Top Reasons… why record stores ROCK. (or do they?)

I have been a fan of records since I was a child. The feel of vinyl in my hand, the delicate way you slowly lower the needle to the vinyl and that soothing ssszt sszt ssszt sound before the music starts. When the weather turns 60 here in Boston and I open my windows for the first time in spring time, I pull down the record player and pull out my John Mellencamp albums. Yes, John Mellencamp is sunny days and easier days to me, romance and new beginnings. This ritual is one I cherish each year.

I have always had a love-hate relationship with downloadable music. I like perusing the bins, checking out the box sets, feeling the awesome cases on some of the imports,  and I love the social aspect. Who doesn’t remember the scenes in High Fidelity or Pretty in Pink? Those moments cease to exist when you are buying music from iTunes on your couch. I feel somehow distanced from the process and less excited by the energy, the random song over head, the guy with the post grunge look and the girl who looks like Ally Sheedy in Breakfast Club who is secretly hiding the Boys2Men album that reminds her of her pre-adolescence. I live for these moments.

I decided to give downloadable music a chance. I did the list, you know the one. All the pros and the cons.

iTunes:

Pro: Always there when I need them, dependable, attractive and easy to get what I want.
Con: Too nice and easy, lacking the mystery and intrigue of a record store, no sales!

Record Store:

Pros: People watching, thrill of the chase, random discoveries, liner art and bargain bins!
Cons: I’ve got the flu and really want to hear a certain song that I don’t have, I end up just uploading them to my computer anyway, and all that damn packaging.

Wow, the last con got me. The packaging. CD’s are a wolf in lambs clothing. I was curious what the actual comparison was. I did some research and found a great study by some gentleman from Carnegie Mellon University, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Stanford University. In the study they analyzed 6 different scenarios, 3 involving CD’s and 3 involving downloadable music. For the purposes of my query I stuck with the options of  purchasing a CD at a traditional retail establishment vs album downloaded from an online site and used digitally.

The study is very in-depth and goes into a lot of statistics that left me feeling like Penny vs Sheldon on Big Bang Theory, however, the basic summary is this…  “purchasing music digitally reduces the energy and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions associated with delivering music to customers by between 40 and 80% from the best-case physical CD delivery, depending on whether a customer then burns the files to CD or not. This reduction is due to the elimination of CDs, CD packaging, and the physical delivery of CDs to the household. Based on these assumptions, online delivery is clearly superior from an energy & CO2 perspective when compared to traditional CD distribution.”

So, while this may not be the best answer for all of us, including the small record store owner, it is a preferred scenario to purchasing an entire album for just one or two songs, or if you are just going to burn it and put the CD on a shelf, only to be touched next by your grand kids who marvel at the shiny huge disc, like we did with 8 Tracks. If however, you are going to love the CD and take it everywhere you go, shop small, shop local. Support your community record store.

Tags: Ally Sheedy, Big Bang Theory, Boys2Men, Carnegie Mellon University, compact discs, downloadable music, High Fidelity, iTunes, John Mellencamp, lawrence Berkely National Laboratory, Penny, Pretty in Pink, records, Sheldon, Stanford University, vinyl

D2E Boston 2010 Update!

We have less than a month to go before the third annual Down:2:Earth Expo (April 9-11!) and we are committed to making it the most valuable and entertaining event to date. We’ve been hard at work this year to provide you with the very best in green information and exhibits.

Keynote Speaker James Hansen

This year we have something for everyone! Check out the highlights below including talks by James Hansen and Mayim Bialik, workshops on everything from the future of energy to butter-making and special features such as our Local Bites event and a Water Sculpture by Christine Destrempes.

Spread the word!

We’ve also been highlighting opportunities for the greater Boston community to come together around green lifestyle online, by bringing you updates, promotions and info on our facebook page, via twitter and here on our blog. Be sure to friend and follow us to contribute to the conversation! Watch for special discounts and promotions from us and our exhibitors over the next month!

