ecobriefs


Sweet Sounds Green Proclaimed the Next Big Thing in the Music Industry


The Green Music Group, an interna- tional coalition of musicians, industry leaders and fans, is leveraging its col- lective power to bring about wide- spread environmental change within the music industry and around the globe. Primary goals include reducing the music community’s environmental footprint and magnifying support for environmental nonprofits. Founded by Guster band member Adam Gardner and environmentalist Lauren Sullivan, it’s a project of Reverb, an organization that has spread its eco- friendly message on 80 major music


tours, to reach 10 million fans in its first six years. Founding members include the Dave Matthews Band, Maroon 5, The Roots, Sheryl Crow, Bonnie Raitt and Willie Nelson.


Get with the program at GreenMusicGroup.org.


Cashing In College Students Annually Repeat Recycling Bonanza


When Lisa Heller Boragine discov- ered that college students moving out of their dorms dump tons of perfectly good stuff that wind up in landfills, she organized her non- profit Dump & Run. Now, schools across the country are corralling leftover belongings and getting them into the hands of people who will give them a second life. She recently helped Brandeis


University, in Waltham, Massachusetts, organize a collection drive and sale that netted more than six tons of items from departing students. Clothing, food and bedding went to local charities. Mini-fridges, desk lamps and plastic storage containers were sold to incoming students, with proceeds benefiting on-campus sustainability efforts. Boston College’s Cleansweep program makes it even easier; students simply


leave their excess stuff in their rooms, to be collected by volunteers. Bowdoin College, in Brunswick, Maine, prefers to focus on generating cash for charity via massive yard sales, one of which recently yielded $40,000. “It’s a win-win-win,” remarks Keisha Payson, Bowdoin’s sustainability coordi-


nator. “The housekeepers like it because there is less stuff to deal with; the com- munity likes the great bargains; and students like it because they feel bad about putting stuff in the dumpster.”


For information, visit DumpAndRun.org or call 508-579-7188. Source: The Christian Science Monitor


Stirring Giants Green Homebuilding Progress Report


America’s 10 largest publicly traded home- builders have started to improve their environmen- tal policies and practices, but much progress remains to be achieved, ac- cording to the latest Survey of Sustainable Practices by the Homebuilding Industry, by Calvert As- set Management Co. KB Home, based in Los Angeles, and Pulte Homes, of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, were ranked as the top industry firms. Calvert reports that out of 42 pos- sible green data points, the average total score was just over six points, or 15 per- cent. Without the top two companies in the mix, the average overall score would have been less than 6 percent. Green building represents a major industry opportunity. “Whereas two years ago, the industry had not yet begun to embrace sustainability as a core part of building design and con- struction, companies today have taken many meaningful steps toward devel- oping greener and cleaner homes,” says Rebecca Henson, a sustainability analyst at Calvert and co-author of the report. “However, given the environ- mental impact that homebuilding has, the industry has significantly more progress to make.”


Companies are most active in energy efficiency and conservation, paying more attention to sustainability issues that can offer short-term finan- cial benefits to operating costs and customers, such as building material recycling and energy and water effi- ciency measures. Issues with long-term benefits, such as climate change, are not well addressed.


For more information, search Green Homebuilder at Calvert.com. To assess a home’s energy efficiency score, take the quiz at EnergySavvy.com.


natural awakenings April 2011 7


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