has a significant economic benefit. According to EPA’s “Jobs Through Recycling” page, http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/recycle/jtr/index.htm, the recycling and reuse industry consists of approximately 56,000 establishments that employ over 1.1 million people, generate an annual payroll of nearly $37 billion, and gross over $236 billion in annual revenues. This represents a significant force in the U.S. economy and makes a vital contribution to job creation and economic development.

Luckily for environmentalists there is a website, http://www.earth911.com that provides resources on how to recycle almost anything that can be recycled, and even has a searchable database to find the closest recycler in your area. Unfortunately the selection of places to recycle tapes, and CD’s for those going completely digital, is not that large.

After doing some research and making a few phone calls, I have decided to send my old tapes and CD’s to Green Disk, http://www.greendisk.com/. They offer a variety of services at a low price. I’ll end up paying $6.95 + shipping for 20 lbs. or less.

A Concerted Effort: Musicians and artists add their voices to the fight against climate change BY Bill McKibben

2007-02-12T09:50:00.000-05:00

http://www.grist.org/comments/dispatches/2007/01/08/mckibben/index5.html?source=daily
By Bill McKibben

Less than two years ago, I wrote a piece for Grist noting that though scientists had tackled climate change head on, artists hadn't. As a result, I argued, we didn't yet feel the crisis as deeply as we needed to. "Though we know about it, we don't know about it. It hasn't registered in our gut; it isn't part of our culture. Where are the books? The poems? The plays? The goddamn operas?"

I think I finished the piece just in time. Within six months, Katrina had roared across the Gulf of Mexico, An Inconvenient Truth had roared across the public consciousness, and suddenly the arts had begun to engage. There were several new nonfiction accounts of climate change so powerful as to be real literature -- Betsy Kolbert's Field Notes From a Catastrophe chief among them. Photographers like Gary Braasch and Chris Jordan started documenting the results of climate change with poignant power. Prominent painters like Alexis Rockman started imagining what America would look like in a soggy future. And while I still haven't heard any operas, the rest of the musical world has risen to the challenge as well.

That last development is particularly important to us as we try to organize this Step It Up campaign for April 14. Every day, dozens of people and groups sign up to run new actions: it's clearly going to be one of the largest environmental gatherings since Earth Day 1970. I hope it's also one of the most musical, because history would indicate that singing movements are successful movements -- that having a few anthems to share helps enormously. Singing breeds fellowship, building loose groups of like-minded people into temporary communities. It communicates passion better than most speeches or position papers. It builds courage when courage is needed.

One of my favorite records was recorded in the field during the early days of the civil-rights movement; it features the SNCC Freedom Singers in one church after another, singing "We Shall Not Be Moved" and "Oh Freedom" and the truly great "99 1/2 Won't Do," a song for any dark day. One way of saying this: It's hard to imagine the civil-rights movement without "We Shall Overcome." It would have happened, but it would have been subtly different.

When we marched across Vermont last summer, we relied mostly on old standards -- the march ended with our local favorite chanteuse Anais Mitchell belting out "This Land Is Your Land." But we need new songs too, which is why one of the nicest things that's happened in the month since we launched the website was an email from the folks at Cool Our Planet and the MUSE campaign.

They're mobilizing songwriters to produce hundreds of tunes about climate change, a profusion of rhythm and melody and lyric that should pay off for years to come. And they're supplying musicians for as many of the Step It Up rallies as they can manage. It's just the kind of enthusiasm we're finding across the country, and, truth be told, it's moving as hell.

As are many of the lyrics that people have already produced. Some sad. Mark Josephson, for instance, who is one of the movers behind the campaign, wrote a song with John Sterling called "Our Children" about a rich man haunted by bad dreams:

Hey now, hey now
You have wronged
Your children, their children
Our children.

Some are funny. Consider "Global Warming Blues" [MP3] by Lenny Solomon:

I make so much I could buy me a continent
Gonna build me a trophy house with every complement
A fridge as big as Venus, a stove as big as Mars.

And some are anthemic. Here's one called "Power From Above" that we road-tested up Route 7 on the western edge of Vermont. It comes from veteran Adirondack folksinger Dan Berggren, and it's halfway to pure gospel. Here's the first verse, but listen to the music [MP3] too. If it gets you humming, maybe you can teach it to a few hundred folks on April 14.

