Patty PerShayla & The Mayhaps

Opting out of the Paris Agreement was one of the Trump administration's first ecological offenses. It is the responsibility of developed countries to mitigate carbon emissions and preserve our natural resources for future generations, third world countries, and endangered species. While leaders should be held accountable for their impact on climate change, it is still our obligation to fundamentally change our way of living as business owners and citizens of this sole planet we call home. Change starts from within.

As an artist, I have many platforms for speaking up about climate change and I intend to continue motivating myself, my colleagues, and my community to be active in reducing our environmental impact. Songwriting is a great place to start, but I want these efforts to be a staple of my mission as a performer and small business owner, as well.

Carbon emissions: I am a vegetarian (with minimal dairy in my diet) and make many of our band meals meat-free. Starting with that seems silly but industrial meat has a greater impact on the planet than cars. We carpool to our shows whenever possible and are looking at diesel fuel for our next touring vehicle. I would like to eventually have an electric vehicle but it is not possible for me at this time. My home studio is partly powered by solar panels!

Plastic: I bring a reusable water bottle with me everywhere and am committed to working with venues to make this the industry standard for bands and concert-goers. We give preference to environmentally-friendly festivals and venues and are noticing positive changes in the live music industry over the years. We use 100% cotton T-shirts for our merch, sourced from USA-based, fair trade, eco-conscious businesses. We are also looking into recycled vinyl and alternative CD casing for our next release (though sales for these are changing due to the increasing digital nature of the music business). I have also noticed radio stations' new music submissions shifting to digital-only, minimizing waste from disc casing and shipping.

Finances: All of our banking is done through a local credit union, in protest of big banks that help fund elections with oil companies. We are also in a position to start investing, and are looking to alternative energy companies close to home (especially considering Line 5, a known contaminant our Great Lakes).

We want to be transparent in our emissions and are proud of the Michigan music community's efforts in keeping our lakes, land, and air clean. We are making a commitment to educating ourselves, speaking up, and (most importantly) taking action for a sustainable future.