Green Marketing

A chance to win great prizes while helping keep toxic phones out of landfills.

Environmental advocacy organization Rock the Earth,  announced today that they have partnered with the Allman Brothers Band and Widespread Panic in calling on all attendees of the bands co-headlining North American Tour, to bring their old, unwanted mobile phones (and chargers, adapters, etc) to the Rock the Earth booth at the Allman Brothers Band / Widespread Panic upcoming August - September US tour stops.

In partnership with Musictoday, Collective Good and Gibson, all attendees who bring a phone to the Rock the Earth booth for redemption will receive a 20% off a future Musictoday purchase, and be entered into a nightly drawing for an Instant Live CD of the band's performance; and the tour prize of a Gibson guitar; Plus gain entry into the national mobile phone recycling campaign Grand Prize of the "Party Like A Rock Star" experience - Winner plus 12 friends wins use of  the Gibson Tour Bus for a one night concert excursion.  

Allman Brothers Band guitarist Derek Trucks commented "We're very happy to align with Rock the Earth in this effort to keep mobile phones out of landfill, and just like everyone else, we too have been looking for the right place to recycle our old phones. In fact, I plan on bringing my five old phones to the Rock the Earth booth and I encourage everyone else to do the same".

Did you know that one (1) mobile phone has enough super toxic heavy metals to contaminate 40,000 gallons of drinking water?  Or, that one (1) billion new mobile phones were issued last year in the US alone, yet less than 1% ever get recycled? 

For those people looking to recycle an old phone but who are unable to attend any of these shows, they can still do so by simply going to:  Rock the Earth Phone Recycling Center to utilize the online entry form and free shipping. All participants will receive the 20% off Musictoday discount and gain entry into the Grand Prize sweepstakes drawing, So, what are you waiting for?  The more phones recycled - the less toxic chemicals threatening America's most precious natural resource - our drinking water supply!! And, the greater your chances of winning!

Please visit www.RockTheEarth.org for more information or stop by our booth at the following Allman Brothers Band / Widespread Panic tour dates:

August

18 - Saratoga Performing Arts Center (Saratoga, NY) with Doobie Brothers
19 - PNC Arts Center (Holmdel, NJ) with Doobie Brothers
21 - Susquehanna Bank Center (Camden, NJ) with Widespread Panic
22 - CMAC - Performing Arts Center (Canandaigua, NY) with Widespread Panic
24 - Meadowbrook U.S. Cellular Pavilion (Gilford, NH) with Widespread Panic
26 - Bethel Woods Center for the Arts (Bethel, NY) with Widespread Panic
27 - Jones Beach Theater (Wantagh, NY) with Widespread Panic
29 - Comcast Center (Mansfield, MA) with Widespread Panic
30 - Meadows Music Theatre (Hartford, CT) with Widespread Panic

September

1 - Charter One Pavilion (Chicago, IL) with Widespread Panic
2 - Charter One Pavilion (Chicago, IL) with Widespread Panic
5 - Red Rocks Amphitheatre (Morrison, CO) with Widespread Panic

October  / November dates - to be determined

Concert funds replacement of toxic school and promotes clean energy.

mtaid2_0Spending a summer weekend listening to music will help to ensure a safe school for hundreds of children.  How?  The Mountain Aid concert June 19-20, 2009 at Shakori Hills Farm in Chatham County, NC benefits Pennies of Promise, a grassroots campaign to construct a new building for Marsh Fork Elementary School in West Virginia.

Tucked into the heart of Appalachia, Marsh Fork Elementary sits in the shadow of a Mountain Top Removal coal mine, just 225 feet from the coal silo and 400 yards downstream from a leaking dam holding back nearly three billion gallons of toxic sludge.  Independent tests prove coal dust contaminates Marsh Fork Elementary, a direct threat to the children's respiratory health.  Grandfather Ed Wiley began Pennies of Promise after his granddaughter got sick and West Virginia leaders told him the state could not afford a new school in a safer location.  The goal?  Raise eight million dollars and create a healthy future for the children of Appalachia. That's where Mountain Aid comes in.

