Kakua Festival - Greening

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

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

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

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?

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?”

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

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)

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?

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

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.

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What is this Blog about?

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?