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Tuesday, September 4, 2007

Crapolicious Calls Bull on “Green” Bumbershoot

posted by on September 4 at 10:58 AM

I’d read the gripes of a few folks on Line Out about Bumbershoot’s policy of no outside water bottles in Memorial Stadium, but these photos from Crapolicious are worth a thousand words:

scaledBottles.jpg

See the Crapolocious original, “Allegedly ‘Green’ Bumbershoot Crapoliciously Forces Concert-Goers to Throw Away Hundreds of Bottles of Water” here. (And thanks for the heads-up, Mike.)

RSS icon Comments

1

How about calling bull on people who buy bottled water in the first place?

Posted by tiptoe tommy | September 4, 2007 11:04 AM
2

@1,

How else are festival goers going to hydrate themselves?

Posted by keshmeshi | September 4, 2007 11:16 AM
3

#2 - Camelbacks

Posted by zzyzx | September 4, 2007 11:20 AM
4

Tap water is free. FREE!
Bottled water is $6.36 per gallon.

Bottled water costs more than gasoline.

Posted by monkey | September 4, 2007 11:21 AM
5

Bottled water is a pestilence that is clogging our landfills.

They could:

--find a fountain
--bring an empty Nalgene--did they take those too?
--walk to the QFC for a break

I am not endorsing the policy, but it is fairly standard these days at Mariners games, etc. What really disturbs me is this:

http://www.ericacbarnett.com/2007/05/holy_shit.htm

Posted by tiptoe tommy | September 4, 2007 11:25 AM
6

Yeah, but tapwater doesn't filter through the honeycombed strata of Hawaiian onyx. It doesn't stream down the plump thighs of native boys, commingling with the trace nutrients of their innocent sweat. It's not cooled in the natural pools of the volcano's west face. It's not shipped thousands of miles to Madison Market where I can validate myself by shelling out $4 on it. Why would I ever drink tapwater?

Posted by Ziggity | September 4, 2007 11:27 AM
7

I have some questions for the entire Stranger staff who has "reported" on Bumbershoot: Were you required to stand in these lines? Were you required to throw away your water bottle? Were you required to use one of just the two public exits from the Seattle Center, or the single public exit from Memorial Stadium?

Your close-up photos and tales of mingling with members of various bands make me think that perhaps you, Stranger staff, had different access to this festival than us lowly masses. Am I right?

As a member of the proletariat let me tell you that this venue is FUCKED UP. The water policy is insulting, some of the event staff were complete assholes and the traffic "flow" in, out and around the venue was the worst in memory. All for the low, low price of $35.

Fuck One Reel and the civic embarassment that Bumbershoot has become.

Posted by DOUG. | September 4, 2007 11:27 AM
8

I'm about this close to advocating for a ban on bottled water. It is completely stupid, and a total waste, for the most part.

First, it's more expensive than gasoline, even at $3 a gallon. Why? Because people are stupid enough to pay for it. It probably costs about 10 cents a bottle to produce, tops.

Second, for the most part, it isn't any better than what comes out of your tap (there are exceptions). In fact, a lot of bottled water is municipal tap water where it is bottled.

Third: plastic. Why? We drink soda and beer out of cans, but insist our water must be in plastic bottles. Most of it doesn't really get recycled, and will live forever in landfills. Aluminum cans, on the other hand, are very high-value recyclables. Aluminum cans are easy to separate, and cost far less to recycle than manufacture from raw materials. Aluminum cans are recycled and back on store shelves within weeks of you tossing one in a recycle bin.

At the very least, we should ban plastic bottles (for water, soda, or anything else that could be canned instead). If you wanna pay more for water than gasoline, that's fine. But bottlers should be required to put it cans. Or glass bottles (which are also easily recyclable).