Grammy-winning singer and songwriter and West Virginia native Kathy Mattea will emcee and headline Mountain Aid.  "Hosting Mountain Aid is the best way I can think of to spend my 50th birthday.  I love these mountains, and to celebrate them and unite with others who love them, through music, is a great opportunity," Mattea says.  Other performers include Ben Sollee, named one of NPR's "Top Ten Unknown Artists" of the year for 2007; American music icon Donna the Buffalo; and roots rockers the Sim Redmond Band

Advance tickets for Mountain Aid are on sale now for $22.50 ($30 at the gate).  On-site camping, food and craft vendors will be available. 

mtaidWhy hold Mountain Aid in North Carolina?  According to Duke Energy, North Carolina is the number two consumer of Mountain Top Removal coal in the country.  Additionally, a bill before North Carolina lawmakers would ban the use of Mountain Top Removal coal in the state.  Mountain Aid organizers hope both to raise funds for Pennies of Promise and to create awareness and support for clean energy.

Mountain Top Removal mining, the practice that causes the environmental harm in and around Marsh Fork Elementary, is the subject of the award-winning documentary, "Mountain Top Removal," directed by Michael O'Connell.  "Mountain Top Removal" has played film festivals domestically and internationally and won the Reel Current award selected and presented by Vice President Al Gore at the 2008 Nashville Film Festival.  In conjunction with Mountain Aid, the film will screen on June 19 at 7:30 p.m. at the Carolina Theatre in Durham.

Mountain Aid thanks our generous sponsors Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition and Coal River Mountain Watch.

For more details, visit www.mtnaid.com.

Band to perform live on Woodsongs Radio Hour on Monday November 3rd at 7pm EST.
The Giving Tree Band planted its roots more than five years ago in a foundation of Americana music with a sustainable philosophy. Less than a year has passed since the release of their debut double album, Unified Folk Theory, and TGTB have already drawn considerable attention from both entertainment and environmental press including the first ever music review in Mother Earth News magazine. They have recorded a whole lot more music to be released including a Christmas album (Bring It Back Home For Christmas), a carbon neutral album (Great Possessions), a live tribute album celebrating HH Dalai Lama (Concert For Peace), and several songs inspired by the upcoming film Public Enemies starring Johnny Depp. TGTB peformed those songs impromptu on a Friday in April and so impressed casting staff that they found themselves on set as extras in a scene with Johnny Depp on Monday. Studio versions include Casey Driessen of the Sparrow Quartet.  Needless to say, The Giving Tree Band has kept busy.

On Monday November 3, 2008 at 6:59PM (EST), fans can watch the live webcast of the band recording at the Kentucky Theater in Lexington for the Woodsongs Radio Hour at www.woodsongs.com.  The radio program will then air two and three months later on 500 stations, XM Satellite and likely on PBS Television.

Songs from all their projects will also be performed in primetime at the first Chicago Bluegrass and Blues Festival, Saturday November 22, 2008 at the historic Congress Theatre. The Giving Tree Band will play two sets, one before The David Grisman Quintet and the other before The Avett Brothers.  More information about the indoor festival is available at www.cbgbfestival.com
Festival tackles the huge task of greening a large scale event.
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ROTHBURY:A FESTIVAL CELEBRATING MUSIC, ART AND ACTION
JULY 3 - 6, 2008 IN ROTHBURY, MICHIGAN

As leaders in the evolving art of sustainable large-scale event production, ROTHBURY is 100% committed to taking every possible step to reduce the environmental impact of the festival.  While such a commitment does not come without its challenges, ROTHBURY, together with local and national partners who share the same pledge, will indeed demonstrate the vast possibilities in sustainability and hopefully highlight those areas that need serious attention.

ROTHBURY, working with Green Chief Sarah Haynes of the Spitfire Agency, is the first major U.S. camping festival to aim for a near zero waste event by composting throughout the entire festival site. All disposable food service items have been replaced with plant-based compostables.  Compost will be pulped on-site thanks to Morbark, then processed by Spurt Industries in Grand Rapids.

