Forget the Blues, rising indie-rock star Kelley Stoltz is singing the Greens. With his new, crticially acclaimed record, Below the Branches (Sub Pop ), Stoltz is breaking new ground in the music industry as the first artist to offset the greenhouse gasses emitted during the creation of his album with renewable-energy credits.

With the help of the Bonneville Environmental Foundation and the Green-e program, which has become the gold standard of made-with-renewable-energy certification, Stolz set the precedent easily and affordably. Green-e labels are beginning to appear on products from wine bottles and organic juices to carpets, and – now – CD cases.

In an interview on ModernPeaPod.com Stoltz explains, in rocker patois: “You can buy into the electricity grid and get renewable energy credits... I've been using oil and stuff like that, glutins and war-causers - you can replace that with wind power and solar power being pushed into the system instead. For like $120.”

Given how easy it is to buy offsets, it begs the question: Why aren't more of us offseting the carbon emissions from our professional and personal activities, whether it's traveling, designing, building, or blog-writing?

Photo credit: Modern Pea Pod