Filed under: Design + Architecture, Energy + Climate | Tags: Greening concerts, LEED, sandstone ampitheater
If you are from the Kansas City area, you have probably attended at least one concert at Sandstone Ampitheater, located in Bonner Springs, Kansas. Open since 1984, an announcement was made last September that the venue would close by the end of the year.
However, a new company just purchased the rights to reopen the venue and their goal is to make Sandstone as environmentally friendly as possible. According to the Sandstone Ampitheater Web site, a few of their ideas that have already been implemented include:
– Switching from paper towels to hand dryers in the bathrooms
– Using recycled toilet paper, napkins and plates
– Installing energy efficient lighting
– Setting up paper, plastic and cell phone recycling receptacles
– Planting a garden for caterers to grow veggies
– Allowing fans to park for free if they carpool or drive alternative fuel vehicles
Some of Sandstone’s plans for the future include:
– Installing solar panels and wind turbines
– Installing high efficiency toilets, urinals and faucets
– Attaining LEED Certification, which is Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
Source: http://sandstoneamp.com/
While all of these initiatives sound awesome, the question to ask is will they actually work? Do you think that more people will go to concerts at Sandstone because of these initiatives or do you think people will even care?
Also, do you think the owners of Sandstone will keep up on these initiatives? For example, what if they realize that they need more money and are forced to charge people for parking again? Or what if no one wants to buy the veggies because they would rather have a burger?
Jack Johnson will be performing the first “environmentally friendly” concert with special guests Rogue Wave and Neil Halstead on Friday August 15th.
If you are someone who would not normally purchase tickets to see Jack Johnson, would you be interested in going to the concert just to see the changes at Sandstone? Let me know!
Lindsay
Filed under: Business + Politics, Food + Health | Tags: food systems, howard, organic, Phil, Phil Howard
Photo: MSU.org
You might have figured that Kraft makes Kraft Organic, but did you know they own Boca brands as well? Well did you know that Pepsi owns Naked Juice and that both Silk and Horizons Milk are owned by Dean?
As you might have guessed, big business and organics are not mutually exclusive. The big food processors have been scarfing down organic brands since 1997 when the organic certification was drafted. This is not a sloppy meal; you would never know Kashi was made by Kellogg or Cascadian Farm by General Mills. That’s because part of the organic image involves creating a distance from big business. But without big business, organics would never have gotten the wide distribution that allows them to grow. And the more they grow, the more the organic message is spread.
This is the fascinating work of Michigan State University professor Phil Howard. He studies the role of organic brands and markets in the ever-multifaceted food industry. There’s plenty more on his website, so check it out.
via: Good Magazine, NYT Well Blog
Bobby Grace
J500 Media and the Environment 