Nashville, Tennessee... May 2, 2008....Gibson Foundation, the philanthropic division of musical instrument manufacturer, Gibson Guitar, furthers its support of environmental causes with the announcement of its recent sponsorship of the Natural Resources Defense Council's Eco Salon held in Nashville, Tennessee in April. The gathering, hosted by legendary singer/songwriter Emmylou Harris and featuring keynote speaker Robert Kennedy, Jr., attracted some of the music industry's elite including Sheryl Crow, Kathy Mattea, Big Kenny, Christiev Alphin, Matraca Berg, Jeff Hanna, J.D. Souther, Jon Vezner, Paul Kennerly and Nashville's Mayor Karl Dean. In addition to NRDC Founder John Adams, President Frances Bienecke, and Scientist Dr. Allen Hershkowitz, Gibson Guitar Chairman and CEO Henry Juszkiewicz and Gibson President Dave Berryman, along with Warner Bros. John Esposito and Bill Bennett and power managers Gary Borman and Ken Levitan, gathered in support of the NRDC goal to educate the creative community in Nashville about alternative energy sources to mountaintop coal mining. The effort is to keep the "country" in country music. Nashville is the sixth-largest consumer of all cities of electricity produced with mountaintop coal -- the debris from this production is dumped into the environment.
(L to R) -John Adams, Founder NRDC; Frances Beinecke, President, NRDC; Dave Berryman, President Gibson Guitar Corp & Henry Juszkiewicz, Chairman & CEO Gibson Guitar Corp with customized NRDC Epiphone Guitar at Eco Salon at home of Emmylou Harris.
"Mountaintop removal coal mining is the most environmentally damaging form of energy extraction. This practice destroys our mountains, pollutes our air and water, and devastates local communities," said Frances Beinecke, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council. "We look forward to working with Emmylou Harris and the Gibson Foundation to raise awareness and to put an end to this devastating practice. One of the most important investments our country can make today is to purchase clean, renewable energy. These days it's easy for people to make that clean choice, which is what we've done for Emmylou Harris by purchasing a year's worth of renewable energy for her home."
Gibson Foundation has long been a trailblazer and worldwide supporter of environmental programs. Gibson began working with the Rainforest Alliance in 1995, and was the first musical instrument company to produce guitars using Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) - certified wood. Gibson Guitar Chairman and CEO Henry Juszkiewicz is a long-standing Rainforest Alliance board member and, in 2006, committed the company to a 5-year plan of producing certified wood instruments - also in line with its partnership of Greenpeace's efforts to green the entire musical manufacturing industry. The Gibson Foundation also supports the Environmental Defense Fund's global warming campaign, Global Green's green building efforts in Los Angeles and New Orleans, and is proud of its committment to help provide clean water to the millions of people who do not have this basic human need by supporting WaterAid's efforts in the Benue State of Nigeria and A Child's Right in orphanages in China, Columbia and Nepal.