… At least that’s what it looked like when some of the Big Green Bus team took skis and snowboards to Imogene Pass, Colorado (outside of Telluride) last week. The bussers took a much-needed break over the July 4th weekend and enjoyed the result of last winter’s record snowfall.
Big Green Bus blogger Andrew Zabel notes, however, that even the simple pleasure of skiing down a snowy slope on a sunny day is not without guilt: “… the carbon dioxide emissions from lifts, or in the case of our July adventure, an SUV, reduce the likelihood that we’ll get to enjoy a similar experience in the future. In a warmer world, mountain snowpack in the Rockies will rarely if ever last into July.”
The good news? The experience left the bussers relaxed, rejuvenated, and all the more committed to their journey in the name of alternative fuel education.
At least that’s the notion behind The Canary Project – one of our Earthkeeper Heroes – a husband and wife team that use artwork and visual media projects to convey the impact and urgency of climate change.
The Canary Project in Spain
Susannah Sayler and Ed Morris have traveled all over the world (recent trips include Antarctica and Madrid), photographing both landscapes that are being impacted by climate change and those working to either adapt to it or mitigate it. The result is powerful, thought-provoking images intended to raise environmental awareness and inspire action through a medium that is universally understood.
Ed and Susannah’s most recent excursion took them to southern Spain, where they photographed the Abengoa solar installations and learned first hand about the 300 megawatt platform currently under construction which, when complete, will be the largest in Europe – drawing enough energy from the sun to power the entire city of Seville.
The solar receptor tower at the Abengoa’s solar plant
Our thanks to Timberland’s own Brian Coleman for sharing with us his recent experiences at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival, including hanging out with the team from the Big Green Bus and talking All Things Earthkeeping with entertainers and fans alike:
Rural Tennessee in mid-June is not necessarily someplace you’d want to spend a day outside. Night time isn’t so bad, but during the day it’s fairly punishing. I think that the people who put on the Bonnaroo Music + Arts Festival know this.
But they’re in a tough situation. If they waited until later in the summer or later in the year then it would be hard for upwards of 80,000 (mostly) high school and college students to carve out the time between school and jobs to get to Manchester, Tennessee (which, during the Festival, apparently rises from a speck on the map to being the sixth largest city in the state).
Timberland’s “Bonnaroo Crew,” 2008
Still, while the blazing sun is beating down on the colorful “county fair”-fashioned Bonnaroo site, you really have to want to be there. And the tens of thousands of people who attend every year most definitely do want to be there, which is why it continues to be one of the most popular and engaging music, film and comedy festivals in the U.S. Read the rest of this entry »
We’re living vicariously through the team from the Big Green Bus this summer. In the 3 short weeks they’ve been on the road, this 12-person team and their veggie-oil powered bus have already lobbied with senators on Capitol Hill, danced at the Bonnaroo Music Festival in Tennessee, and served with a Hurricane Katrina relief organization in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. We think they’re Earthkeeper Heroes not only for their commitment to alternative energy education, but also for managing to maintain such a frenetic schedule!
With every stop, the Bussers are spreading the good green word and growing their fan base. There’s something undeniably friendly about a bright green school bus — packed with bright, enthusiastic college students — that invites onlookers to come closer, take interest, and listen to the story of this passionate team and their effort to educate America about the importance of alternative fuel, one city at a time.
Sadly, we don’t have enough vacation time banked to join the Big Green Bus team on their summer tour. But we’re following their every move through their blog, video posts and podcasts on Changents.com (and now you can, too).
And we’re not the groupies following from afar …the Boston Globe has taken a shine to the Bussers and their mission as well. Click here for the Globe’s feature story on the “Big Green Machine Dream Team,” and follow their ongoing coverage through the Globe’s travel blog.
Roll on, Bussers. Here’s hoping for a smooth ride, copious veggie oil and greener days ahead.
This was the topic of conversation in our office this morning – nostalgia inspired by the new video Reverb posted on their story board at Changents.com.
The answers to the question ranged from Dire Straits (1979, Providence, RI) to the Charlie Daniels Band (1982, Oxford, Ohio) to Boyz II Men (1994, Philadelphia). Regardless of the band, the venue or the date, our team of concert-goers agreed that their first concert was a rite of passage into the wonderful world of live music. And that on one hand, the experience of going to a concert hasn’t changed much over the years; on the other hand, it can be and often is a much more enriching experience that transcends the music.
Reverb is one of the driving forces behind the trend to educate and engage both the musicians and their fans to promote environmental sustainability. This summer, at concerts featuring John Mayer, Jack Johnson and the Dave Matthews Band, the bands are using bio-diesel to fuel their buses and generators. The on-site caterers are using biodegradable products and among many other things, there’s a commitment to both waste reduction and recycling.
As for the fans, if they carpool to a DMB or John Mayer concert this summer they could win DMB and John Mayer prizes. Through a partnership with PickupPal, Reverb supports this program in a fierce acknowledgement of the fact that 80% of the carbon footprint of a concert is from fans driving to and from the show. Once they arrive at the show, fans are greeted with a festival-like atmosphere in the Reverb Eco-Village where they can learn about green technologies, local and national non-profit groups dedicated to environmental sustainability, and carbon offset programs. Fans can also register to vote, participate in Eco-Trivia contests and sample eco-friendly consumer goods.
Whether you cut your concert-going teeth on hard rock, a little bit of country or something in between, there’s something uniquely powerful about a live music concert. Hats off to Reverb for realizing the opportunity to add environmental sustainability to the playlist — yet another wonderful addition to the 21st century music experience.
This Earth Day, Timberland announced a global commitment to green 300 communities in the next two years, and to plant one million trees by 2010. Timberland hopes to inspire and engage one million Earthkeepers. Click below to hear Timberland CEO Jeff Swartz describe his vision of what it means to be an EarthKeeper and see how EarthKeepers are making a difference.
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