The pulsating beats of a live concert performance by the Brazilian Girls and MGMT in the midst of San Francisco Bay can drive passion to exceeding heights.  Unfortunately, at the Treasure Island Festival, the passions of a few overly zealous concert goers caused a thriving tree branch to become a dead log.  A small group of stunned audience members became angered and ran to the tree's defense when a gaggle of hipsters jumped up and down on a low lying limb.  For the majority of eyewitnesses, the indignant act was greeted by apathy.   

Despite the aftermath of tree climbing, the Treasure Island Festival has partnered with Carbon Harmony to offer carbon offsets to concert goers for an additional $1 fee, utilized vans and buses powered by biodiesel, and planned to donate or compost all unused food among a list of sustainable practices.  How effective was the recycling program? During a cursory glance at the festival space, tens of beer tinged compostible plastic cups lay on trodden grass surrounding recycling receptacles.  At one point, announcements were made on the PA to urge the use of recycling containers.  

The Story of Stuff wasn't apparently read here, since there were a lot of booths here that sold ubercool tchotchkes, which may or may not be destined for closets, shelves or later a landfill. Art materials were recycled and logoed metal water bottles were sold to discourage plastic bottle use. 

Hopefully, 12,000+ people attending the two-day live music event aren't just footing the carbon bill for the bands and the VIPs.  Just this summer, Bono confessed his carbon emission transgressions, since " U2's CO2 emissions are the equivalent of the waste created by 6,500 average British or Irish people in an entire year, or equal to leaving a standard 100 watt lightbulb on for 159, 000 years".  Maybe the acts that performed at the Treasure Island festival got it together with the use of biodiesel generators. 

Earlier that day, I had a brief conversation at a booth with a representative of the Sustainable Living Roadshow, that "is a coalition of educators and entertainers who tour the country in a fleet of renewable fuel vehicles to empower communities and individuals to utilize sustainable living strategies for a healthier planet".  Bred from the idea that community organizers and disciples are the best oracles for facilitating localized, sensible resource use practices, the SLR has plans to partner with LiveEarth, an organization that promotes sustainable choices and lifestyles through multi-media events. 

With greater thought placed on diminishing the footprint of large-scale music festivals there is hope that more can be done. For example, maybe next year, there might be plan to plant trees instead of standing idly by while one was destroyed.