Greening

The Journey of Greening Jam Cruise

Greening Jam Cruise is a grassroots program that has bravely ventured into uncharted waters through the hard work and dedication of several pioneering spirits…Since the maiden voyage in 2003, the environmental footprint of Jam Cruise has been greatly reduced, and the places we’ve visited have been graced by a group of conscious music fans dedicated to leaving a positive legacy in our wake. The journey of Greening Jam Cruise has been filled with many successes and ongoing challenges. We’re all in this together, and by sharing the ups and downs of our journey, we hope to inspire some of you to be a part of the solution in our continued efforts to make Jam Cruise as conscious as possible.

Carbon Offsetting

Jam Cruise 6 was CARBON NEUTRAL! For the third year in a row, Greening Jam Cruise has included carbon-offsetting options for passengers. With proceeds from the greening auction, passenger donations and financial support from Cloud 9 Adventures, Jam Cruise 6 offset 100% of the emissions from the five-day cruise. We worked together with Trees, Water & People, a nonprofit organization that helped us achieve this feat through a combination of tree planting and fuel-efficient stove installations. TWP develops and manages continuing reforestation, watershed protection, renewable energy, appropriate technology, and environmental education programs in Latin America and the American West. TWP's international programs have been recognized nationally and internationally, receiving the Ashden Award for Renewable Energy. Next year we will continue this legacy by offering JC7 passengers the opportunity to offset their share of the emissions from the cruise as well as their personal travel.

Waste Management

Waste management on our floating oasis is by far one of the biggest challenges. We undertake a two-pronged approach in this area - waste reduction and recycling. Reducing the amount of waste that is generated on our cruise is an important first step. Brews at Sea on JC6, offering keg beer from Sweetwater, Starr Hill, Asheville and Breckenridge Breweries in biodegradable PLA cups (read more about “sustainable product sourcing” below). This allowed us to reduce the amount of glass waste generated on our journey. We also implemented a new recycling strategy in partnership with ZeroHero Events, which encouraged Jam Cruise passengers to participate in pre-sorting waste streams through the use of designated waste stations positioned throughout the ship and manned by volunteer waste educators. This visible and interactive approach to recycling left a positive impression on our passengers and allowed them to be active participants in waste management.

On the final day of JC6 we offloaded approximately 24 tons of glass, plastic and aluminum which were destined to be recycled. However, due to extremely strict USDA regulations governing international waste, a small portion of the recycling was found to be contaminated by food and rejected. The old adage “one bad apple can ruin the entire bushel” was certainly true in this situation. However, there is a silver lining - we were able to transport our waste to the Broward County, Florida Waste-to-Energy Plant where it was turned into electricity and put into the grid in Southern Florida. This facility is a fully permitted Title V facility with state-of-the-art vapor recovery controls and scrubbers, and is regulated by the EPA and strictly monitors air and water quality. This waste-to-energy plant provides power to 80,000 homes a year.

Sustainable Product Sourcing (SPS)

A new accomplishment this year was the sustainable product replacement program. This effort entails purchasing materials that are reusable, recyclable, or biodegradable. You may have noticed some of the SPS products on JC6, such as the biodegradable PLA cups provided by Brews at Sea Breweries (made from corn polymers) used to replace plastic cups, along with the biodegradable garbage bags that were used at the waste stations. Jam Cruise green sponsors' donations of biodegradable and organic soaps and personal care products from Nature’s Gate and Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps, recycled paper from Your True Nature and GPA, biodegradable garbage bags from Trellis Earth, organic fair-trade coffee from Buy Well Int’l and yerba mate from Guayaki represent consumption choices with sustainability in mind. Thank you to all of our green sponsors!

