By Jolia Sidona Allen


This summer, eco-minded music-lovers, musicians, and organizers are doing everything in their power to push for a truly green festival experience — right down to the dirty details like recycled toilet paper in the porta-potties.

With good reason: the environmental footprints of these events are dinosaur-sized. Last year’s Bonnaroo festival generated more than one million pounds of waste, an amount equal to the household hazardous waste collected in Louisiana in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, according to the EPA. (Ray of sunshine: Thanks to Bonnaroo’s recycling, composting and reuse efforts, sixty percent of it never reached landfills.)

And can someone please explain how Burning Man’s Crude Awakening — last year’s 1,000-foot tower of flame that guzzled 900 gallons of jet fuel and 2,000 gallons of liquid propane only to belch out enough unharnessed energy to power the entire Bay Area for one minute — possibly fit the “Green Man” theme?

Truth is, live music addicts’ seemingly innocent habit of flocking to fields filled with light and sound spectacles to gorge on burritos, beer and groovy tunes wreaks havoc on our planet.

The good news is that major eco-innovations are coming to a music festival near you. Across the board, vendors are now using biodegradable flatware, nearly no recycle/waste station is left un-manned, printed materials are being replaced by electronic publicity or printed on recycled paper with eco-inks, concert t-shirts and clothing have debuted in bamboo and organic cotton, stages are running off solar power and biodiesel generators, and festivals and fans are choosing to offset CO2 emissions expended by both the events themselves and the aftereffects of crowds traveling to and from the venue.

“Today, the best is to reach for a net zero impact — zero waste through composting and recycling and net zero emissions with reductions, efficiency, renewable energy and carbon offsets,” says Josh Stempel of the Live Earth Green Team.

On 07.07.07, Live Earth — which recently published its own set of eco-events guidelines — set a high standard for the industry by recycling or composting 81 percent of the waste generated during their 24-hour, 7-continent concert series— with uber-efficient Tokyo reaching 99 percent.

Also raising the bar is Sarah Haynes of the environmental events company The Spitfire Agency, who teamed up with Daryl Hannah and Clean Vibes, a company dedicated to the responsible waste management of outdoor festivals and events, to green last year’s 70-thousand fan-strong Virgin festival in Baltimore. Haynes is now hard at work launching Rothbury — a rookie on this summer festival circuit that’s stepping up to bat with sustainability as its core value.

Given this year’s ample line-up of eco-friendly music festivals, it’s easier than ever for sustainability-minded superfans to do something more than refill a beer cup. Without further ado, we bring you the sweet green sounds of summer and the following simple user-manual: Step One: Rip out this guide. Step Two: Hang it on the fridge. Step Three: Have the time of your life.

LIGHTNING IN A BOTTLE

May 23-May 26, 2008, Santa Barbara, CA
Headcount: 4,500

Fave Five: Yard Dog’s Road Show, Lucent Dossier Vaudeville Cirque, Stanton Warriors, Bassnector, West Indian Girl.

The Vibe: A user-generated fest to the fullest, don’t expect to be a wallflower at this psychedelic summer camp weekend of art, music, dance, organic eats and camping amongst the trees. Don your most fabulous finery, and get ready to meet your new big green happy family.

Unique to LIB: Through solar art, eco-workshops and stages constructed from bamboo, rattan and recycled materials, LIB makes eco-awareness an interactive process that leaves visitors with new methodologies to integrate into daily life. This year, they’re especially stoked about their Free Water Initiative, enabling festival-goers to eschew disposables and fill up for free. Check out the Green Ticketing package which includes an LIB Kleen Kanteen, carbon offsets for transportation, and automated grouping into carpool forums based on your zip code.