The South by Southwest 2009 Music and Media Conference is underway through March 21 in Austin, Texas. This amazing festival is filled with tons of movie screenings, concerts and panel discussions.

Since its creation in 1987, SXSW has been at the epicenter of all the latest and greatest in online media, music and movies. So it's not surprising that, amid highly increased public awareness of environmental issues, the festival is hosting lots of green themed panel discussions.

The interactive portion of the festival is now underway and includes panels and discussions including: "Evolving Digital Technologies and Profitable Green Building", "Delicious Tech for Localism: Sustainable Food 2.0", "Using the New Digital Social Media to Accelerate Sustainability", and "Plan B: Can an Ad Guy Bring Bike Sharing to America?." An offsite BBQ Monday night features a panelist discussion of "Social Media for the Social Good.

During the music portion of the festival, starting March 18, about 80 panels are scheduled with super cool names like “Hip Hop In the Age of Obama,” “Bloggers Are Now In Charge” and “Slaughtering Sacred Cows.” A program of the eco-friendly discussions try to get musicians and attendees onto the “Green Track.”

A few of the green themed panels include – Sustainability and Greening, Making a Green Album and The Earth-Friendly Artists.

For more on the sustainability goals of SXSW, click here. Click here to read about the specific green themes here.