life

The Duhks

Updated: July 21, 2010

Painting the Town Green

By Christa Fletcher

"Can you hear the ocean?" asks Tania Elizabeth. "It's so beautiful."

Before taking a hike in the Back Bay National Refuge in Virginia, Tania chatted about saving the planet, changing bio-diesel fuel tank filters and touring with her band, The Duhks (pronounced "ducks"). With no shortage of cities to visit and environmental groups to meet, this fiddler not only gave us the skinny (via cell phone) on reducing your carbon footprint, she also talked music and how she strives to live green everyday.

"I'm a big advocate of organic foods and I'm a vegetarian," added Tania. "It's part of my everyday plan to eat healthy."

It's become easier in recent years to eat organic and local foods when Tania and the rest of the band from Winnipeg, Manitoba are on tour. "Seven years ago it was hard. Now it's such a fad." Though green is the new black -- with celebrities and environmental agencies uniting to stop climate change and promote recycling -- the Duhks were environmentalists before it became trendy. "We do it because it's our passion."

In addition to their own eco-endeavor, The Duhks Sustainability Project, they are currently partnered with several green groups like Clifbar's GreenNotes Program, which helps them get in touch with local environmental groups and issues, so they can set up booths. "A lot of Duhks fans are environmentalists," said Tania. "And they say thanks for the organic T-shirts we have at our concerts that they normally wouldn't buy." Did we already mention that the shirts are also sweatshop free?

Yet, minimizing their carbon footprint isn't always an easy road to take. The band's encountered their share of problems, particularly with their bio-diesel fueled tour van. "Really do the research on your vehicle. Make sure your diesel engine can handle it," Tania said with a laugh. "We have to change the fuel filter every couple of tanks."

Thankfully sites like BioDiesel.org help them find fill ups through GPS. "They're super easy to find. It's quite a different experience from hitting a regular gas station. Indie gas operators are always interested in seeing a band that uses bio-diesel," explained Tania. "The people we meet are a huge highlight."