In an effort to reduce plastic water bottle waste, ROTHBURY is working with Klean Kanteen to encourage crew and festival-goers to bring or buy reusable bottles and to take advantage of free refill stations in the campgrounds, within the festival site, and in the backstage areas.  For those who choose to buy disposable water bottles, the only front-of-house provider on-site  will be Earth Water.  In passing up the big companies and going with Earth Water, ROTHBURY will contribute to building wells in refugee camps all over the world.  100% of Earth Water's profits go to building wells; and $500 builds a well.  That's a lot of wells!

For those darn bottles, ROTHBURY will offer 200 waste reclamation stations throughout the site, most of them manned by a 500 person green team of volunteers committed to helping avoid contamination. The Green Team will also work around-the-clock backstage to re-sort all recycling bags that come in. An additional 55 people will work for three straight days post event to sift every single 'bad' item out on tables, much like a conveyer belt system.

Additional ROTHBURY sustainability initiatives include the use of biodiesel.  ROTHBURY's local B99 biodiesel provider, Next Diesel, is the first company to be a part of Michigan Governor Granholm's green business incentive program. The biodiesel used by ROTHBURY is actually a waste product from manufacturing ethanol. So not only is it plant based, it is also recycled and on it's second life at ROTHBURY.

In addition to offsetting carbon emissions with the Bonneville Environmental Foundation, ROTHBURY has partnered with RVL 7 by RE:VOLVE Apparel, Black Rock Solar and Grand Rapids' own Bauer Power to create the ROTHBURY Solar Schools Program, to support the local community and honor our energy independence theme. The 2008 recipient of the Solar Schools Program, which donates fully installed solar panel systems  to local area schools, is Michigan's Shelby High School. With many ROTHBURY attendees opting in for the festival's Green Ticket (which allows ticket buyers to contribute to the Solar Schools Fund), ROTHBURY's initial $50,000 donation is rapidly growing.  Many thanks to local heroes Bauer Power for offering to build for free so even more money will go to outfitting the school with solar power.

Part of ROTHBURY's objective and sustainability in general, is to support local companies and farmers and organic products whenever possible.  All foods collected in the Conscious Alliance Food Drive will be donated directly to local food pantries and charities to benefit neighboring communities and the on-site Farmers' Market will be powered by area farmers, who are also learning the benefits of organics and how to begin growing organics in their own farms.  To further promote the use of organic goods, RVL 7 by RE:VOLVE will provide all ROTHBURY staff with crew shirts made of a blend of organic cotton and recycled polyethylene terephthalate, or RPET, t-shirts. ROTHBURY has donated to Michigan's chapter of Global Re-Leaf, a tree planting organization that will plant trees in the Muskegon area following the event.

For those interested in taking a piece of this sustainability mission home with them, ROTHBURY is hosting on-site Think Tank panel discussions with some of the top thinkers in the field of Climate Change and Clean Energy.  Attendees are encouraged to take part in the discussions, help develop solutions, and start making changes at home.  The Better World Books bookstore on-site will be stocked with books that match ROTHBURY's ideals and will host signings by many of the participating panelists as well as Our Planet, a guide to saving the environment, created by MySpace. 

While producing large-scale sustainable events is far from a perfect science, ROTHBURY is leading the mission to encourage discussion, promote creative thinking and seek new ideas in this effort - not to mention, throwing a serious party.

www.rothburyfestival.com

Musician and activist Kathy Mattea will serve as host for a showing of Michael O’Connell’s award-winning film, “Mountain Top Removal”, Thursday, July 10th at 5:30pm at The Basement in Nashville.
matteaMattea recently viewed the film at the Nashville Film Festival and was moved by the scenes of environmental destruction wrought in her native West Virginia by the coal mining technique called "mountain top removal". Says Mattea, "You must see this to believe it. I am saddened that we've 'progressed' to a point where we think this is an acceptable practice. Michael O'Connell's film gives voice to those that have no multi-million dollar PR firm to tell their story. The visuals are gut-wrenching--there are no words to describe the devastation."

