Are Music Writers Slowly Destroying The Planet?

Brian Raftery | July 27, 2007 12:00 pm
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No one in their right mind would ever complain about getting free CDs. It’s like complaining about having too much money, or about working at a detective firm staffed by adorably inquisitive kittens. For music writers, getting promotional music is the biggest perk of the job, and I won’t deny that it beats having to actually “pay” for music. But over the past few months, as the piles of plastic and paper started to stack even higher in my office, I began to wonder how all of these mass mailings were impacting the environment. “Did a tree have to die,” I thought, “just so I could get multiple unwanted copies of the Ocean’s Thirteen soundtrack?”

And so, earlier this month, I held onto an entire week’s worth of music-related mail–the envelopes, the jewel cases, the discs. Everything. The materials were weighed both as a whole, and in separate piles of paper or plastic; I also noted the shipping method used for their delivery and from which city they were sent. I gave all of this information to Brian Allenby of Reverb, a non-profit that helps musicians and labels adjust their practices to become more environmentally friendly. He calculated the weekly carbon footprint of all the music-biz mail filling my office, and what follows are his estimates as how to how much carbon dioxide (CO2) was released in order for these materials to make it my door:

Paper: 20 lbs (approx.) of CO2 Plastic: 30 lbs (approx.) of CO2 Shipping: 27.7 lbs of CO2

Note that “shipping” refers to the CO2 produced from burning fuel in planes, trucks, trains, etc. to get the packages to me. In total, 77.7 lbs of CO2 were released just so I could get my CDs every week. “On an annual basis,” Allenby wrote, “you’re receiving about 4,004 lbs of CO2, or just over two tons. This is equal to about 4,000 miles of driving, or electrifying your home for three months.”

Ha! As if I can afford to buy a home in this market. Anyway, since I understand neither science nor math, I hit Brian up on IM for some further analysis:

VivSavage1984 (10:17:58 AM): first off, give me a quick run-down of how your eco-credentials

GreenBrian (10:19:27 AM): I started working with Reverb when I was still with a company called NativeEnergy. At NE we calculated carbon footprints and sold offsets and renewable energy credits. Previous to working at NE I promoted and produced concerts in Charlottesville, VA, so my duties at NE included music industry calcs, so I was the one that worked with Reverb helping them calculate their offsets for tours they were working on

GreenBrian (10:19:57 AM): My duties include CO2 calculations, some web and graphics work, music industry relations and general operations here at the office

VivSavage1984 (10:20:36 AM): so with reverb, do you guys approach the artists? or is it the other way around?

GreenBrian (10:21:29 AM): Other way around. We’ve been inundated with requests from artists. It’s really very comforting to see so many artists taking the initiative to green up their tours

GreenBrian (10:22:05 AM): But also somewhat daunting to think about how much more work needs to be done in the industry.

VivSavage1984 (10:23:04 AM): what do you see as some of the most common eco-unfriendly aspects of tours?

GreenBrian (10:24:07 AM): Flying is a tough one. Unfortunately there’s really no alternative fuel or transport substitute at this point

GreenBrian (10:24:57 AM): Busses and trucks also emit a lot of CO2, but though the use of BioDiesel, bands have really started to cut down on those emissions. There are even some artists that are running on SVO (Straight Vegetable Oil) that comes from fryer grease, etc. 0 emissions for that

GreenBrian (10:25:13 AM): And by far the largest portion of the environmental footprint of a show is the fan travel

GreenBrian (10:25:34 AM): Usually in the ballpark of 85-90% of the total emissions from a show are a result of fans driving to and from

VivSavage1984 (10:25:52 AM): time for more carpools

GreenBrian (10:26:19 AM): Exactly. Some venues are starting to reward people for carpooling with preferred parking and that sort of thing.

GreenBrian (10:26:53 AM): And public transport as well. Although there were long lines at the busses (back to NYC) at Live Earth, it was nice to see that people didn’t drive to the show individually

VivSavage1984 (10:27:46 AM): interesting. Just out of curiosity, have you ever considered an initiative in which ska music would be banned? so many members, and so many ska festivals with fan emissions. Plus, as music fans, I think we’d all be better off without it.

GreenBrian (10:32:07 AM): although, in their defense, there are a lot of horns that don’t require massive amplification, so there is less electricity use

VivSavage1984 (10:32:32 AM): dammit! i thought i was on to something

GreenBrian (10:33:23 AM): Although you do have a point and I would agree that many membered bands that are out there doing a ton of fly dates and one-offs are harming the environment

GreenBrian (10:33:38 AM): (I’m thinking reggae)

VivSavage1984 (10:34:18 AM): that’s actually true! broken social scene alone probably flies 15-20 band members into this country every hour

VivSavage1984 (10:34:20 AM): anyhoo

VivSavage1984 (10:34:45 AM): as for my weeks’ worth of mail…can you give me an idea of how you crunched the numbers?

GreenBrian (10:35:31 AM): Sure thing. I broke down the emissions into three categories, shipping, paper and plastic (manufacturing of the latter two).

