SEPULTURA GO GREEN? YEAH RIGHT.

This article about Sepultura allegedly being “carbon neutral” really rankles me. It’s been a while since I ranted about the environment on this website (Gojira’s Joseph Duplantier has done plenty of that for me elsewhere), but it’s time. This Sepultura piece is bullshit.

In theory, being carbon neutral is an admirable goal. The problem is that it’s very unlikely that Sepultura are actually carbon neutral. First of all the article cites no source and doesn’t explain what Sepultura are actually doing to become carbon neutral, but that certainly isn’t the band’s fault.

Touring is absolutely brutal on the environment. There’s the obvious issue of gas consumption and the corollary pollution issues; I’m guessing this is what Andreas Kisser is most concerned with… if he’s even given it any more thought than “Hey, wouldn’t it be cool to try and be green?”. Andreas, how are you planning to uphold your vow to “neutralize” your carbon emissions? Will your bus run on vegetable oil? Will you buy carbon offsets? Please tell me.

But the gas and pollution issues are just the tip of the iceberg. The mobile lifestyle is tough and often demands convenience over what’s best for the environment. Dudes on tour go through bottle of water after bottle of water, which not only creates a ton of waste but requires a lot of gas to ship to its final destination from wherever its source is. Andreas, have you vowed to stop drinking bottled water and opt for filtered (or even straight) tap water instead?  What about the food you’re eating on the road? The meat used at the fast food locations so many touring musicians frequent — and even many finer restaurants — is raised at farms with questionable environmental practices, let alone all the methane that’s produced by cow farts (I’m serious here). And then that meat is shipped hundreds (or more) miles until it reaches you… and hey, guess what Andreas? That uses up gas too. So does shipping “imported” beer all over the world; stop drinking those Heinekens and Amstels  (unless you’re in The Netherlands or Belgium respectively, of course). And how about that big ass fucking air conditioner you no doubt have running on your bus constantly? You’re actually turn that off?

These issues are only the tip of the iceberg. I could keep going. While the idea of being carbon neutral is not only admirable but fashionable, let’s not kid ourselves; Sepultura are not going to be carbon neutral when they’re on tour, now or ever. Neither is any other band.

-VN