Leaving a Positive Legacy

This past year we expanded into the realm of social action with several activities. In partnership with Conscious Alliance we coordinated a successful school supplies drive. JC6 passengers generously donated two pallets of much needed school supplies which went directly to children's charities in Roatan and Cozumel. In addition, Conscious Alliance donated 1000 pounds of Pangea Organics soap to the Roatan Children's Fund. And, a special thanks to Trojan for donating 3,000 condoms which we delivered to the AIDS Prevention Program in Roatan. While we were delivering supplies in Roatan we stopped by the Majken Broby Children's Home where 14 JC6 artists played a joyful set of acoustic music for the children who live at the orphanage. This event positively touched the lives of not only the children but also of those of us lucky enough to be present. Our final gift to the Roatan Children's Fund was a high quality copy machine which was purchased with the proceeds that were generated by auctioning off one of LEBO's live JC6 paintings. The thank you note we received from RCF's Executive Director highlights just how important this donation was to them : "It's hard for us here in the United States to understand how a school with over 620 students has actually operated for so long without a copier. Your generous donation will now forever change the way this school will be able to operate. The teachers will now be able to pass out home work and tests to the students. The administration will have the ability to send notes and announcements home to parents. The principal will have a way to get information out to all the teachers. We take all these simple things for granted (in the USA) but this school has not been able to afford this type of communication. I want you know how much your gift will help the Arnaldo Auld School and all the children for years and years to come. We do hope that you will return to Roatan soon and visit the school and meet the children."

In Cozumel, 30 Jam Cruise volunteers cleaned up 1,000 pounds of trash from a beach about two miles away from our port. While we were there we delivered school supplies to Cozumel Chrysalis Group and donated nearly $450 to NUAFA (Nucleo de Apoya Familiar - means Heart of Family Support). Recently we received these words of thanks from NUAFA: “…the cash donation was used for a significant facility improvement...to have new iron gates made, painted and installed on the patio which is the entrance to NUAFA. The gates provide greater security for the children in daycare and also secure the property to prevent loss of assets. This is the first time that NUAFA has had a way to lock the facility! New gates have been needed for a very long time but the organization didn't have the resources to replace the old rickety ones. THANKS again for all your time and effort invested in coordinating activities for the Jam Cruise--Greening Team to benefit Cozumel!” Next year we plan to expand the Leaving a Positive Legacy program to allow more passengers and artists to participate. If any of you have suggestions for service activities please feel free to contact our greening coordinator at peaceinme@comcast.net. We welcome your participation.

* photos © 2008, Mat Wenthe - all rights reserved

Biodiesel R&D

Blue Sun Biodiesel is leading the way towards the potential use of biodiesel on Jam Cruise for the future. A biodiesel test program last year warranted the approval from the engine-manufacturer Wartsila-Sultzer to use 100% biodiesel in the engines they build for MSC. Due to technical reasons, they did not approve the use of a blend of biodiesel (B20) therefore our main obstacle is the cost of using 100% pure biodiesel, which represents a significant premium over the standard cost of fuel. We are considering various fundraising strategies to help us achieve this long term goal, but with the current fuel turmoil, it may be some time before this is attainable. Stay tuned for updates in this department.

The journey continues…

We remain committed to finding solutions to the challenges of greening a cruise-based festival. We believe it is important for all of us to be informed about the environmental impact of cruise travel and to work toward positive changes that will effectively reduce that impact. Recently MSC Cruises won four environmental certificates in recognition of technological innovations that have allowed them to make significant advances with regard to safeguarding the environment. They also received a perfect score of 100 for cleanliness on the ship inspection just prior to the JC6 adventure on Lirica. We will continue to reach out to MSC to implement changes that reduce our environmental impact. The challenges that the cruise industry faces will not be solved overnight and will require that we all stay focused on the larger common vision of building a sustainable future. We will continue to share these exciting developments with you throughout the year.

Be a part of the solution

In order to make the Jam Cruise greening program the best it can be we need your support and participation. There are lots of ways to get involved, and here are just a few suggestions:

1. Put waste/recycling in its proper place.
2. Offset your carbon.
3. Let your cabin steward know that you want to reuse your towels/linens.
4. Take short showers.
5. Bring a reusable water bottle.
6. Avoid wasting food by overfilling your plate.
7. Don’t throw cigarette butts overboard.
8. Get involved with Leaving a Positive Legacy activities.
9. Volunteer a few hours of your time for greening onboard.
10. Be aware of your impact and make your consumption choices consciously.
11. Be a catalyst for change.
12. Take care of yourself, each other and the planet we live on.

We look forward to seeing you on Jam Cruise 7!