Play It Green

So “Bruins” are bears. Not a particular type of bear, just another word for one. And it’s interesting, when comparing the various mascots of the Final Four teams, in terms of the importance of their respective species, that only UCLA’s Bruins and Memphis’ Tigers have any animal kingdom importance. UNC’s Tar Heels refers to the area’s vast pine forests, and some Civil War quip, though the mascot itself is a ram. The Jayhawks (Kansas) are mythical creatures. Tigers (including the school’s mascot, the Bengal) do face the greatest threat ecologically—there are only 5-7,000 left in the world, thanks mostly to poachers who trap and hunt them for their supposed medicinal properties. Tiger whiskers alone are thought to be a poison (in Malaysia), an aphrodisiac (in Indonesia) and a childbirth aid (in India and Pakistan).

But it’s the Bruins that have captured my attention in the Final Four battle. The Yellowstone grizzly bear just lost its endangered species status last year when the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service removed them from the list as the bear population there is thriving—with over 600 living in the area. The success story doesn’t reach to the four other grizzly populations that are endangered. UCLA first adopted the grizzly as its mascot in 1920 (an improvement over a fuzzy campus dog named Rags), but had to contend with the same mascot name by the University of Montana in their Pacific Coast Conference. So they became the Bruins, and all of their mascots in the early years were actual bears. And actual female bears, to boot. The original “Josephine Bruin” was a small Himalayan bear that was later moved to the San Diego Zoo when she grew too big. The school wisely switched to costumed mascots that could actually appear in front of fans without danger of accidental dismemberment. And by 1967, they had a Josephine “Josie” Bruin alongside Joe Bruin getting the crowd going. For women, environmentalists and sports fans, it’s a win-win-win.

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Turns out there really is a mascot that’s about as environmentally friendly (and widely ridiculed) as a mascot could be: The Stanford Tree. The mascot has more of a storied past than most, including its surprising birth following a protracted battle over a mascot to replace a color (the Cardinal, not referring to the bird). The university community came up with a succession of would-be mascots to replace its offensive Indians in 1972, including the Robber Barons and the Thunder Chickens, but by 1981, they were stuck again with a deeper shade of the color red. Stanford’s marching band apparently wasn’t satisfied and when it introduced the tree, the mascot resonated with fans.

Each year, a new tree is created and the unofficial mascot has become a favorite target for opposing schools—particularly University of California Berkeley—who have stolen the costume and held it hostage and broken the tree’s branches during football games. And while the tree looks more male than female, it’s often donned by females, not all of them sober. In February 2006, Erin Lashnits was suspended for public intoxication while wearing the tree costume (and seen drinking from a flask). Replacement Tommy Leep was thrown out of the Stanford women’s basketball team’s NCAA tournmanet against Florida State University for dancing in the wrong place and hurling himself across the basketball court on a rolling chair. Stanford women take on Pitt March 29, and it’s the first time since 2001 that the Stanford men’s team has made it to the Sweet Sixteen—playing the Texas Longhorns on March 28. I’m rooting for the tree.

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If the press releases are to be believed, the planet’s salvation lies in footwear. Elbowing in on the eco-sneaks craze is a new line of “Endangered Waves” sandals from Vans, launched with Surfing Magazine and the Surfrider Foundation that will go to protect and preserve oceans. Wearers will only need to slip off their flip flops to remember what needs protecting: the inner soles bear images of four of the world’s most endangered waves—Ma’alaea in Hawaii, El Gongal in Spain, Bastion Point in Australia and Trestles in California—the places surfers of big waves have a serious stake in protecting. “It’s hard to imagine anyone not being concerned with the perilous state of the world’s most powerful, yet precious resources … our waves,” said Vans Vice President of Marketing, Doug Palladini. A portion of the sandals’ proceeds—$10,000—will go to Surfrider.