In addition to over 100 exhibitors this year, we also have seven areas for workshops and activities, including the D2E Main Stage, Green in Action room, Thought Leaders Room, Spring Eco-Garden Stage, Kitchen Theater, Kids’ Block and Video Project Theater.  See below to learn more:

Climate Change

We are delighted to have James Hansen – noted climate scientist and author of “Storms of My Grandchildren” – join us to discuss the urgent crisis we currently confront.

Green Living Speaker and Celebrity Mayim Bialik

Homes and Families

• Mayim Bialik of the hit 90s tv show “Blossom”, will be talking about her commitment to green living and parenting on our main stage.

• Natural Home and Garden Magazine Editor In Chief Robyn Griggs Lawrence, will take you on a virtual tour of the greenest homes in the US.

• Local green home experts Laura Catanzaro and Paul Marquis will teach you how to green your small condo, dorm or apartment.
  

Local Business

NPR’s WBUR host Robin Young joins us for an in-depth interview with Laury Hammel, executive director of the Sustainable Business Network.

Jobs

Find a career path that contributes to the green economy at our jobs workshop.

Energy and Water

• Learn about the future of energy with our panel of clean energy experts.
• Teens – find out what clean energy means and how you can learn more.
  
• How sustainable are your water practices? We’ll dive into regional issues with our expert panelists.

Food

• Oleana Chef Ana Sortun and Siena Farm’s Chris Kurth join us for a unique cooking demo.
  

• Our Local Bites Party brings together local sustainable chefs, food producers, green restaurants, sustainable wine and beer to celebrate Boston\’s thriving local food culture.
  

http://www.flickr.com/photos/left-hand/ / CC BY-ND 2.0

Garden

• Learn about organic lawn care at our Safe Lawns session sponsored by Mahoney’s.
  

• We will have an entire garden area set up at the show. Don’t miss it!

Check our full schedule for more related events.

Check out our exhibitor list for related green products and services.
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Get your tickets now and get ready for D2E 2010!

Friday, April 9 – 5:00pm-9:00pm: Local Bites Party
Saturday, April 10 – 11:00am-7:00pm
Sunday, April 11 – 11:00am-5:00pm

BIG Belly

Last week I grabbed a pizza and headed for Copley Square to enjoy my lunch in front of the park. When I finished my delicious Uppercrust I headed for a trash receptacle and encountered Big Belly!

Big Belly is as friendly as he sounds, being the first Solar Powered Trash Compactor that does exactly that, compresses the garbage thrown into it’s belly making room for five times more trash than traditional trash receptacles.

The best part about Big Belly is that he is powered by solar panels when compacting all the trash and he reduces the number of collection trips needed to pick up all trash. This cost effective friendly belly cuts fuel use and greenhouse gas emissions by 80%.

Next time you see Big Belly be sure to feed him trash that his belly can compress!

Tags: Big Belly, compactor, garbage, greenhouse gas, solar

MIT Shares Solar Research

Tags: Elizabeth Campbell, Energy, fossil fuel, solar

Recycling Electronics

I’ve mentioned before that Lorelei has a tendency of collecting items in her office until she finds a recyclable destination for them, she refuses to throw things that can be recycled. The most recent items in her collection consists of a cell phone with it’s charger, a key board, and a mouse. Good news is we found a destination for them!

There are several companies that accept donations of electronics, and will even give you cash for these items. Take for example Second Rotation, all you have to do is fill a form stating the condition of the item you want to donate/sell and send it to them via a free shipping service. Within a week Second Rotation sends you an email telling you how much you can get paid for your donated item. Funding Factory has a similar concept and everything (other than the shipping of the item) is processed digitally when you sign up for a free account online, if you don’t want the cash they have a reward system where you can accumulate points and get stuff.

These companies find various destinations for these electronics. Phones that are still functional are re-used and those that are not, are taken apart re-using parts for other items. You never know where your donation can end up, take for instace Brittany Bergquist and brother Robbie from Norwell, Massachusetts. They began the Cell Phone for Soldiers program, in 2004 which allows the troops in the Middle East to call home with a prepaid cell phone. It’s people like Robbie and Brittany that make a difference, now it’s our turn, no use throwing your cell phones sending them to landfills, when you can be responsible, and down to earth.

Sustainably yours
Nathalie Zegarra

Tags: community, electronics, recycle