Musicians Go “Blue in the Face” Fighting Climate Change

Photo by Rankin via Oxfam

We’re increasingly understanding that the environmental movement is not just about hugging trees and saving the whales, it’s about people too. That’s why musicians like Fatboy Slim, Jarvis Cocker, VV Brown, and Little Boots are lending their faces – painted blue – to Oxfam’s “Blue in the Face” campaign.

The new campaign urges world leaders attending the climate summit in Copenhagen this December to address the needs of poor communities dealing with the impacts of global warming. From the destruction of homes to limited access to clean water to food shortages, the poor are especially hit hard by the effects of more frequent and severe natural disasters caused by climate change.

Photographed by fashion photographer Rankin, these celebrity pics are just the beginning of an online photo gallery of supporters. That’s right! You too can join in the face painting fun and “take action on climate change until you’re blue in the face.”

Oxfam will be at festivals all over the UK to help with face painting and photo snapping. They’ll present the petition to the UK government just in time for the summit, asking for reduced global carbon emissions and funds to help poor areas adapt to environmental changes. The big kickoff starts this weekend at Glastonbury.

Paul McCartney Launches Meat Free Monday

Photo via Meat Free Monday

It’s Paul McCartney’s 67th birthday! And what Paul wants most is not for us to sing “(na na na na na na) you say it’s your birthday,” but to show our support for his newest endeavor, Meat Free Monday, which officially launched this week.

Paul, a longtime vegetarian and advocate for the ethical treatment of animals, recognizes that not everyone is willing or ready to make the switch to a completely meat-free diet. Instead, he’s asking us to forgo meat for just one day a week:

“I think many of us feel helpless in the face of environmental challenges, and it can be hard to know how to sort through the advice about what we can do to make a meaningful contribution to a cleaner, more sustainable, healthier world. Having one designated meat free day a week is actually a meaningful change that everyone can make, that goes to the heart of several important political, environmental and ethical issues all at once.”

Sir Paul is encouraging us to go veggie not only because it’s healthy and animal-friendly, but also because it helps fight global warming.

Huh? What’s the connection between eating meat and climate change? According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the livestock industry accounts for upwards of 18% of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. Eating meat is so energy intensive, in fact, that Compassion in World Farming estimates that the average UK household can reduce more emissions by cutting their meat consumption in half than by cutting their car use in half.

He’s making it real easy for us to skip the meat by sharing vegetarian recipes from his dearly departed wife Linda’s cookbook each week. The UK’s top chefs are also contributing their favorite meat-free dishes.

Hey Paul? I signed up. “I’m glad it’s your birthday. Happy birthday to you.”

Ben Sollee’s Bike Ride to Bonnaroo

Image via Pedaling Against Poverty

Although this year’s merrymaking has now officially come to a close, I wanted to bid farewell to Bonnaroo 2009 with an interesting story about one musician’s 330 mile journey to the festival…on a bike…with cello and 60 lbs of equipment in tow.

His name is Ben Sollee, and in an effort to reduce his carbon footprint as a musician, he took to the road not in a CO2-emitting van or tour bus, but on an Xtracycle extended-frame bike. An Xtracycle is a bike with a trunk of sorts, allowing riders to haul groceries, luggage, or cellos, apparently.

Ben, who hails from Lexington, Kentucky, embarked on a week-long trek to Bonnaroo in his neighboring state of Tennessee, stopping to perform shows along the way. Ben also promoted Oxfam America’s good work on poverty, hunger, and social justice issues at each gig. Talk about a sustainable tour.

You can read all about it on his blog (complete with videos), Pedaling Against Poverty, and in this informative interview with Jeff Biggers at the Huffington Post.

And the music? I downloaded Ben’s latest album, Learning to Bend, to have a listen for myself. Wow. Although classically trained, he applies some unconventional techniques to this old-school instrument, giving it a folksy, bluesy edge I didn’t know it had. And he’s got a soaring, soulful voice to boot. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, considering Mr. Sollee was named one of National Public Radio’s “Top 10 Unknown Artists of the Year” in 2007.

And this isn’t just a one-time thing. Ben is recording a new album, set to be released in fall 2009, that will raise awareness about the environmental dangers of mountaintop removal strip mining, a cause Ben has helped out with in the past. He’s still touring beyond Bonnaroo, so check to see if he’s performing near you – and pedal to the show on your own bike to show your support!

Phish and Fans are “Traveling Light”

Photo via MySpace

My brother’s been raving on Phacebook about how phantastic the Phish show was at Phenway last week. Okay, this whole “ph” thing is getting annoying. I’ll stop now while I’m ahead. ..

Anyway, I heard some phabulous, errr… fabulous, things about Phish’s latest greening efforts for their summer tour and decided to check it out. And boy does it check out.

The Waterwheel Foundation (the nonprofit organization that oversees Phish’s charitable activities) and Reverb have teamed up to help not only Phish, but also their fans, go green.

The band is doing all sorts of cool stuff like fueling up their buses and trucks with biodisel; stocking their tour bus with eco-friendly cleaners and supplies; eating food from local, organic farms; composting waste and recycling; and using reusable water bottles. To top it all off, Phish plans to purchase carbon offsets to neutralize the CO2 emissions from their touring fleet, air travel, hotel accommodations, and venue energy use.

Phish has also created an online guide for fans – Traveling Light: The Green Guide to Phish Touring – that lists green resources specific to each show in the following categories:

• Food. Farmers markets, family farms, and other sources of sustainably grown food.
• Lodging. Green hotels and campsites.
• Transport. Carpools, bike routes, public transit options, and biodiesel fueling stations.
  