The film recently won the 2008 Reel Current Award from former Vice-President Al Gore, this year's Nobel Peace Prize Winner and the subject of the Academy Award-winning documentary "AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH". The award was presented to O'Connell at the 2008 Nashville Film Festival, where the film was shown to a capacity crowd.  In addition to that prestigious honor, the film has also won First Prize at the Charlotte Film Festival, First Prize at the Mion Solutions Environmental Film Awards, and the Jury Award at the Wild and Scenic Film Festival.

"It's a story of personal determination and courage," Gore told an assembled audience of festival attendees and media members. "It's also a story about the terrible impact on families in the communities that are victimized by
the way in which the coal is being removed from the tops of mountains in Appalachia. This film really brings out the human dimensions of this because you see it through the eyes of a family that's greatly affected and you feel
it in the emotions of a small town that has really been hurt a lot."

Mattea's recent album, "COAL", serves as a meditation on her family roots in the coal country of West Virginia. Recorded as a tribute to "my place and my people," the album features her take on classic mining songs from Hazel Dickens, Jean Ritchie, Merle Travis and others to paint a nuanced portrait, exploring the tragedy that often comes from life in the mines while paying respects to the strength and humility that provides a bedrock foundation to the community. She will be introducing the movie and speaking briefly about the impact of mountain top removal that she has witnessed firsthand.

Filmmaker O'Connell will also be in attendance and will be answering questions after the film.grassrootsdvd

The Basement is located at 1604 8th Ave. South in Nashville. Go to www.thebasementnashville.com for directions.

This event is free and open to the public.

O'Connell's other works include: Grassroots Stages

We're striving to reduce our energy usage by over 50% - see how we did it and pick up some tips on how to conserve as well.

In the southeast many mountains in WV and other beautiful places are sacrificed to generate cheap electricity for millions of people. The results are ecologically devastating to the local ecosystems and the burning coal releases millions of tons of CO2 into atmosphere contributing to global warming and air pollution.  Until enough renewable and clean energy sources are put in place - the best way to reduce the negative effects of coal-fired electricity is to reduce the amount of energy we consume.

On that note our company began an initiative to see how much we can cut our electric use. I'll explain what we've done and give you the initial results.  As more data (aka electric bills) comes in I'll keep you updated on our ongoing progress. My personal goal is to achieve a 50% reduction.

When we first moved into this location - electric baseboard was the only form of heating.  Those first bills were enormous (well over $200/month in the winter). We quickly discovered that electric baseboard heating was one of the most inefficient forms of heating.  In quick order we added some propane heaters to the mix and reduced our heating costs greatly early on.  When our central air conditioner died the next summer, we opted for a high efficiently heat pump/AC - a good move! Now we only use a few gallons of propane each year to help out on the coldest days or when there are power outages.

We replaced all the windows with double pane vinyl windows - which are a huge improvement over the original uber-drafty ones.

OK. Keep in mind that all of the above was implemented before we started our new greening initiative, so the results will only show the changes we've made recently (since Feb 2008).  Here's what we've done since then:

CFL_sky_0We have installed Compact Florescent Lightbulbs (CFLs) into most of the fixtures in our office and home.  We've been putting them into the most used fixtures first and will gradually eliminate all standard incandescent bulbs. 

We also installed a water heater blanket insulator to help save on that energy cost - these run under $20 and are something anyone can install. Heating hot water uses a lot more energy than most realize and making that process more efficient is wise.

We installed an attic fan to vent hot air in the summer - reducing cooling costs and increasing roof life.

We added power strips to computers, entertainment centers and other areas so that phantom power loads are eliminated when not in use by switching off the power strips. We now shut down all of the computers each evening after we're done working and the files have backed up.

We installed a programmable thermostat allowing the air conditioning to turn down automatically when not needed. 

atticbeforeatticbeforeWe blew in approximately 1200lbs of recycled cellulose fiber insulation into attic increasing the insulation depth from about 5 inches to about 12 inches.  If you find that your attic is lacking adequate insulation you can do this too.  My wife & I completed it on a Saturday. Your local Home Depot or Lowes will rent you the blower for free if you purchase a certain amount of insulation (we used about 2x as much as required for the free rental).

