A concert by Tempe pop-rock band The Maine has been deemed a suitable prize for "America's Greenest School." IC Bus, the nation's top school bus manufacturer, will pay the band to play a show at whatever school wins its second-annual contest.
The school also gets a new hybrid school bus valued at $150,000 (booooring), a $20,000 green makeover (snooze), an LEED school audit (seriously?), and a $3,000 scholarship (wow, that'll almost pay for books).
Now, you'll have to judge for yourself whether "winning" an LEED audit for your school (whatever the hell that is) is worth seeing The Maine, but singer John O'Callaghan sure hopes you enter.
"We're extremely happy to be partnering with IC Bus for the 2010 America's Greenest School contest," he said. "Being green is important to our band, our fans and the planet, and this contest is a great way to highlight the little things that make a big difference -- like riding the bus instead of driving. We're excited about playing at the winning school and encourage all of our fans to enter, and to go green."
The Maine has already done one show connected to the contest, playing at a pep rally concert for the 2009 winner, Irvington High School in Freemont, California. Irvington appears to be quite a school indeed: Those Silicon Valley geeks had a controversy over their nickname, "The Vikings," which some faculty members apparently think is not politically correct. Really? Actually, yeah, that sounds about right for a school nerdy enough to win this contest.
As for The Maine, in the list of ways they've become green you'll find this: "We keep all of our showers very short -- anything over three minutes is a waste of water!" Ahem. There's no way those dudes could shampoo such glorious mops of hair in so little time. Really, kids, are you sure you want these stinkballs at your school?
Anyway, to enter students should submit a variety of entries, such as a photo collection, music, a video, an essay, or photos of a diorama, collage or piece of artwork, which illustrate the vision for how they'd make their school a greener place. Hint: Buses really help, or so says the bus-making company.
"Since every school bus has the capacity to take 36 cars off the road, school bus transportation is inherently eco-friendly. As part of their contest entry, we would like students to demonstrate how their school is committed to green transportation," added a spokesman for the company. Contest details and entry guidelines are available at AmericasGreenestSchool.com.
