The Bonneville Environmental Foundation, one of my very favorite nonprofits, made an exciting announcement today about one Jack Johnson....they're partnered to green his tour and they want you to get involved! So watch a video and do a good deed for a very worthy cause.
From them: We are excited to announce that Jack Johnson has chosen BEF as a partner for his 2008 World Tour! Here are a few of the benefits:
• Every time you watch our new BEF video on his Web site, the Jack Johnson All At Once charitable foundation will donate $1 to BEF. To watch the video, click here, scroll down, and watch it all the way through. Help us spread the word!
• Any BEF Green Tag orders placed online by September 14 -- and reference Jack Johnson -- will be matched by his foundation. In other words, your purchases will have double the benefit to our environment!
• For those of you who live in the Pacific Northwest, visit our BEF Blog ( blog.b-e-f.org) to learn more about how you can win a free pair of Jack Johnson tickets for the August 20 show in St. Helens, Ore.!
If you've been living under a rock and don't know who Jack Johnson is, check him out on our GreenBase Earth Day mix:
One of our favorite music festivals, Bonnaroo, is making some pretty impressive strides past their already impressive sustainability goals. The festival issued a statement this week that claimed they are stepping it up a notch this year....which is nothing to scoff at, given their extremely proactive stance at last year's festival.
Here is the good stuff the festival did last year:
Over 50% of waste diverted from land fills
60% of festival waste recycled or composted:
Total waste recycled: 94,340lbs / 47.17 tons
Total food waste and biodegradable products composted: 20,600lbs / 10.3 tons
Total waste sent to WasteAway: 600,400lbs / 300.2 tons
Implemented paperless ticket request system
67% of the festival's diesel consumption was locally sourced bio-diesel.
Offset festival emissions through Bonneville Environmental Foundation
Attendees encouraged to purchase energy credits to offset their emissions for travel to the festival
90 security horses used on site, replacing 12 security vehicles
Incorporated alternative fuel vehicles into the festival rental transportation fleet
and THIS is the good stuff they plan to do this year!
Concession food served with biodegradable wraps, plates, cups and cutlery manufactured from renewable resources
Using tree-free posters
Using 100% recycled paper (30% post-consumer) for all of the program and administrative needs
All wood stakes and lumber used on-site are logged and milled locally
Whenever possible, recycled lumber, FSC lumber, and CF light bulbs are used on site
Encouraging food vendors to source their produce and meat from local farmers
Reducing the use of Velon, a petroleum-based material used to decorate the tents, from 100% to 30%
Festival golf cart pool reducing number of golf carts by 25%
Hired year-round greening and sustainability coordinator
Planet Roo Ambassadors share the festival's greening mission with attendees and assist with general information and support. Ambassadors help Bonnarao attendees learn more about what we each can do in our lives and businesses to reduce pollution and become more efficient in our daily practices.
Waste-free café in Planet Roo
Social change documentary tent showing features and shorts about sustainable living
Solar Stage powered entirely by solar panels
Social Change Through Music panels at the Solar Stage
The festival will continue to offset all emissions associated with running the festival. In addition, this year, they partnered with Clif Bar to encourage attendees to purchase "Clif Cool Tags" wind energy credits to make up for emissions produced by their individual travel. Similar to Coachella, the festival is also running a carpooling contest offering a chance to win VIP camping upgrades to vehicles with four or more people.
If you're going to Bonnaroo, check back with us afterwards to tell us how you think the festival stood up to its plans. We're excited to hear from you!
If you're a regular reader, you know I love me some Kelley Stoltz. His newest album has been on almost constant rotation since I got my paws on it a few weeks ago.
Circular Sounds finds Stoltz still alone in his home recording studio, but this time hanging out with his Gretchs, Gibsons, and Ricki Ram more than the piano pictured on the cover of his critically acclaimed album, Below the Branches.
Stoltz furthered his commitment to the environment with his new album and again offset the electricity used to record it with help from the Bonneville Environmental Foundation and Green-e. He was the first to use that cute 'lil e to signify the fact that he bought certified renewable energy certificates to green the recording back in 2006. Music often tells the story you don't have the guts to tell. On "Put My Troubles to Sleep", Circular Sounds tells the story of breaking up with your lover and rolling over to their side of the bed and finding them not there. "Morning Sun" revels in the moments early in the morning when the city around you is just waking up. "To Speak to the Girl" rounds off the batch by simply describing that "it's hard.....to speak to the girl."
So if you find it hard to speak to the girl, let Circular Sounds speak for you. The jams will speak to you here.
While you're soaking up the tunes at Wakarusa, spend some time at this year's Sustainability Symposium, too. Wakarusa has teamed up with the Bonneville Environmental Foundation or BEF (the folks that helped Sub Pop and Kelley Stoltz green up) and New Belgium Brewery to educate concert-goers about sustainability.
From the Bonneville Environmental Foundation: The key theme of this year’s symposium is the conservation and production of energy. Friday evening, June 8th, Jeff Goodell, author of Big Coal, will take center stage to address coal-fired energy. Saturday morning will feature additional speakers including Wes Jackson of The Land Institute, followed by a panel discussion addressing the issues of energy and related environmental impacts including climate change. Additional speakers include NicThiesen of the New Belgium Brewing Company, and Pete Ferrell, a fourth generation Kansas rancher whose land hosts wind turbines. Along with using biodiesel-powered generators to power the sound stages, Wakarusa offset the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the festival with BEF Zephyr Energy Green Tags. This measure furthers the green initiatives Wakarusa has had in place in the past. Strong recycling programs and waste reduction methods like providing incentives for concert-goers to reuse cups have been in place for some time.
The Sustainability Symposium will take place Friday night and Saturday during the day. Check it out! More information is here.
The Bonneville Environmental Foundation, one of my very favorite nonprofits, made an exciting announcement today about one Jack Johnson....they're partnered to green his tour and they want you to get involved! So watch a video and do a good deed for a very worthy cause.
If you're a regular reader, you know I love me some Kelley Stoltz. His newest album has been on almost constant rotation since I got my paws on it a few weeks ago.