In addition to the projects above we also educated our employees on ways to conserve (like turning off monitors, lights, printers, stereo etc when not in use). Sherry, Trevor & I attended a Renewable Energy Class offered by our local community college.  This course taught us many of the principals we're now putting into motion.  There's also a plethora of great books on the subject.  One that I recommend that covers many subjects is the Solar Living Sourcebook from www.realgoods.com .

 

RESULTS!

March 2008- bill shows we reduced our AVG KWH/day from 54 in 2007 to 42 in 2008 that's a 22% decrease!

April 2008 - 48 KWH/day to 33 a 31% decrease!

May 2008 - 42 KWh/day to 23 a 45% decrease!!!

June 2008 - 54 KWH/day to 42 a  22 % decrease!  Multiple triple digit record high temps this month cut into savings percentage.

July 2008 - 62 KWH/day to 39 a 37% decrease!

In July we installed solar collectors to heat our hot water and replaced our old 1992 refridgerator with a new Energy Star model. 

August 2008 - 67 KWH/day to 32 a 52% decrease!  Goal achieved!

Ocotber 2008 - 45 KWH/day to 23 a 49% decrease.

We hope you'll learn from our examples and decrease your carbon footprint as well!

- by Lee Crumpton

Conscious Alliance and Whole Foods Market® announce a new partnership in an effort to fight America's hunger crisis, whereby Whole Foods Market® will donate more than 500,000 pounds of natural and organic food products to the Colorado-based not-for-profit.

This new collaboration will be showcased at the ROTHBURY Festival over 4th of July weekend with an unprecedented attempt to set the Guinness World Record for "largest canned food sculpture." Architect John Brittingham, Director of the Graduate Architecture Program at Montana State University, will design and construct the hopeful world-record breaking sculpture which will be on display throughout the four day festival.

The "Conscious CanSculpture" will help draw attention to the relationship between hunger and the environment and will also generate approximately 40,000 additional cans of food (specifically, 8 varieties of "all natural beans") to be donated to the local Rothbury, MI community as part of the ROTHBURY Food Drive hosted by Conscious Alliance. ROTHBURY's open forum for discussion on environmental and social issues and dedication to giving back to the community makes this event an ideal locale for such a unique and influential endeavor.

"As a company that has long believed in the benefits of natural and organic food products and the importance of giving back to the local community, we are pleased to partner with another like-minded organization such as Conscious Alliance to increase the positive impact of our efforts," said a Whole Foods Market(r) spokesperson.

Conscious Alliance, who began their mission of delivering food relief to impoverished U.S. Indian Reservations and fighting hunger in America by hosting food drives at concerts, is the ideal organizer for the ROTHBURY Food Drive and CanSculpture initiative. This "artistic expression with a purpose" will encourage festival attendees to donate food items to the ROTHBURY Food Drive which will directly benefit the Muskegon, MI Shiloh Tabernacle grocery relief program and the Word of Life PPHC Food Distribution Center of Oceana County, MI.

Attendees who donate 10 non-perishable food items to the ROTHBURY Food Drive will be given a limited edition ROTHBURY/Conscious Alliance rock art poster by rock artist Jeff Wood. Fans who donate 20 or more non-perishable food items will receive the same free poster in 3-D. There will be a drop off point located at the festival entrance where donations will be collected.

On July 4th weekend 2008, ROTHBURY emerges as a new American celebration. Hosted at the one-of-a-kind Double JJ Ranch in Rothbury, Michigan on July 3- 6, 2008, the four day, environmentally sustainable music and camping festival promises to be an inspiring cultural assembly. This celebration of music, art, and action will harness the unique energy of the live music community into a durable social movement toward an important cause: Climate Change and Clean Energy Alternatives. In addition to a diverse and stellar lineup of bands including Dave Matthews Band, Widespread Panic, John Mayer, 311, Phil Lesh and Friends, Primus, Thievery Corporation, Snoop Dogg, Modest Mouse, Michael Franti and Spearhead, Gov't Mule, Slightly Stoopid, STS9, Colbie Caillat, Rodrigo y Gabriela and many, many others, ROTHBURY will host an Energy Fair and an Environmental Think Tank featuring curator Dr. Stephen Schneider. With over 70 bands on 8 stages and unprecedented efforts to make a large scale event green, ROTHBURY is truly a "Party with a Purpose." For more information on ROTHBURY, visit www.rothburyfestival.com.

