U2 doesnt go green on their 360 tour

The blogosphere is lighting up with criticism for the U2 360 tour. With good reason. For a group that touts the importance of sustainability and humanitarian efforts, they have really opened themselves up for the attack. From a 90 million dollar stage, the carbon impact of moving it and the band's private jet escapades, I find it laughable that they are going to be able to offset their carbon footprint as they claim on their site.

"We identified areas the tour could first and foremost REDUCE its environmental impact without compromising the quality of the fan experience. We are now in the process of implementing these recommendations with Live Nation. Next we will announce a customized U2 U2-360° Tour OFFSET strategy, reflecting the band's robust social change commitment, to offset the remaining tour emissions," said Michael Martin, MusicMatters' Founder and President.

There has been no update to their OFFSET strategy to address just how exactly they will be offsetting their massive carbon footprint of over 65,000 tons of CO2. I guess they are planning on planting 20,000 trees or making a serious investment in carbon offsets.

The bands excuse seems to be in the name of Rock N' Roll baby!!! They are doing it all for the fans of course. Well I'm a HUGE U2 fan. They are actually my favorite band of all time. I saw the Vertigo Tour and it was absolutely amazing. I prefer outdoor amphitheatre shows, and was really hesitant that I was gonna like being stuck in a seat in an arena atmosphere. U2 did not disappoint, they designed the entire concert to make the most out of the arena experience. I laughed, I cried, I got beer spilled on me and was thrown down a flight of stairs only to complain and get better seats. Would this concert experience have been enhanced if it was outdoors? For me yes, I would have avoided a nasty fall and avoided stinking of beer. But seriously, It only makes sense for a band that wants to "become better in looking after out planet" to take a more aggressive approach at incorporating sustainability into their tours. How can they expect their fans to take any credence in their humanitarian efforts if they aren't willing to walk the walk with how they make a living? They have such a massive global appeal, all they need to do is step up. Other bands will follow suit, and soon concert sustainability will be the norm. You can still rock your face off without contributing to the world's demise.