7. Serj Tankian

A few days before the fifth anniversary of the Iraq War, Serj Tankian is sitting in an Austin hotel room and ruminating on the costs of the endless battle. But Tankian isn't talking about dead soldiers or civilians; he's talking about the cost to the Middle East's environment, an issue that few people have raised. "The topsoil there has been destroyed," he says, "and who knows what kind of damage all those bombs have caused to the ecosystems in the Middle East?"

Many bands these days are claiming the "green" label, but their concern often starts at the merch table and ends at the recycling bin. Not so for the System of a Down frontman-turned-solo artist, who sees beyond silos and realizes that issues like electoral reform, recognition of the Armenian genocide, poverty and the environment are all related. As the four-day industry party that is South by Southwest rages below him, Tankian is serious but not humorless; clad in jeans and a T-shirt, he fiddles with his iPhone and shows off pictures of his dog before settling in to ponder weightier issues. Later that night, he brings the seething, schmoozing Stubb's crowd to a halt when he plays three haunting acoustic tracks at a show to celebrate the release of the "Body of War" documentary.

For Tankian, preaching about taking action is not enough. Rather than simply paying lip service to green issues, he founded a Web site, skyisover.net, to connect his fans to environmental and social justice organizations. He also fuses the message to his music and the accompanying visuals; the video for "Sky Is Over" shows him literally erasing the sky, a comment on the growing deterioration of the ozone layer.

He also founded a nonprofit, Axis of Justice, with former Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello. "Serj and Tom are really committed to getting music fans to get involved with local organizations and be active on a grass-roots level," AOJ media director Jake Sexton says. "Serj is extremely informed about how the way we live our lives impacts others and the need to a change in consciousness."

"The organization has grown and morphed, and we really see the environment as being tied to social justice and human rights causes," Morello says. "We both realize that while people can do things on a person-by-person basis to make the world more green, massive levers need to be thrown to cause any real change."

Tankian is spreading his green message on the road and working with environmental nonprofit Reverb to make sure that his current tour leaves as small a carbon footprint as possible. With the organization, he ensures all the food served backstage is organic and locally grown, that recycling bins are available throughout the venues and that fans can buy energy credits to offset their travel to the show. Still, Tankian recognizes that it's not enough. "This is all great," he says, "but it's not going to stop the destruction. Right now the Earth has a fever, and based on the accelerated rate of population growth, the way we live now is completely unsustainable."

Read More: Serj Tankian Q&A. –Cortney Harding