For more information about the Conscious Alliance and Whole Foods Market partnership, visit www.consciousalliance.org

Welcome to HGMN's new greening section. We’re doing lots of things to make our business greener and want to share that information with you. Hopefully you’ll find some tips on things you can do to help our planet as well.

The Three Rs: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

We reuse scrap paper in our fax machine and for taking notes. Sensitive documents that go through our shredder are then composted and fed to our garden (appropriate food scraps are composted as well).

Our catalogs that come back in the mail and are still in good shape are sent out again to someone else. The same catalogs are also printed on up to 30% post consumer content.

We purchase office paper with as high of recycled content as possible (currently 100%!). All other used paper is delivered to the local recycling center along with our CANS, BOTTLES, CARDBOARD, PLASTIC etc. 

We reuse cardboard boxes and bubble mailers when possible for shipments and packaging.

Our festival crew reuses plastic water bottles and customers that need bags for their goods get recycled ones that we saved from prior shopping trips.

We use rechargeable batteries in equipment that requires them - not only does that eliminate hundreds of batteries from disposal - it also saves us lots of money in the long run.

rechargeable-graphic

We're proud that we reuse and recycle many times more volume than we generate in waste.  We hope you'll strive to do the same.

For more green content - click the "Greening" link at our site navigation menu.

Look for more stories about how we are greening to appear in the coming weeks.

Happy Earth Day!
Rothbury & partners to donate & install solar power for local school!

THE SUSTAINABLE FESTIVAL
CELEBRATING MUSIC, ART AND ACTION
HAPPENS JULY 3 - 6, 2008 IN ROTHBURY, MICHIGAN

ROTHBURY, the nation's first around-the-clock music and camping festival to implement maximum sustainability, near zero-waste initiatives and facilitate dialogue about climate change and clean energy solutions, is also giving back to the community with ROTHBURY's Solar Schools Program presented by RE:VOLVE APPAREL. Some of the nation's noted "Green Heroes" who are dedicated to shrinking society's carbon footprint on the environment will be teaming up with this innovative music festival to help outfit Shelby High School in Shelby, MI with a free solar panel system. ROTHBURY, together with RE:VOLVE Apparel, Black Rock Solar and Grand Rapids-based Bauer Power, has committed to donating a minimum of $50,000 worth of solar power to Shelby High.

"We were looking for creative ways to offset our carbon footprint," explains Jeremy Stein, ROTHBURY's Event Producer.  "Our Solar Schools Program is exciting to me because it will provide tangible, lasting benefits for the school." Today ROTHBURY's Greening Chief, Sarah Haynes of the Spitfire Agency, has connected ROTHBURY to Black Rock Solar, who will oversee the execution of ROTHBURY's Solar Schools Program.

Black Rock Solar's Executive Director Tom Price was recently chosen as one of three American "Environmental Heroes" by PEOPLE Magazine. "It is a tremendous honor to be chosen by PEOPLE Magazine, but it is our partners that are my heroes - conscious organizations like ROTHBURY and The Spitfire Agency, and Michigan's own Bauer Power, who will build and install the solar panel system, enable us to get the job done," says Price.  

The free solar power system will be benefiting the school for decades to come, drawing warm praise from school officials. "It's a wonderful opportunity for the school to teach the importance of renewable energy, like reducing greenhouse gasses.  We're very grateful to the ROTHBURY community for helping make this possible" said Dana McGrew, Superintendent of Shelby Public Schools.

Anyone can help - additional funds for ROTHBURY's Solar Schools Program are being collected via ROTHBURY's Green Ticket options.  ROTHBURY's Green Ticket offers attendees an easy 'one click' opportunity to offset the environmental impact of their own festival participation, as well as directly contribute to the Solar Schools Program. Doing so aids Shelby High School by significantly reducing their energy bill, thus freeing up funding to be put toward school programs. 

