barenaked.jpgThe band pitches in by fuelling their trucks and buses with biofuel, setting up an information eco-village they call Barenaked Planet, recycling and composting backstage debris and buying carbon offsets. And they're asking fans to join in as well.
"A lot of fans are not only dedicated to the band, but dedicated to the environment, too," says singer and guitarist Steven Page.
And they've got to be a pretty passionate Barenaked Ladies fan to being willing to haul the band's recyclables and compost materials home in their cars, which is exactly what some volunteers in Washington and Texas did during the fall Barenaked Ladies Are Me (B.L.A.M.) tour when recycling pickup services weren't available at the venues.
With passenger cars and light trucks alone accounting for about 12 per cent of Canada's total greenhouse gas emissions, automotive fossil fuel emissions are an important environmental issue.
So on their fall tour, the Barenaked Ladies ran their vehicles (typically four trucks and four buses) on biodiesel – specifically B20, a blend of 20 per cent biofuel, derived from waste oil products or plants such as soy or canola, and 80 per cent diesel.
Made from renewable, biodegradable resources, thus increasing demand for domestic agricultural products, biodiesel is cleaner than traditional fuels and reduces emissions of unburned hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, sulphates and particulate matter.
Using B20 does not void automotive warranties and it works in diesel engines with few or no modifications to the vehicle – although with higher concentrations, some biodiesel-compatible components, such as hoses and seals, are recommended.
By fuelling their fleet with biodiesel, the band calculates that approximately 27,000 kilograms of carbon dioxide were kept from going into the atmosphere during their recent U.S. tour.
Emissions can be further reduced when a higher percentage of biofuel is blended with the diesel fuel.
"As much as I'd like to be running B99, we're running B20." explains Page, pointing out that other musicians, such as singer Bonnie Raitt, have used B99.
With the Barenaked Ladies hitting frigid Saskatoon and Winnipeg in mid-February, fuel adjustments may have to be made.
Higher-blend biodiesel can gel in cold climates, reaching the cloud point (the temperature at which solid crystals become visible) at higher temperatures than regular gasoline.
Assisting the band with such logistics, as well as co-ordinating their other environmental programs, is Reverb a non-profit American organization founded in 2004 by Lauren Sullivan and her husband, Adam Gardner, vocalist for the band Guster.
While raising awareness and support for the environment by connecting musicians and fans is Reverb's mandate, their work with the bands' tours includes such practical tasks as setting up recycling and sourcing biodiesel suppliers along a tour route.
"What we usually do is have a biofuel vehicle come to our site. It's called wet-hosing. They come to us and fuel up the band's vehicles right there at the concert site."
Alongside the typical booths at concert venues offering merchandise and services to concertgoers, Reverb sets up an eco-village, which showcases alternative energy technologies, local and national non-profits, and environmentally friendly products, as well as other elements that reflect a band's philosophies and social concerns.
Buy carbon dioxide credits bought from an alternative energy provider (wind or solar power, for example) or other environmental projects (methane/biowaste, tree planting) that result in less carbon dioxide being produced than would normally occur.
With carbon dioxide a major component of the greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming, many people strive to live carbon-neutral lives, calculating their climate-damaging carbon emissions (using one of several online carbon calculators), conserving energy and reducing those emissions as much as possible, then "neutralizing" or balancing the remaining carbon emissions by buying carbon offsets.
"In the States, we use NativeEnergy and here in Canada we're using a company called Zerofootprint to do our travel offsets, and Bullfrog Power will be offsetting our electrical stuff," says Page. The band itself neutralized 272 tonnes of CO2, he adds, by offsetting the power consumed at the fall concerts.
Still relatively new and unregulated, carbon offsets are somewhat controversial, with critics questioning the veracity of some data, as well as the value of some alternative energy and energy-conservation projects.
Preferring conservation and prevention, critics of offsets believe that since it's often cheaper to purchase carbon offsets rather than to eliminate emissions, offsets simply encourage guilt-free consumption.
"The offsets ease the conscience a bit, but it's more about the kind of consumption we use; what we're trying to cut back on," says Page, who recently installed a solar panel system in his own home and has an interest in the WindShare co-op that operates the wind turbine at Toronto's Exhibition Place.
"There are other options." he adds, acknowledging that "within the ecological community, there's a huge amount of discourse or disagreement about what the right way to do it is."
Certainly, going green isn't always an inexpensive undertaking. In their efforts to be more eco-friendly, the band members often find themselves spending more: buying biodiesel and carbon offsets, hiring Reverb, even paying extra just to have all the band's meals served on china instead of paper plates.