Posted by SDA in SEA | September 4, 2007 11:38 AM
9

I have not been to Bumbershoot in a few years since it has gradually been getting to be more of a clusterfuck as opposed to a great place to go and listen to good music. The music is still good (I really wanted to see the Shins) but it has just turned too "corporate" to be enjoyable. (sorry to use the word corporate but raped and pillaged seemed a bit harsh)

Posted by Just Me | September 4, 2007 11:39 AM
10

I wasn't forced to get rid of my non-disposable water bottle. But I'm not sure if that was the policy or if it was because I gave the guy the I'm-so-innocent look.

I just don't get the whole thing. It wasn't to keep people from bringing in liquids, because the provided cups to pour your water into. Maybe it was to keep you from throwing things, but what's to stop you from throwing your cup, or your iced coffee that you could conveniently obtain from Starbucks inside the stadium?

Posted by Laurel | September 4, 2007 11:39 AM
11

@5,

I'm very anti-bottled water when it pertains to idiots who insist on drinking it at home. However, public water fountains are disgusting and it is possible to forget your reusable water bottle at home. By the way, Nalgenes* are toxic so anyone who doesn't want to get cancer shouldn't use them.

*Not to mention that the company that manufactures them also manufactures equipment used in vivisection.

Posted by keshmeshi | September 4, 2007 11:46 AM
12

I've always thought it was ironic that you're not allowed to bring a bumbershoot into Bumbershoot.

Posted by Orv | September 4, 2007 12:06 PM
13


I think few people posting have read the linked article--there were no working water fountains inside of Memorial Stadium, and the sinks had signs exhorting people to not drink the water, so enough with the holier-than-thou "fight bottled water!" folks here who have missed the point entirely.

Posted by Mike Daisey | September 4, 2007 12:16 PM
14

A tad off topic: Has anyone seen those annoying ads for Aquapods?

Are people really this fucking stupid?? Can bottled water be sold to kids through a slightly altered bottle shape? Are parents really dumb enough to believe this will work...?

That commercial seriously chaps my ass every time I see it.

Posted by UNPAID BLOGGER | September 4, 2007 12:24 PM
15

@14: Not only that, that shape obviously won't pack as closely as normal water bottles, so it will be less efficient to ship.

Posted by Orv | September 4, 2007 12:32 PM
16

I guess bottled water manufacturers are taking the same approach as ciggies- hook 'em young, and they'll be yours for life.

Posted by UNPAID BLOGGER | September 4, 2007 12:36 PM
17

Thanks Mike Daisey for helping clarify my point (yes, I'm the one who posted the photos/story at crapolicio.us; and yes I wrote the script for one of your early works - "The Developers" at MSFT w/Filmateria...remember?).

Apparently there were some drinking fountains set up near the mainstage, but I was in the stands with my little ones and didn't want to have to wade through the mosh pit just to quench our thirst; nor did I want to pay $3 to get "new" water from a vendor (can you tell I was pissed off?).

The point of the story is that One Reel/Bumbershoot need to re-think claiming to be "greener than ever" when they force thousands of people to throw away an already-wasteful product on a hot day!

I just wish I had remembered to take pics of the signs on the restroom doors that said "Do not drink water from the sinks." Dang.

If anyone has a photo of that please email to me at:

crapolicious(at)comcast.net

Thanks

Posted by Scott Schaefer | September 4, 2007 12:37 PM
18

like lauren, i had a re-useable water bottle that i wasn't forced to throw away (thank goodness). I take it with me everywhere so I don't have to buy bottled water which is a rip off.

Posted by D. | September 4, 2007 12:43 PM
19

And to add insult to injury, Mike - I sashayed into MS with my Bumbershoot-provided (courtesy of the Gold/Platinum Pass VIP lounge) disposable water bottle via the VIP entry on the NW corner (conveniently entering the field level right next to the water fountains below the VIP seating section), and was not so much as challenged by a single staff member, volunteer or security attendant.

So, apparently it was only the lowly plebes (who, being the rabble that they are, would undoubtedly have used their plastic projectiles to inflict a deadly fusillade against some innocent, unsuspecting bass player at the first opportunity) who were denied conveyance of their precious fluids, while those of us with the "right credentials" were allowed carte-blanche to carry our water bottles wherever we damned-well pleased.