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The NCAA tournament is upon us, and it’s not all about basketball. It’s a fine time to notice which of these conference leaders is doing something green off-court, too. Colleges are in a constant battle of one-upmanship when it comes to greening efforts (just see my article on the subject) and a electricity supply company called Juice Energy is following the teams to see where the schools stack up. The college with the top rankings on the court, University of North Carolina (who plays Mount St. Mary’s tomorrow night), has committed to making its campus carbon-neutral. They’re the first school to partner with the U.K.-based CRed, a community carbon reduction program that reaches beyond the campus to seek a 60 percent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions for 2050. To illustrate this, they use the concept of hot air balloons: each person releases about 9 tons of carbon dioxide a year in the U.K., equal to 5 hot air balloons. Everyone needs to shed 3 of these balloons to reach the goal.

Number 2 seeded Duke is the fifth largest purchaser of green power among universities, buying 31% of its energy from renewable sources. They’re taking their green power position against the Belmont Bruins tonight.

While all Big East teams have made eco-commitments, UConn is the first school with a LEED-certified NCAA athletic facility, the nine-story Burton Family Football Complex:

which includes a 120-yard synthetic turf field and energy efficient infrared heating units. They’re up against San Diego tomorrow afternoon.

Georgetown—who plays the Maryland-Baltimore County Retrievers tomorrow—is home to an impressive, tiered 300 kilowatt solar roof that represents the longest running project of its scale in the country.

And according to the EPA, the Big Ten is ranked 2nd among green power purchases by conference, totaling 134,000,000 kWh per year.

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Did you know the NCAA has its own green mascot? It’s called J.J. Jumper, a frog with no home team, who schleps around the country appearing at basketball games in the hopes of luring in legions of younger-than-college-age fans. The character was created in 1999 and as has been detailed on Slate, is relegated to the outside NCAA “fan festival” during the Final Four. Slate calls J.J. “the hardest-working, least-appreciated mascot in all of sports.” I have an interest in the phenomenon of mascots, particularly female mascots. While some teams have ambiguous mascots (like J.J. and “Stuff the Magic Dragon” of the Orlando Magic), most are male, even if they’re representing female athletes. Certain teams have tested the dual mascot theory—the Toronto Bluejays replaced former mascot B.J. Birdie with Ace and female counterpart Diamond in 2000. In 2004, the team dropped the female bird. The Milwaukee Brewers apparently once had a female “Bonnie Brewer” mascot from 1973 to 1979, a blonde bombshell who wore blue lederhosen and swept the bases:

This year, the Cincinnati Reds are bringing their own female mascot, Rosie Red, to join two already in existence (Gapper, a fuzzy red monster and Mr. Red, a baseball head man). All that’s being said is that some Disney minds are involved in the creative process.

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World record-holding marathon runner Haile Gebrselassie from Ethiopia is opting out of the Beijing games this summer because of the air pollution. The 34-year-old has exercised induced asthma, and fears that running the race might do permanent bodily damage. “The pollution in China is a threat to my health,” he told Reuters. Though Gebrselassie hopes to still compete in the 10,000 meter run this August, his refusal to run the marathon—a major Olympic event—speaks volumes about the ingrained concerns about the city’s continued air quality problems, despite China’s promises to clean up in time for the games by shutting down coal plants and halting traffic temporarily. The New York Times writes that “His decision is a blow to Beijing Olympic officials, who have sought to allay athletes’ concerns about pollution by promising to improve air quality before the Games.” And Gebrselassie is not alone: top-ranked women’s tennis player (and 2004 Olympic gold medalist), Justine “Juju” Henin from Belgium may also bow out of the summer Olympics because of Beijing’s poor air quality.

