Berkeley's Greek Theatre Going Carbon Neutral
by Jeff McIntire-Strasburg, St. Louis, MO on 06. 7.06
Some of us here are big enough geeks to have read the headline for this announcement and thought, "Oh, they're offsetting productions of Medea... how cool!" Not quite, but UC-Berkeley's Greek Theatre is the home to a great summer concert series, and when musical acts ranging from Radiohead to Mark Knopfler and Emmylou Harris to Death Cab for Cutie take the stage this summer at the Greek, they'll be playing at the first major music venue to commit to offsetting the carbon emissions of the whole concert season. Clif Bar, Inc. has partnered with Another Planet Entertainment to purchase carbon credits and to implement a whole range of environmentally-conscious practices at the outdoor amphitheatre:
In partnership with NativeEnergy, Clif Bar is purchasing enough renewable energy credits or “green tags” to help build new wind turbines that will offset all of the carbon dioxide (CO2) produced during the 2006 Greek Theatre concert season, which runs June through October. The carbon emissions associated with the 8,500-seat Greek Theatre result from all of the electricity used to power and light the venue.In addition to the carbon offset purchase, the Greek will also feature printed materials made from recycled paper with soy-based inks, biodegradable utensils and wine cups for concertgoers and artists, and an Organic Cafe with organic food choices. Recycling stations with educational materials will be located throughout the venue. Clif Bar will sell NativeEnergy Cool Tags at its booth so concertgoers can offset their travel to and from concerts. Sounds like a great summer of music with a much smaller environmental hangover. :: Clif Bar and Another Planet EntertainmentClif Bar’s purchase of renewable wind energy credits is equivalent to offsetting 88 tons of CO2 emissions, or the amount of carbon dioxide created by 176,000 miles of car travel. Electricity produced from clean, renewable wind energy displaces energy that otherwise would have to come from burning fossil fuels such as oil or coal, which create CO2, the leading cause of global warming.
“We’re excited about joining with Clif Bar to spread environmental messages to a diverse audience, in a fun and approachable setting,” said Gregg Perloff, C.E.O of Another Planet Entertainment. “The music industry can be a very positive force for the planet.”
