These rockers are a little green
It's not easy being green, especially if you're a rock star living on a tour bus -- about as far as you can get from recycling bins and compost piles. But the musicians taking part in Saturday's free EarthFest concert, starting at noon at the Hatch Shell, say they do what they can to care for the environment. Just don't ask them to give up their wheels. -- LINDA LABAN
BRANDI CARLILE (top right)
Habitat: I live in the country, in a log cabin, southeast of Seattle.
What do you drive? I drive a Lexus when I'm home and I have a toy convertible BMW I take out. I have a big truck for hauling hay and going to the dump.
Daily environmental effort? I've got a compost pile. I make sure I meticulously recycle.
How high would gas prices have to go before you gave up your car? There's no way I could get a bike out of my property. But the way I live, I make monthly trips to the grocery store. I don't leave home much.
HENRY GARZA OF LOS LONELY BOYS
What do you drive? I have a motorbike, a
Last time you recycled? Be honest. Some cans when we were out fishing, three weeks ago. We don't have recycle bins on the tour bus.
Global warming: real or myth? Real. I've seen the weather change. Big storms all over Texas. I've seen stuff in the sky I never saw as a kid.
DAVE WELSH OF THE FRAY
Habitat: I live in Denver. There's enough commuting from the suburbs that if you look over to the east, on some days there's a nice brown funk.
What do you drive? 1996 Subaru wagon. It's slowly falling apart; the door's hanging off. I can't afford a new car yet.
Daily environmental effort? I've been trying to convince my fiancee to take the bus to school instead of driving.
Yes, but what do you do? I turn the light out after I go to the bathroom, big deal. If everybody did, it's a big deal.
JAMES BLUNT
Habitat: Home is my tour bus.
What do you drive? I don't have a car, just a tour bus.
What about following Willie Nelson's lead and using biodiesel in the bus? It's definitely a good idea, but we had to get a special bus because there are so many of us. So we were limited.
How can the music business be more eco-friendly? The basics of getting raw materials from sources that are sustainable would be a start. There's masses that we can recycle.
ERIC DONNELLY OF CONNECTICUT JAM BAND THE ALTERNATE ROUTES
Habitat: We live by Long Island Sound in Bridgeport, and I had a job one summer cleaning up the beach. You begin to realize that anything that is thrown away ends up on the beach. It's gross.
Worst thing you had to clean up? I really don't want to say. Let's keep this nice.
What do you drive? Our old van failed its emissions test and got poor mileage. So we now have a 2006 Ford Econoline van. It uses gas, but we're very economical.
Is the environment the concern of government or the individual? Ultimately, it comes down to both. It's most helpful when everyone does their own part. The individual being responsible is a step in the right direction. 