Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Langerado Music Festival - Pooping on the Everglades

This weekend, 20,000 people will descend on the Big Cypress Seminole Indian Reservation - IN THE MIDDLE OF THE EVERGLADES - to attend the annual Langerado Music Festival. The festival was inspired by the Phish Millennium Concert that attracted 75,000 thoughtless concert goers to the center of the most imperiled wetland in the United States.

Langerado concert promoters have a GREENING link on the official website that presents shallow, benign suggestions that would make the festival seem environmentally friendly. It's not.

"Langerado Music Festival aspires to be as clean and as green as the tropics that surround Big Cypress." Huh?

"Looking at the pristine land that hosts Langerado with the Atlantic Ocean on the horizon, this is naturally the only choice." Maybe I'm splitting hairs but the Atlantic is 50 miles away. And choose Arkansas.

"Langerado chooses to promote what is best for the preservation of the environment just like we choose to promote the finest and freshest musicians." The best for the environment would be to hold this at a stadium. Not in the middle of a wetland. And the Beastie Boys and R.E.M. may by good bands, but they ain't fresh.

They say they promote sustainability and they will attract 20,000+ people to the middle of the state! No amount of car pooling will offset that waste.

They are offering "Park City Icewater - Water the Way Nature Intended it" which apparently comes from a melted glacier over a mile underground in Utah. What the hell are they talking about? They shipped thousands of gallons of water across the country in unrecycleable plastic packages to promote eco-friendly practices in a place where salt water is intruding upon the landscape from rising sea levels and fresh water supplies have been depleted from the aquifers? Good thinking!

They are also building the Greenerado Sustainability Village where concert goers can learn about how they are presently destroying the environment. THIS VERY MINUTE!

One of their goals is to increase the amount of recycling. Last year they recycled 15,000 pounds. This year they want to recycle more. How about using less?

They claim this is a "Leave No Trace" event. Carry in what you carry out. Unless they don't poop for three days -this thing could get awful messy.

One of the downsides to the "green" movement is that people will use the principles of greening more for promotional advantages than for genuine care for the environment. This is called greenwashing. We can only hope that this crowd, like crowds at most festivals will save water by not actually washing.


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9 comments:

  1. Hey, I read about greenwashing in a business magazine. They argued the same thing. It ain't really green (all these "natural" products being sold! ) Lot's of bags are being made for potato chips that will NEVER be natural no matter how you cook 'em.

    I'll try to make sure the Burnham Bros. Band doesn't play at a venue like this:)

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  2. I haven't pooped in three days, and yes I assume it will be awfully messy.

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  3. mmmm do you think the musicians are fresh like croissants. I love croissants. And their eco friendly and bio degradable in my tummy!

    - Fireflower

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  4. UPDATE:

    3 cups of coffee and things are moving freely again!

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  5. Good writing. I agree with you; the promoters are a bunch of hypocrites. They, like everyone else are jumping on the "green" bandwagon.

    They're about 10 years too late, because this is what Bonnaroo did their first year, before they became greedy and blinded by money. Which, by the way, is what is happening to Langerado.

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  6. That is just completely outrageous! People are so stupid. One of the things my company is doing to be eco friendly is to give away a large tote bag with every purchase, like the celebrities are carrying, to promote not using so much plastic at the grocery store. But to print pretty artwork on the bag we have to destsroy lakes in China from the run off of fabric mills....ok whatever it's just China

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  7. As humorous as your 'diatribe' is, your many points are well on the mark. Who really cares?? I hope you have sent this to the opinions section of your local papers. Railing now is too late, unfortunately... and undoubtedly, there is more to come. :-(

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  8. A concert like this was done in 1999 in a geobotanical preserve located in the crater of Pululahua Volcano, in Ecuador. Pululahua Rock was the name of the 4 days of concerts, with groups from different countries, but they didnt attract enough people to pay the investment. They expected 15,000 and got 2,000 on the biggest day.

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  9. hey.... I will be chipping in soon in the Protection of the Environment, I finally got the job I wanted, I will be fining those who do not follow the Environmental Laws...I had an MSHA class today, they taught us about all the ways we could die by explosion, electrocution, inhaling of chemical, and run over by huge trucks..Oh the joys of serving my state and the environment.

    oh, did I mention I have a cool badge that makes me enter premises whenever I want to...makes me feel so powerful... you would be so proud... ,careful I don't want to shut down your business..,better be in compliance, I'll be watching ..LOL

    (ps. i cant remember my login)

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