Jeep 48STRAIGHT is the largest sports, music and entertainment event in the U.S. The summer mountain bike series launches August 22-23 at Diablo Freeride Park at Mountain Creek Resort in Vernon, NJ. Its outdoor lifestyle platform will at the same time unveil a number of carbon footprint-reducing initiatives designed to raise environmental awareness on a local and national scale.

As the ultimate celebration of the outdoor experience, Jeep 48STRAIGHT credits the outdoors as a place to test the limits of human performance, if not sanity, as well as source of a more healthy, responsible and progressive lifestyle. This message is reinforced at three events taking place from August through October across the U.S. In addition to the kickoff in New Jersey, Jeep 48STRAIGHT will visit The Canyons Resort in Park City, UT, on September 19-20 and The Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo, CA, on October 24-25.

During its inaugural winter season, Jeep 48STRAIGHT hosted a series of “Green Your Scene” environmental symposiums featuring a diverse lineup of guest speakers at the forefront of the sustainability movement, including Mariel Hemingway, Michael Franti, Aimée Christensen, Auden Schendler and Rocky Anderson. More than 700 residents from across Idaho visited Sun Valley to take part in the discussion and the issue of climate change and the mountain lifestyle.

This summer, Jeep 48STRAIGHT will promote “Green Your Scene” tips at each event, as well as weekly tips on its newly expanded website, www.48Straight.com, beginning on August 15. The tips will offer outdoor enthusiasts of all ages ideas on how to reduce their carbon footprint at home. For example, “If 20,000 Americans took one less paper napkin at a fast food restaurant, in one year we could conserve the total annual paper use of 50 Americans.” (www.idealbite.org)

Jeep 48STRAIGHT is seeking partners to help implement a new “Less Trash – More Rewards” program. At each summer event, attendees will receive green corn-plastic garbage bags for use in collecting recyclable materials such as aluminum cans or plastic bottles. Once the entire bag is full, attendees return the full bags in exchange for a free bag or beverage of their choice in reward. This initiative was recently tested at a music festival in Europe and 97 percent of the cups used at the festival concession stands were brought back for recycling as a result. Those interested in partnering with Jeep 48STRAIGHT on this program may contact event representative Kate Danaher at kdanaher@48Straight.com.

NOW FOR THE RACING

The action packed Jeep 48STRAIGHT weekend is headlined by the Jeep 48STRAIGHT Mountain Bike Series, featuring top ranked racers battling in dual slalom format for the richest payout in professional mountain bike racing. Local professionals and semipros also have a chance to earn a spot in the competition through an open qualifier competition. For non-elite amateurs and club riders, Jeep 48STRAIGHT offers an Indy-Cross competition allowing participants to earn prizes and test their mettle while trying to beat a blistering time set by one of the world’s top ranked professional racers. Off the dirt, spectators are treated to a Sponsor Alley, with free gear from partners including Jeep, Paul Mitchell, Trikke, Michelin, Rossignol and Adidas Eyewear, as well as free concerts from top musicians and other cross-cultural initiatives celebrating the unique cultural flavor of each host site.

THE SHORT LIST

This year’s roster of athletes includes names such as World Champions Greg Minnaar, Brian Lopes and Eric Carter; current World and National Champ Melissa Buhl; U.S. National Champion Rich Houseman; World Cup Champion Steve Peat; and Beijing Olympic Games athletes Michal Prokop and Jill Kintner.

Full event information, including dates, times, and locations, as well as registration for the cycling competitions, may be found at www.48STRAIGHT.com.

Each event of the Jeep 48STRAIGHT summer season will receive national broadcast coverage on CBS Sports, representing the most visibility of any mountain biking event in the sport. The event from New Jersey will air on CBS Sports on September 28.