ROTHBURY's goal is to harness the unique energy of the live music community into a durable social movement toward an important cause: Climate Change and Clean Energy Alternatives. Under the direction of Greening Chief Sarah Haynes (President/Founder of The Spitfire Agency), ROTHBURY is dedicated to achieving maximum sustainability and near zero-waste via multiple initiatives, including: personal pocket-sized ashtrays to minimize litter, a Green Team work exchange program for festival goers dedicated to ROTHBURY's sustainability mission, the use of only compostable products, recycling and composting programs, carbon offsetting and the use of multiple clean energy options to help power the four day festival.

In addition to a diverse and stellar lineup of over 70 bands including Dave Matthews Band, Widespread Panic, John Mayer, 311, Phil Lesh and Friends, Primus, Thievery Corporation, Snoop Dogg , Modest Mouse, Michael Franti and Spearhead, Gov't Mule, Slightly Stoopid, STS9, Colbie Caillat, Rodrigo y Gabriela and many, many others, ROTHBURY will host an Energy Fair and a Think Tank. The Think Tank, featuring curator Dr. Stephen Schneider and participants including Dr. Eban Goodstein, L. Hunter Lovins, and Winona LaDuke , offers attendees access to various buzz sessions that will address the topics of Climate Change and Clean Energy Solutions and will be geared toward conversations related to corporations, government/policy makers, and the individual. The ROTHBURY Energy Fair will allow attendees to engage hands-on with cutting edge, sustainable technology and products and experience both scheduled and surprise activities and interactive workshops aimed at arousing discussion and implementing change.

On July 4th weekend 2008, ROTHBURY emerges as a new American celebration. Hosted at the one-of-a-kind Double JJ Ranch in Rothbury, Michigan on July 3- 6, 2008, the four day, environmentally sustainable music and camping festival promises to be an inspiring cultural assembly; one where music fans, artists and progressive thinkers gather to celebrate much more than music. With over 70 bands on 8 stages and unprecedented efforts at achieving 100% sustainability and energy efficiency, ROTHBURY is truly a "Party with a Purpose."

For more information about ROTHBURY and the Solar Schools Program powered by Black Rock Solar please visit www.rothburyfestival.com

The people of Clean Vibes’ laborious dedication to their cause has made them permanent fixtures at festivals of all different sizes from coast to coast.
Clean VibesThere is a place deep in the Southland where, for one weekend in June, reality melts into a dream. Traveling thousands of miles, eighty thousand people from all over the country converge on the country's largest music festival. Bonnaroo, a Creole word for really good time, is a music festival of mammoth proportions. Of the many who brave the oppressive Tennessee summer heat, there is a group whose purpose serves a higher good. All dedicated to one common goal; a happy, healthy Mother Earth.

Nine years ago, a few music fans wanted to give back to a community they loved. After years of attending music festivals and witnessing mountains of waste that rivaled Everest, the fans decided the time was felicitous to act. Their first order of business was forming a company called Clean Vibes. Seeking cooperation from the Jam Band music community, they set out making recycling, sanitation, and fan education their mission. After seasons of muculent swill and barrel tossing, quite a reputation was established. The people of Clean Vibes' laborious dedication to their cause has made them permanent fixtures at festivals of all different sizes from coast to coast. Any one of these events can range in capacity from two thousand people to a crowd the gargantuan size of Bonnaroo, around eighty thousand.

broo020_19AAll told well over one hundred people comprise the Clean Vibes staff and each person serves a vital role in the weeks it takes to put on a festival the scope of Bonnaroo. Envision a city the size of Berkeley, California set up over a seven hundred and fifty acre spread. As early as late May, the first Clean Vibers arrive to begin the assiduous process of readying the site for thousands of attendees and the waste they will create. Like soldiers readying for battle the Clean Vibers spends ample time in preparation. Over the next few days, a massive transformation morphs a bucolic cattle farm into the Behemoth that is Bonnaroo. Over four thousand barrels are placed in strategic locations, tops are made for the recycling stations, signs are creatively concocted, and vehicles readied. By the end of the first week thirty supervisors and over ninety staff arrive to help tie everything together, and rather prodigiously in the land of Clean Vibes; every Bonnaroo starts this way.