• Side Trips & Volunteering. Eco-friendly side trips and community service projects.
• Inspired Readings. Resources to keep the green momentum going at home.

Carpooling is getting a big push, with Phish giving away a free download of  the show each night of the tour to 20 random fans that sign up for PickupPal’s Phish RideShare Service. Phish fans have a reputation for following the band from show to show, so reducing the environmental impacts from travel has the potential to have a big impact.

Interested in joining in the phun (there I go again…), uh… fun? You can find Phish’s summer tour schedule here.

Thom Yorke Wants You to Help Fight Global Warming

Photo via Friends of the Earth

Recently on Radiohead’s website, Thom Yorke urged his U.S. fans to show their support for the fight against global warming by joining the Stop Global Warming Virtual March.  Here’s what’s  on Yorke’s mind:

“currently there is talk of a climate change bill in the US similair to the one we have passed in the UK.
thats a BIG deal.
but i have been reading how the oil industry is investing millions of dollars in a PR campaign against it!
how utterly dumbass is that? how do these people look their children in the eye?”

In case you’re wondering what the hell Thom is on about, let me fill in the blanks. Back in 2005, Thom Yorke helped launch Friends of the Earth’s Big Ask Europe, a campaign to convince European nations to cut their greenhouse gas emissions yearly. The ultimate goal? A 40% emissions reduction within Europe by 2020; 100% by 2050.

Thanks in part to pressure from Big Ask Europe, the UK passed climate change legislation in November 2008, the first of its kind in the world, that legally commits the UK to reduce their emissions by a whopping 80% by 2050.

Those clever Europeans…always a step ahead of us on these matters of environmental importance.

Anyway, it looks like similar legislation could be in the works for the U.S. So what are you waiting for? When Thom Yorke asks you to do something, dammit, you better do it.

The Klaxons Go Solar

Photo via MySpace

For a country that’s not exactly known for its plethora of sunny days, those Brits sure are excited about solar energy. Hundreds of individuals, companies, and nonprofits – including Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, and 200 MPs – have already endorsed the U.K.’s We Support Solar campaign.

And the roster of solar groupies just increased by plus one, with “nu-rave” band the Klaxons’ recent announcement that they too have joined the campaign.

The We Support Solar campaign wants solar power to play a key role in helping the U.K. achieve its goal to source 15% of its energy from renewable sources by 2020.

The Klaxons are doing their part by recording the follow-up to their 2009 Mercury award-winning album – Myths of the Near Future – at the Premises in London, Europe’s first 100% solar-powered recording studio. Other artists who have recorded sun-fueled albums include Lily Allen, Block Party, and Hot Chip.

I am tempted to make a “the future’s so bright, I gotta wear shades” joke here, but I won’t. Even though I just kinda did.

Can You Help Fuel Dan Deacon’s Tour?

Photo via MySpace

Dan Deacon needs help getting to his shows. Turns out finding fuel for his school-bus-turned-tour-van, pimped out to run on vegetable oil, can be a bit of a challenge.

Scrounge up five gallons of clean used veggie oil, and you could be rewarded with a pair of free tickets. Even better, 30 gallons will get you dinner cooked by Dan Deacon himself aboard the veggie-mobile. Just don’t forget to make prior arrangements with the “oil master” Geoff.

Deacon made his plea to fans via this MySpace bulletin:

hello,

the school tour bus the 20 of us are riding in runs on veggie oil. we need help gathering that oil to fuel our bus. if anyone can bring at least 5 gallons of waste veggie oil to one of the shows we will put you on the guest list. it is easily found behind almost all restaurants.

if the oil looks dark and full of crud we can’t use it. the lighter the color and the less viscous the better. if you can bring us CLEAN and filtered oil we can put you + 1 on the list.

an easy way to filter the oil would be to stretch a tight sheet or t-shirt over a bucket and pour the oil into the bucket through the sheet to get all the gunk out. a slower way, but better way, would be to tie one of the pant legs of jeans into a tight knot and hang that over a bucket and pour the oil into the jeans, and clean oil will slowly pass into the bucket.

to arrange the grease for list swap you can call geoff at 862-266-6130. call or text him. he is our oil master. the more oil the better. we have enough storage for 100 gallons of oil. if you can get us 30 gallons we’ll cook you dinner on the bus (we have a little kitchen and many great cooks).

please repost this to anywhere you think it might help. thanks you!

dan deacon

Dan Deacon’s North American tour runs through the end of May. Deacon’s legendary live performances and rave reviews of his new album, Bromst, should provide more than enough motivation to bring out the deep fryer.

Neil Young’s Ode to the LincVolt

Photo via LincVolt

Neil Young wants the best of both worlds: a big, flashy car and fuel efficiency. Impossible? Maybe not. Neil’s been working on making his vision a reality with the LincVolt project. Along with green car guru Johnathan Goodwin, Neil is converting a 1959 Lincoln Continental into an electric vehicle.

Neil and his team hopes the LincVolt will take the Progressive Automotive X Prize – which will be awarded to the first vehicle that achieves 100 mpg, meets strict emission standards, and that can be mass produced.

Neil’s new muse has also inspired an albumful of songs, Fork in the Road, released this week. Check out the video for “Johnny Magic” with special guest star the LincVolt itself!

Neil also plans to drive the LincVolt to Washington, DC to raise awareness about clean car technologies. We’ll be able to track the journey live via the LincVolt website, and there will be a DVD to fill us in on the rest of the story. Because really…if Neil can make it work with a 20-foot long, 5,000-pound behemoth, anything is possible.