Helping Sports Adapt

Hello readers,

I recently read an article on the Sports Illustrated web site by Alexander Wolff on how the sports world needs to combat global warming and the environemntal crisis we face everyday.
This article gives the readers a list of how to be a greener sports fan. Many of things were new to me. It was nice to see that athletes are making a effort to help the environment. There are foundations such as the Global Water Foundation and the Surfrider Foundation that are dedicated protecting the environment.
This article also featured pictures of possible future football and baseball stadiums that are more green friendly. According to Wolff, Sports Illustrated teamed with architectural firm SmithGroup to design these stadiums.
"The good news is that stadiums and arenas, if built with green aforethought, can be more than symbolic Valhallas that remind us that we're all in this together," said Wolff in the SI article. "Site one near a public-transit line, and there's less need to build that most Earth-hostile of features, the vast parking lot. (The greenest ballpark in the country may be Fenway Park, because only an idiot would try driving and parking there.)" The pictures of the stadiums are very cool looking and if that is the future of sports then the future of sports looks bright. You can check out the pictures of the stadiums as well as the article here. Make sure and check out the other ways that you can become a greener sports fan.

Sports Illistrated also did an article called "Green my Ride." I thought this was very interesting because it listed cars that NBA player's have and how most of them are not environmentally friendly. For each car that they listed they gave a car that was like it but was more "green." For example, the first car listed is a Hummer. According to the web site, a Hummer get 16 miles per gallon in the city and 20 miles per gallon on the highway. A possible replacement for the Hummer according to the web site is the Honda Civic GX. This car gets 28 miles per gallon in the city and 39 miles per gallon on the highway. You can read the rest of the article here.

One interesting thing that I read in the Wolff article was how motor sports could have the quickest and biggest impact on the enviornment. According to Wolff, "The Formula One circuit has already discovered hybrids and biofuels, and Indy cars are mixing ethanol into their fuel. NASCAR is poised to phase out leaded gasoline, a neurotoxin. (The Clean Air Act of 1970 included an exemption for race cars even as the public was barred from buying cars that ran on leaded gas.) It's only a short jump from a NASCAR driver with a raised consciousness to a NASCAR fan with the same."