Someone on this site (I think it was yellow-board veteran Danny) some time ago launched an interesting discussion about sustainable sessioning -- and whether it was possible, given the exotic wood of our axes and our travel to and from music venues, etc., to be environmentally responsible sessioneers.
This article isn't about music, but it's illustrative of how difficult (impossible?) it's getting to be to make responsible choices. http://www.reason.com/news/show/129855.html
Any thoughts?
Interesting article. I tried to buy apple juice for the kids yesterday, but couldn't find one product that didn't combine concentrate from China, Brazil, etc. etc. It's a small world these days. Buy local? Good luck. As far as sessions, I have to drive to where ever I want to play so I am certain I am producing unwanted amounts of carbon dioxide every time I wish to have a few tunes. Couple that with the CO2 that pumps out my Guinness and the unwanted methane expelled from bad shepherd's pie and I can almost feel the ice caps melting between sets. The only thing green at our session is the faux-Irish neon signs in the window of the pub.
Given the short growing season in the UK & Ireland, "local" is unlikely to be green. Someone argued convincingly to me the other day that tomatoes from Sicily were far less polluting in total than greenhoused tomatoes from Northern Europe.
Well, the botanist and at one time TV personality David Bellamy still holds that human civilisation's greenhouse gases are not causing global warming, and thinks Al Gore etc. are recycling some duff science in insisting that they are.
I don't know what to believe. (I'm inclined to think well of DB, incidentally.) Or rather, my beliefs re. global warming will be based on what I see, or hear about by trustworthy report.
Not being scientific, at least not in a scholarly way, I don't know if we humans with our activities are indeed causing the planet to "warm" or not. What I'm pretty sure of though is that in times such that we are we would do well to support those with-in our local communities rather than the large multi-national corporations, so many of which were run by greedy thieves who along with their likewise political cronies fattened themselves up and left the rest of us in this near economic ruin.
Another angle from which to view the word "green" I suppose.
Loved that song on the Muppets.........
.....but, seriously, I always try to support local shops, artisans, craftspersons, and suppose I am one myself in a way. The logic of having fruit flown in from halfway around the world defeats me. There is always an economic case as well as a green one - my own native Guernsey's horticulture collapsed because we had to import all the fuel and had no subsidies, whereas the Dutch had cheap local natural gas for heating their glasshouses and EU subsidies. The sunlight and the soil remain fine on Guernsey, but the derelict vineries are developed into apartment blocks for the offshore financial workers.
I have an African blackwood flute, a rose wood flute, a boxwood flute, a nickel-silver flute, several brass and aluminum whistles, a derlin (plastic) flute and two nylon-ish type bags to carry them around. My car does 35mpg and I drive up to 50 miles for sessions. Did I cause global-warning and deforestation and other landscape catastrophes in pursuit of my pleasures? If so I am truly sorry. I used to grow my own veg, but now I buy it. I buy stuff that was grown locally, but I know the supermarket has already driven it twice round Britain to grade, wash, pack and present it. So I might have been better just buying the cheapest stuff. You are right. It is all very complicated. By concession will be to car share to session, preferably with a teetotal friend of course. I'll share his/her car and they can share the tunes.
I think pub sessions are green by their very nature: they bring people together, they strengthen the bonds in the community, and help keep small family-run pubs in business. For me, this community spirit is an essential part of any green movement.
Now as for all the other stuff (beer miles, instrument miles, driving to the session because it finishes so late that there's no train home, etc etc.), everybody tries to do their part, and things will only get better the more we are aware of them!
Not easy being green...
Not easy being green...
Someone on this site (I think it was yellow-board veteran Danny) some time ago launched an interesting discussion about sustainable sessioning -- and whether it was possible, given the exotic wood of our axes and our travel to and from music venues, etc., to be environmentally responsible sessioneers.
This article isn't about music, but it's illustrative of how difficult (impossible?) it's getting to be to make responsible choices.
http://www.reason.com/news/show/129855.html
Any thoughts?
# Posted on November 14th 2008 by cuchulain54
Re: Not easy being green...
