Adam Gardner was at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry campus Sunday as part of the fourth annual Campus Consciousness Tour. He and other sustainability leaders introduced a documentary on sustainable biodiesel production and led a discussion on the topic in ESF’s Marshall Auditorium.

The Daily Orange sat down with Gardner to discuss his and his band’s commitment to sustainability and his experience on campus Sunday.

For the schools that you’ve visited multiple times on your tours, did you notice a greener campus?

Yeah. I would love to claim credit for that, but I think that’s just a matter of the environment becoming more on people’s minds than before. When I started Reverb in 2004, carbon offsets and biodiesel were foreign words. Now they’re part of the dictionary. For students on campus, like I said, I think it’s really important. There seems to be a dichotomy between students that are super hardcore and into this stuff and want change to happen and students that have no interest whatsoever or no clue whatsoever. They might have an interest if they had a clue. So, we’re hoping to be that catalyst and bring more students to the table.

Have you gotten any feedback from students who had no idea about how to be sustainable, but heard you talk and became interested in changing their ways?

That actually has happened. That’s the good part. It’s not just theory; it’s actually working. Students will come to these kinds of activities and say, ‘I’m just here to learn something. I don’t know anything. I would like to.’ There are different types of students. There’s the student who couldn’t care less. There’s the student that is interested but has no idea what to do. And then there’s the student that cares a lot and wants to know how to expand it, and we’re trying to get all of those students.

In what ways do you personally live green?

I don’t use my car very much when I’m home. I live in a town that’s very walkable. I live in Portland, Maine. It’s colder in the winter, but you just put on warmer clothes. The Reverb office is walking distance from our home…movie theaters, restaurants, walking distance from our home. I eat vegetarian, which is probably the biggest thing that anyone can do. Simple things that your mom always used to say, ‘Put on a sweater, turn off the lights, not running the water as you’re brushing your teeth.’

You mentioned in the discussion that your wife is the one that got you to be green. How did she convince you and how did you live before?

It wasn’t that I was against being green or anything like that. It was just I didn’t know about stuff. I was like, ‘I’m open to this. I just don’t know what to do.’ For example, when I heard about Neil Young using biodiesel where we were, we didn’t have a bus at the time. When we did have a bus, it didn’t even occur to me that biodiesel was a reality. It was for superstars and not for a small band. Guster was actually one of the first bands to do that, and that opened it up for other bands at our level.

How do you incorporate green themes into your music?

Musically, we kind of keep away from it, to be honest. To me, the sustainability part of it is the business side of our band and how we make our business sustainable. We have plenty of messaging outside of the music itself with the Eco-Village, with the nonprofit groups, with our Web site, that it doesn’t have to a part of our music. While it’s a part of our lives, it may seep into some lyrics here and there. I don’t think you’ll be hearing us writing songs about carbon offsets or biodiesel or corn cups.

You mentioned in the discussion how Jack Johnson has his own record company so he can put out his records as sustainable as he wants. Have you ever considered going that route?

Yeah, it’s hard. We’re tied into these extended contracts with these major labels. In fact, we were very much considering joining Brushfire Records, and we may end up on that label next year, depending on how this next record comes out on Columbia (Records). But that’s a challenge. That’s where perception is difficult. It’s not us putting out the record. It’s our label putting out the record. It’s us trying to convince the label to do that right thing, and that’s hard.

How can students that don’t really know a lot about being green live green in an easy way?

If there’s recycling on your campus, make sure that you’re recycling that stuff. And if it’s not easy, then talk to somebody about making it easier. If you don’t have a little recycling bin in your dorm room, talk to somebody about making that happen. Encourage other people to do the same thing in a way that’s just like, ‘Hey, this is simple. It’s not a big deal. It makes a difference. Let’s do it.’ Set the example… Even something as simple as buying a non-petroleum based lip balm is making a decision for the environment. Organic food, obviously, is great. That’s more expensive for college students, so it’s not always the easiest thing.

Published on April 26, 2009 at 12:00 pm