Posted by COMTE | September 4, 2007 1:09 PM
20

Um, yeah, as a couple of people have pointed out, why not bring a reusable water bottle you fill with your own tap water? Those hydrate you just fine.

The vast majority of bottles in the photo look like the one-use dealies from the grocery store.

Posted by Gloria | September 4, 2007 1:51 PM
21

Holy shit. Do any of you ever get laid?

Seriously, who gives a rat's ass about this kind of thing?

Posted by Unclench a tad please | September 4, 2007 2:26 PM
22

I'm sure seattle tap water tastes like crap which is why everyone buys bottled. I guess that's a perk of living outside of the big city. Our tap comes out crystal clear and ice cold, straight from the well. it's better than what you can buy in a bottle :) poor city dwellers

Posted by FS | September 4, 2007 2:45 PM
23

It annoyed me because I have one of those crappy water bottles that i was forced to throw away, but I have been reusing that bottle for several weeks now. It has sentimental value to me!

Posted by Patrick | September 4, 2007 3:15 PM
24

Last year I bought a $3 bottle of water in the beer garden only to have it confiscated by security when I exited.

This year I bagged Bumbershoot for the first time in 10 years.

It's lame and getting lamer.

Posted by Time Bomb | September 4, 2007 3:27 PM
25

Actually FS, Seattle's tap water is considered some of the best in the country (Portland's is even better!)

People have just bought into the PR/Marketing line that bottled water is somehow inherently better than tap water, which in most major metropolitan centers at least, is simply untrue.

And having drunk a lot of well water in my day, unless you're pulling from a really deep aquifer, you still run a slight risk of ingesting Giardia or cryptosporidium, not to mention heavy metals, so it's not always a case that rural well water is inherently better than municipal tap water (most of which locally comes from the Cedar River watershed) either.

But then, I'm a mineral water man, myself.

Posted by COMTE | September 4, 2007 3:34 PM
26

I was a victim of the water bottle Nazis at Bumbershoot as well. I wanted to mention that people were not allowed to bring ANY water bottles into the main stage/beer garden areas, FULL or EMPTY. So, if you brought an old water bottle with you filled with tap water (which is something I commonly do), you were forced to throw it out if you wanted to see the big shows or grab a beer. While you were in the beer garden, you could shell out $2 and buy another bottle of water, but then had to throw that one out before you left. The event staff could only give fuzzy, inconsistent reasons for why this was the case (they probably don’t know the real reasons). Whether bottled water is evil or not is really not the point, folks. The point is that Bumbershoot is claiming to be "green" this year, but is instead unbelievably wasteful! Someone should call them on their hypocrisy, that’s all.

Posted by AP | September 4, 2007 3:40 PM
27

I am glad that someone was able to capture that picture. I was very angered when I had to throw away my bottle of water because I was refilling it up the whole day. I think most people were planning to do the same thing. Plus, every time I asked for an explanation the reason was ludicrous. At the main stage the guy working at security said that it was to prevent people from throwing water bottles on stage. However, I never had to get rid of my water bottle at any of the other stages.
Bumbershoot claims to be green. We need to call them on their hypocritical bullshit.

Posted by Dawn | September 4, 2007 5:00 PM
28

@7, I'm confused, because I kept hearing other folks bitching about this all weekend, too, except here's the facts:

1) There were MORE than two public entrances and exits at Bumbershoot this past weekend, and

2) There was only one less entrance than last year, and they closed that Key Arena entrance because it didn't have high traffic and the Arena wasn't rented as part of the Festival.

Posted by Mickymse | September 4, 2007 5:21 PM
29

Ewwww...ever been to the rural areas of SW WA??? I dare you to WILLINGLY drink that well water...sulfur, sulfur, sulfur. I think the main idea for the tossing of the water bottles was $$$$$---forcing you to spend money on something once you were inside.

Posted by crazy cat lady | September 5, 2007 12:43 PM

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