Interesting article. I tried to buy apple juice for the kids yesterday, but couldn't find one product that didn't combine concentrate from China, Brazil, etc. etc. It's a small world these days. Buy local? Good luck. As far as sessions, I have to drive to where ever I want to play so I am certain I am producing unwanted amounts of carbon dioxide every time I wish to have a few tunes. Couple that with the CO2 that pumps out my Guinness and the unwanted methane expelled from bad shepherd's pie and I can almost feel the ice caps melting between sets. The only thing green at our session is the faux-Irish neon signs in the window of the pub.
# Posted on November 14th 2008 by Jusa Nutter Eejit
Re: Not easy being green...
Given the short growing season in the UK & Ireland, "local" is unlikely to be green. Someone argued convincingly to me the other day that tomatoes from Sicily were far less polluting in total than greenhoused tomatoes from Northern Europe.
# Posted on November 14th 2008 by Bren
Re: Not easy being green...
Don't lose heart - at least we keep recycling the tunes!
# Posted on November 15th 2008 by Rob
Re: Not easy being green...
Well, the botanist and at one time TV personality David Bellamy still holds that human civilisation's greenhouse gases are not causing global warming, and thinks Al Gore etc. are recycling some duff science in insisting that they are.
I don't know what to believe. (I'm inclined to think well of DB, incidentally.) Or rather, my beliefs re. global warming will be based on what I see, or hear about by trustworthy report.
# Posted on November 15th 2008 by nicholas
Re: Not easy being green...
I try to do my part by playing a banjo that was built in the 1920's.
Better in a pub than in a landfil, I say.
# Posted on November 15th 2008 by CleverName
Re: Not easy being green...
"Don't lose heart - at least we keep recycling the tunes!"
Brilliant, that was sharp. Good one!
# Posted on November 15th 2008 by 52Paddy
Re: Not easy being green...
Not being scientific, at least not in a scholarly way, I don't know if we humans with our activities are indeed causing the planet to "warm" or not. What I'm pretty sure of though is that in times such that we are we would do well to support those with-in our local communities rather than the large multi-national corporations, so many of which were run by greedy thieves who along with their likewise political cronies fattened themselves up and left the rest of us in this near economic ruin.
Another angle from which to view the word "green" I suppose.
All the best!
Peace,
Ed
# Posted on November 15th 2008 by ejsant
Re: Not easy being green...
Loved that song on the Muppets.........
.....but, seriously, I always try to support local shops, artisans, craftspersons, and suppose I am one myself in a way. The logic of having fruit flown in from halfway around the world defeats me. There is always an economic case as well as a green one - my own native Guernsey's horticulture collapsed because we had to import all the fuel and had no subsidies, whereas the Dutch had cheap local natural gas for heating their glasshouses and EU subsidies. The sunlight and the soil remain fine on Guernsey, but the derelict vineries are developed into apartment blocks for the offshore financial workers.
# Posted on November 16th 2008 by Guernsey Pete
Re: Not easy being green...
I have an African blackwood flute, a rose wood flute, a boxwood flute, a nickel-silver flute, several brass and aluminum whistles, a derlin (plastic) flute and two nylon-ish type bags to carry them around. My car does 35mpg and I drive up to 50 miles for sessions. Did I cause global-warning and deforestation and other landscape catastrophes in pursuit of my pleasures? If so I am truly sorry. I used to grow my own veg, but now I buy it. I buy stuff that was grown locally, but I know the supermarket has already driven it twice round Britain to grade, wash, pack and present it. So I might have been better just buying the cheapest stuff. You are right. It is all very complicated. By concession will be to car share to session, preferably with a teetotal friend of course. I'll share his/her car and they can share the tunes.
# Posted on November 16th 2008 by bigfish
Re: Not easy being green...
I think pub sessions are green by their very nature: they bring people together, they strengthen the bonds in the community, and help keep small family-run pubs in business. For me, this community spirit is an essential part of any green movement.
Now as for all the other stuff (beer miles, instrument miles, driving to the session because it finishes so late that there's no train home, etc etc.), everybody tries to do their part, and things will only get better the more we are aware of them!
# Posted on November 17th 2008 by ambrosia