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There’s something about the notion of going green in car racing that’s so spectacularly wrong. But what better place to show off the latest in alternative rides than among those who enjoy nothing more than breathing exhaust fumes and watching cars whiz around a track on a sunny spring day? That’s the plan for the 34th Annual Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach being held April 18-20 which will feature the cornily-named “Green Power Prix-View” that includes novelties like hydrogen-powered robotic vehicles and old standbys like hybrids.  There will of course be a green expo featuring lifestyle exhibits (read: products to purchase) and oil and petroleum waste from the cars will be recycled. But the real alternative happenings will be on the track, where Corvette Racing will be powered by E85 (85 percent ethanol). At the American Le Mans Series (the mega 12-hour race), Dindo Capello and Allan McNish will drive a biodiesel-powered Audi R10 (fuel from plants, essentially). The team is already kicking Peugeot butt having posted the fastest time for the first official practice session. ALMS has been recognized as the only race series in America to meet the standards of “green racing,” which include the use of renewable bio-based fuels; regenerative energy powertrain technologies; and well-to-wheel energy and greenhouse gas analyses.

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 An editorial comes in my own area paper regarding the necessity of testing artificial turf playing fields. It’s strange to imagine that in the “which is greener?” argument, artificial turf beats out natural grass. It requires little upkeep and zero water, but the stuff is made from plastic, silicon sand or granulated rubber. It’s even possible that under certain weather conditions, hot sun, say, or heavy rain, toxic gases from these plastic parts (particularly zinc) could leach into the air and into the lungs of athletes. New Haven, Conn. eco-group, Environment and Human Health Incorporated, called for a moratorium on artificial turf fields until more conclusive studies are done. But an editorial in the state’s Stamford Advocate a couple days ago chastised lawmakers for wasting $250,000 to study their safety. Turns out, residents in Stamford oppose two new synthetic soccer fields near their homes. A similar field scheduled for an upscale area in Fairfield, Conn., was called off in the face of organized community protests. My guess is, neither move had much to do with health concerns. While some home and business owners are installing artificial turf in place of pesticide and water-sucking lawns in places like Las Vegas, they’re becoming a contentious presence as playing fields on the Gold Coast, where water and resource use must contend with persistent homeowner vanity.

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The Yankees are getting a lot of press for the fact that they’re entering the last season in their old ballpark. With Mayor Bloomberg’s PlaNYC vowing to green every corner of the city, from planting 1 million trees to reclaiming 7,600 acres of toxic brownfields, maintaining strict air quality and implementing two hydrogen gas stations, the plans for that new Yankee stadium seem sadly out of step with NYC’s green dreams. If anything, they’re a slap in the face to those living in the South Bronx, where the new stadium and parking structures are being built on 22 acres of what was once heavily used public park land, according to testimony by Good Jobs New York Director Bettina Damiani on Capitol Hill last October. The $1.3 billion stadium, a block from its previous location, will feature 9,000 parking spaces for an additional 2,500 cars, but 5,000 less seats in the ballpark. “Thus, the neighborhood, which already has one of the city’s highest rates of asthma, will gain more asthma polluting cars and genuine park space to be replaced with artificial turf,” says Damiani. According to Streetsblog, the parks were seized quietly in just 8 days. The city might have used the new stadium as a model of green building and smartly connected hub for public transit. Instead, it’s dirty business as usual.

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Being in general illiterate in all things not-American-football (a.k.a., soccer), it’s likely many of us are clueless as to Euro 2008, the European Football Championship happening in Austria and Switzerland this June. The fact that the U.S. is not involved in the contest (hence the name), may not help its stateside popularity. But that’s no reason not to sit up and take notice of the Stade de Suisse football stadium, the home field for Swiss football team the BSC Young Boys. These Young Boys have bragging rights for the biggest solar photovoltaic system of any sports stadium in the world thanks to the Stade de Suisse adding extra solar panels last summer. Its overall power output of 1,134,045 kWh per year equals the power of about 350 four-person households. The solar roof, which has won awards from the European Association for Renewable Energy, cost .86 million to construct, and features 86,112 square feet of solar panels. It uses most of the solar power it produces itself.

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