supershotClean Vibes is far from an organization that just collects trash. They constantly quest for new ways to create a greener scene, and to educate fans of the importance of picking up after themselves. Another key factor Clean Vibes tries to illuminate is the impact we, as festival patrons, have on our environment. Each year Clean Vibes distributes informative signs and displays throughout the site to help convey the extent of that impact. They decorate their box trucks, pick-ups, gators, and Garbage trucks, with banners that proclaim the likes of, "Powerful People Recycle" or "Fans -R-Sweet, When They Keep it Neat." To actively engage the attendees to participate in a positive and gladdening way Clean Vibes even has their own area in Centeroo, the center of the festivities, complete with raffle booth, lounge and recycled art.  All of these logistics are planned out months in advance, but amazingly everything gets set up in just a few weeks time.
   
Almost immediately, like ants encountering a bounteous picnic, the Clean Vibes staff is put to work. Those whom work during the day find themselves in the midst of a pastiche of activity. Like medics in the heat of battle, the Clean Vibers can be found getting their (gloved) hands dirty all over the place. Whether they are head first in a barrel of recyclables, trying to sort out the trash, while being buffeted by incoming bottles and cans thrown by seemingly oblivious fans or trying to get a load of malodorous trash to the nearest roll off container, they are there with a smile and a determination that has no rival. All this while muddling through a heat so hot that your skin feels as though it could just deliquesce.
     
brooImage-02%20%2884%29The night brings a semblance all its own. The air is cooler, but ripe with a sentiment of unbound titillation. As though a full moon has risen and everyone is a wolf yearning to howl with unabashed joy. With all eighty thousand fans packed into the main venue taking in the sounds of the festival headliner, you'll find a diligent crew of Clean Vibers trying to balance the trash with a few good dance moves. In the eighty acre space, as packed with people as a banquet at a Richard Simmons' seminar, the Vibers can be found wading through, trash bags in hand, changing out barrels and sorting out recycling. They can be seen dodging bodies anesthetized by sheer exhaustion from dancing ecstatically and certain euphoric indulgences, while trying to cycle through hundreds of barrels full of the most repugnant waste one could ever encounter before repeating the method again after a matter of minutes. Not uncommon is the sight of a gator, a beefed up golf cart, piled fifteen feet high with garbage, motoring its way across the venue to a roll-off trash container. Even more common is the sight of one of the crew, tossing a rogue bag onto the top of the pile, getting inundated with a fresh mist of mephitic garbage juice. After the night's headliner ends their show the entire Clean Vibes' night shift descends upon the main venue to disseminate trash bags to those willing to lend a hand and to begin a several hour long process of readying the field for the following day's activities. Meanwhile, the sonorous enterprises of late night extravaganzas can be heard in the background, keeping spirits high into the wee hours of the morning.
   
phis-06%2830%29As the festivities wind down, after three days of good times and a healthy dose of debauchery, a new scene unfolds. As the festival attendees depart the seven hundred fifty acre spread becomes something out of a Salvador Dali painting. The surreal landscape is dotted with bags of white, black and green, as well and broken sofas, rundown tents, and a few cars to boot. The Clean Vibes staff kicks it into high gear and the monumental task of clean up is undertaken. When all is said and done, almost six hundred tons of waste will be collected and over 60% of it will be diverted from the landfill by recycling and composting.  There will be truckloads of food, shoes, and camping gear that will be donated to charity and the land will be left looking just as it did in the days before the festival.
   
One may wonder how someone could do what the Clean Vibers do? How do they have any fun? Truth be told, for these hard working fans it is their passion. They get the full benefit of a behind the scene look at the country's largest music festival while working to create a better, healthier environment for those who attend it. They work hard to achieve a goal of non-existence, one for which they receive little recognition. The consummation for which they strive is a Jam Band coterie that cleans up after itself, so no one else has to.

- by Kevin Weeks

Inspired to be a part of this amazing effort?  Ready to lend a hand to keep your favorite festivals clean and get free admission or even paid in the process?  Clean Vibes is now hiring for the 2008 season!  Applications for both paid and volunteer positions can be found on their website at www.cleanvibes.com. Don't delay as paid staff applications must be submitted by March 31st.

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