Green Music

Submitted by Jeff Gottlieb on June 6, 2007 - 2:44am.

If you’re like me then now is the time of the year when you start planning your summer concert schedule. But thanks to the latest issue of Rolling Stone (#1028), you can now factor in which bands are going green, and which aren’t.

According to Music Matters, each year about 1,200 tour buses and trucks drive more than 60 million miles using 13 million gallons of fuel, about the same as 30,000 cars in a year. Some artists, like Coldplay, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jack Johnson and Pearl Jam, have started carbon offsetting by paying for renewable energy while some have taken a more proactive approach by using biodiesel buses.

Reverb, founded by Adam Gardner (Guster) and his wife, Lauren Sullivan, helps artists go green by organizing routes for the buses so they can hit gas stations with biodiesel fuel.

It’s good to know that bands are doing their part, but are they using their power to influence their fans? Yes. The crescendo is this summer’s Live Earth concert extravaganza. On July 7th more than 150 artists will participate in a 24-hour, seven-continent concert for the environment. Much like 2005’s Live 8, which focused on poverty, Live Earth aims to not only call attention to global warming, but to do something about it. The purpose, according to their site, is to “engage, connect, and inspire individuals, corporations and governments to take action to solve the climate crisis.”

So if you want to see if your favorite artists are taking any green steps, then check out the sites for lists of who’s playing Live Earth, who drives biodiesel buses and who offsets their carbon emissions. Oh, and don’t forget to enjoy the music!

» Jeff Gottlieb's blog

Strengthening the progressive Christian network for justice, compassion, & peace