Sinners are you ready for a little redemption
To receive forgiveness for what we've done?
The time has come to break bad habits
It's time to turn to the wind and sun
Just a little more power from above,
Just a little more faith respect and love
For this old earth our only home
It may take strength to say no to that power from below
But there's salvation in the power from above.

SXSW Goes Green by Mike Greenhouse (relix.com)

2007-01-23T22:37:00.000-05:00

Austin’s influential South by Southwest Music, Film & Interactive Conferences (SXSW) will partner with Green Mountain Energy Company to offset 100% of carbon emissions arising from SXSW business activities. After partnering with the fellow Austin-based company, SXSW will be a carbon neutral company that intends to reduce carbon emissions where it can and purchase carbon offsets where it cannot. SXSW has offset 100% of 250 metric tons of carbon emissions by purchasing 376MW of Texas wind energy carbon credits from Green Mountain Energy Company. In addition, the company has given a $5000 donation to the Austin Parks Department for the purchase and maintenance of native trees.

“Once we set the goal for SXSW to achieve carbon neutral status, our staff took a very active hand in gathering all the pertinent information about our activities which generate carbon emissions,” says Managing Director Roland Swenson. “An important lesson we learned was that any business can achieve this goal with some work and a willingness to invest in new activity. While the amount of carbon emissions generated by SXSW alone is relatively small, if every business took similar steps, it would make a profound difference to our planet’s future.”

“SXSW recognizes that environmental issues are now an important measuring stick that distinguish one event from another and one company from another,” noted Una Johnston, SXSW’s UK & Ireland Manager and now its Environmental Consultant. She used the standards, guidelines and tools contained in the World Resources Institute’s GHG Protocol to calculate the carbon emissions for the year September 1, 2005 to August 31, 2006. SXSW agreed that this 12-month period would be designated as the baseline year in order to use it as the benchmark against which future reductions in carbon emissions can be measured.

Johnston calculated that SXSW carbon emissions arise from gas and electricity usage in its offices (18%), from electricity usage in the Austin Convention Center and all the showcase, movie and party venues that it contracts with during SXSW each year (55%), and also from business travel (27%).

“It’s important to say that SXSW is not simply offsetting its carbon emissions,” explained Johnston, “we are preparing an emission reduction strategy for the next four years as part of an environmental policy initiative. Roland and Eve have already taken steps to reduce our footprint by replacing the inefficient heating and cooling system in the office and adding insulation to the building. When SXSW takes place in March, the Festival will be working with Ecology Action of Austin to recycle all waste from our outdoor parties and events and will use biodiesel in generators and production trucks."

South by Southwest will take place at venues throughout Austin from March 9-18. While the conference’s official lineup has not been announced, a number of artists, ranging from Talking Heads founder David Byrne to rising rock outfit Steel Train have confirmed spots during the multi-day conference.

http://www.relix.com/content/view/2088/112/

Who Remembers Phish's Green Crew?

2007-01-23T22:11:00.001-05:00

What is the Green Crew? How can I help?

What is it? The Green Crew is a collection of volunteers who make special effort to keep parking lots and entry areas clean, and thereby help keep venues and locals happy, Mother Nature stronger, and the history of Phish longer. At each show, between 40 and 80 volunteers collect bags of trash and recyclables before and after shows, and are provided with bags to help clean up after tens of thousands. (You could also bring your own, something worth doing for any show!) This represents a tremendous effort, and a superb opportunity for Phish fans to distinguish themselves from the sort of rabble that gets acts banned from locales and venues. To help out the Green Crew, follow some basic tenents, keep your trash bagged, bring extra bags for others, encourage others to bag their trash, and pick up a few bottles or cans before you leave the lot.

History: The group was started in the spring of 1994, informally associated with "Greenpeace Henry" (Henry Schwab; on the left) and "Greenpeace Mike" (Mike Hayes), who toured with Phish manning a Greenpeace table and later moved to found the Waterwheel Foundation; since then Green Crew (not affiliated with Waterwheel, and never affiliated with Greenpeace, contrary to popular conception) has been headed up by Shane Johnson .

Basic tenants: Glass, alcohol, and vending are generally not permitted in parking lots. Nonetheless, you may create or encounter trash. Please do your best to keep it in cans, or else bags, or at least organized piles (when and where neither cans or bags are available.) A great idea is to take a few (or a boxful of) heavy-duty trash bags to a show, even if you won't be creating any trash yourself! Put a bottle or two in each bag, to weight it against the wind, and place the bag in an obvious (easily visible) but not dangerous (won't be tripped on or driven over) place, and watch the warmth and colletivity of phans emerge. You'll be amazed how caring and careful people can be once they're given a chance, and a clear signal.