GreenBrian (10:36:24 AM): There are very good numbers provided by the EPA and other groups that equate lbs of CO2 that result from x lbs of freight shipped y miles, so those calcs were very easy

GreenBrian (10:38:23 AM): Looking at lifecycle energy use for paper and plastic is much more difficult. Think about that jewel case: in this calculation, we’re trying to estimate how much energy and CO2 resulted from pulling the raw petroleum from the ground, refining it, shaping it, putting the top of the case on the bottom and placing that CD in the tray

VivSavage1984 (10:39:05 AM): yikes

GreenBrian (10:39:43 AM): And in terms of paper, how much fuel was used in that chain-saw that cut down that tree, that was then floated to a mill, then cut, then mashed into pulp, etc. When you start thinking about it, everything we use requires a whole lot of energy to get to us, the end user

VivSavage1984 (10:40:04 AM): oh lordy

GreenBrian (10:40:34 AM): there’s some great info on Cloud Cult actually reclaiming old jewel cases, cleaning them and reusing when they put one of their CD’s out. There’s info on it here: //www.mtv.com/overdrive/?id=1559417&vid=148618

GreenBrian (10:41:43 AM): That’s probably one of the only truly ecologically friendly solutions, although we are seeing labels go with 100% post consumer recycled paper from FSC certified wood and corn plastic wrapping

GreenBrian (10:41:50 AM): so the technology is getting there

VivSavage1984 (10:42:04 AM): what i find really frustrating

VivSavage1984 (10:43:16 AM): is just how many of the CDs didn’t need to be put in the mail in the first place: there’s no need to send multiple copies, or to overnight Cds for no reason, or to send anything with the words “produced by les claypool” on the back.

VivSavage1984 (10:44:33 AM): do you get the sense that labels are looking at how much material they’re sending out?

GreenBrian (10:45:51 AM): Absolutely. Warner Music Group has done a ton of work with NRDC to look at their packaging, how to reduce as much as possible and make sure that the discs that do have to go out the door are as eco-friendly as possible. I believe NRDC is also starting to work with EMI on this type of initiative

GreenBrian (10:46:09 AM): NRDC = Natural Resources Defense Council

GreenBrian (10:48:01 AM): Another small example. Some departments at WMG have even gone to using digital catalogs (the one’s they send to wholesalers and retailers) instead of printing a 100 page catalog for thousands of clients every issue

GreenBrian (10:48:17 AM): A lot of these measures are not only good for the environment, but can save these companies money

VivSavage1984 (10:49:27 AM): what did you think when you saw the calculations for my one week of mail? did it seem high, low, average? am i killing the earth by having a PO box?

GreenBrian (10:50:32 AM): Not killing the earth by any means. You receive a lot more mail than most, but I’m guessing you also drive less, have a smaller apartment and are generally more efficient that most folks out there.

GreenBrian (10:51:12 AM): Overall, you’re probably still much below the national average in terms of CO2 production, although in my opinion, that national average needs to be a lot lower

VivSavage1984 (10:51:41 AM): true, but i still sleep with a nightlight on

VivSavage1984 (10:52:28 AM): but at least i don’t drive!

GreenBrian (10:52:41 AM): right and that’ll save you a lot of CO2

GreenBrian (10:53:06 AM): the average car puts out 6 tons of CO2 annually, the average home produces about 8 tons from electricity use

GreenBrian (10:53:43 AM): you can do the math, driving one car is almost as damaging as electrifying a whole house for a year, seems like the house should be a lot represent a larger portion of our footprints

GreenBrian (10:53:53 AM): (although heating does account for another 4 tons / year)

VivSavage1984 (10:55:43 AM): okay, this has all been very helpful. final question: so what are you working on next?

GreenBrian (10:56:33 AM): We’re starting up with Dave Matthews Band in the beginning of August, helping them with an eco-village on the road, BioD in their trucks and busses, CO2 offsets, greening their rider, recylcing, etc.

VivSavage1984 (10:56:56 AM): i hope they don’t dump any more poop on the road

VivSavage1984 (10:57:03 AM): or whatever they did

GreenBrian (10:57:10 AM): we’re also coordinating BioD for another 4 or 5 bands

GreenBrian (10:58:08 AM): and continuing our work to try to make some more partnerships within the industry that can effect some big time change (I know that sounds generic and cheesy, but seriously, some great new partnerships)

VivSavage1984 (10:58:43 AM): all sounds good. thanks again for doing this.

GreenBrian (11:03:07 AM): Sure thing. please let me know if you have any other questions on it, or ever happen to need any other CO2 calculations done! Thanks for taking the time to do this quick study too. It’s pretty amazing when you start aggregating data like this, and really helps illustrate the need for some change

VivSavage1984 (11:04:13 AM): agreed. this has been great. i hope it will get some readers thinking for a second, even though they will soon be distracted by lindsay lohan’s new arrest or a new lil wayne video.

GreenBrian (11:04:38 AM): Just gotta get them thinking

GreenBrian (11:04:53 AM): All right, I’m off to save the world. Have a good one.

VivSavage1984 (11:05:08 AM): you yoo!

Ed. note: We think that means “you too.”

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