Warped Tour to be environmentally sustainable

According to a story in the El Paso Times, the 2008 edition of the Warped Tour will be the long-running tour's attempt to reduce its carbon footprint.

Known as the "Warped Eco Initiative", the tour will use biodiesel fuel for the tour's large vehicles and solar power for the smaller Kia/Kevin Says stages and Warped Eco tent. The tour will be promoting reusable shopping bags which run $2.00 and tour organizer Kevin Lyman hopes that people will use the bags for the myriad of swag and merchandise they find at the show. The bands will be getting their catered meals on reusable cutlery and dishes as well.

The cost of these initiatives is not insubstantial, with fuel costs expected to be $200,000 over what originally was budgeted. Lyman also mentions the rising fuel costs and what that means for the tour:

People are hurting. Reality is setting in. The Warped Tour, for a lot of people, is still that county fair that comes to town once a year. They can have a crazy time. It's still artificially cheap. That's why I do have corporate sponsors. I have to keep the prices low.

You can find more on the story here.