Black is trash, white recyc: At some shows, some volunteer fans have used this system: black trash bags for trash, and white trash bags for recyclables. Some such consistency would help make trash and bag collection easier, but take care to check before you toss something in -- it's not a fool-proof system yet, and people do flail. (If you have any other ideas that would help trash-collection and recycling efforts, we'd love to get them and put them on this page!)

How to join the G-Crew: Ultrafunk posted to rec.music.phish (on 12/18/96): Approximately 45 minutes following each show we meet somewhere usually in eye sight from the will-call office. Anyone is welcome to lend a hand. Ask Shane (tall, red hair, with a clipboard, irish-looking; but, and this makes things fun, not his twin brother (!) Shawn) for details.

Thanks also to Jack R. Lebowitz, Rosemary, Mike "Lerdawg", and Craig "AntlpeXing" .

http://www.phish.net/faq/greencrew.html

Umphrey's Green Efforts

2007-01-23T22:07:00.000-05:00

Umphrey's Mcgee leads their fans to greener pastures.

11.06.06

Umphrey’s McGee feels very strongly about the importance of greening and environmental efforts. We recognize the environmental damage caused by extensive traveling and the global obligation we all share to assist in the repair. In addition to the below described programs, we will also be implementing new greening and CO2 offset programs throughout our 2007 tours. As a fan, you can make a difference simply by buying tickets through Umphrey’s Ticketing.

Buy a Ticket, Plant a Tree Program
Effective immediately, for every ticket that is purchased through Umphrey's Ticketing, Umphrey’s McGee will team up with “Trees for the Future” to plant one tree in some of the neediest areas of the world. You do nothing -- just buy a ticket and we will plant a tree! This is a win-win situation that we’re thrilled to be a part of. For more information, please visit www.treesftf.org.

CO2 Emissions Offset Program
As most of our fans travel regularly to shows, we’d like to encourage you to follow suit and recognize the responsibility we all share in repairing environmental damage. You can help the environment by offsetting your CO2 emissions on the way to the show.

This program gives fans the chance to offset the deforestation effects and carbon emissions damage created when traveling to attend live events. When you drive your car to an event, it emits harmful doses of CO2 that pollute our environment and promote global warming. A nominal donation of just $ 0.40 offsets the equivalent cost of damage from the CO2 produced by a fan that drives 150 miles to and from a concert. By helping fund the purchase of renewable energy sources you can offset this pollution. It’s a way of "picking up your trash on the way out" and is simply added onto your ticket transaction upon checkout. This is completely optional donation, but really adds up in the long run. If you regularly drive 100+ miles to see a show (which we appreciate), forty cents seems trivial when you think of all the environmental damage we personally can repair.

To participate in this program, simply check the option to the right of your ticketing checkout, and $0.40 cents will be added to your checkout cost. All proceeds go to NativeEnergy and are used to purchase renewable energy sources. For more info visit www.nativeenergy.com.

Thanks again for helping us to maximize the impact of these very important programs.

As always, we appreciate your support.

http://www.umphreys.com/home/news.php?newsId=197

What is this Blog about?

2007-01-23T21:35:00.001-05:00

Since I began studying environmental policy at Indiana University in 1999, I have had a strong interest in the environment. Since I was a young child music has been important to me and influenced many of the greatest moments of my life. In 2002 I was fortunate enough to work for Clean Vibes for 12 days at the first Bonnaroo, which connected both of my passions, music and the environment. This blog is dedicated to music fans that want to share their experiences of trying to experience live music in an environmentally friendly way and to learn how to reduce the environmental impact of our music listening experience.

Topics I hope to write about include:

How do I recycle all of my old bootleg tapes?
How do I recycle all of my old CD's that I loaded onto iTunes?
What are some green touring initiatives such as those recently undertaken by Umphreys Mcgee and those in the past such as Clean Vibes and Phish Green Crew?
What are the environmental impacts of tapes, cd's, dvd's, electronics and the like that all of us music lovers from time to time need to recycle?
Individual show, festival, and artist's reviews and observations on the connection between the environment and music.
How will climate change affect our favorite venues (i.e. Isn't Jones Beach right on the water?)
How will increasing energy prices affect ticket prices?
Do any venues recycle my beer bottles?
Does anyone in the "lot" (on shakedown) sell organic food?