A green party

Until the 1990s, huge excavators used to extract coal from the ground in the small town of Gräfenhainichen near Dessau in eastern Germany. The open-cast mining site, known as Ferropolis, has since been decommissioned. But the hulking, rusting mining machinery now provides the backdrop for one of Europe's biggest music festivals.

Every year for a few days in July, the place throbs with music, strobe lights and lasers as the Indie and electronic music festival Melt! takes center stage. Some 150 bands and DJs perform on several stages set amid the industrial ruins in front of an estimated 20,000 fans from all over Europe.

But the huge party also has a downside. E-guitars, amplifiers, stage lights and other festival technology guzzle massive amounts of electricity – some 73,000 kilowatt hours over three days. It's hardly surprising that the festival emits as much carbon dioxide as a small town. And the problem isn't confined to Melt! Other music festivals tend to have a similarly ruinous impact on the environment.

But there are signs of change. Whether it's love, fighting poverty or world peace – music with a message has always been a part of festivals. Saving the climate is no exception. The organizers of Melt! Are now taking innovative steps to cut the event's emissions and lower its carbon footprint.

With a climate initiative dubbed M!Eco, organizers are trying to raise environmental awareness among festival goers and taking concrete steps to become more environment-friendly.

They include installing solar modules on the festival grounds which can generate enough energy each year to power two festivals. Some 700 music lovers are now ferried to the event in trains instead of using their cars. The festival grounds also have solar charging stations for mobile phones and even a bicycle disco where participants push hard on their pedals to play music. A deposit system is aimed at collecting in one place the around 200 tons of rubbish generated over the party weekend.

The “Green Music initiative,” a climate protection program founded by the music industry in Germany is also part of the carbon-cutting efforts. The aim is to make the event a pioneer in climate protection. Organizers hope other festivals too will take a cue from it.

A film by Brigitta Moll (sp)