Play It Green

Just because the Yankees have shown no interest in making their new stadium a model of sustainability, doesn’t mean green efforts are a lost cause for New York baseball. The Mets have worked closely with the Environmental Protection Agency on the plans for their $800 million new Citi Field, set to open in Queens in 2009. The builders—Queens Ballpark Company, LLC—will use 2 million pounds of recycled coal combustion products instead of new cement, which is equivalent to taking 1,000 cars off the road for 2 months. About 95 percent of the 12,500 tons of steel going into the stadium will be recycled, they are considering a green roof and porous pavement will control storm water runoff. Says Mayor Michael Bloomberg: “It probably would have been easier to build a new ballpark without incorporating ‘green’ technology, but the Mets understand that their responsibility to New Yorkers doesn’t end with the third out in the bottom of the ninth.” Now it only remains to be seen whose T-shirt gets ”composted” in the recycled cement.

No Comments »

If you want a company to change, you have to hold them responsible. Thankfully, the information age has brought with it a lot of watchdogs, particularly when it comes to environmental performance. It’s forced companies to be more transparent in their methods, but it’s also changed the business model. Companies now want that transparency—touting their reduced carbon footprints and post-consumer-recycled packaging is good for business. And it’s made it harder for those jumping on the green bandwagon to fool consumers.

What’s all this have to do with sports? Nike recently topped the list of companies on the ClimateCounts scorecard, a nonprofit collaboration between consumers and companies launched last year by organic yogurt maker Stonyfield Farm, Inc. The more committed a company was to reducing their carbon footprint and educating consumers, the higher their score on a scale of 0-100. Nike earned 82 points, for decreasing its carbon footprint by 80 percent. Not only will the ratings inspire low-scoring companies to get active, but the nonprofit has made the information easy for consumers to use: with a downloadable pocket version of the scorecard for in-the-moment shopping decisions.

No Comments »

So someone came up with a list of “8 mascots that need to die” on armchairgm, and it not only contains potential environmental mascot du jour, the Stanford Tree, but another unofficial college mascot (for Dartmouth College), Keggy the Keg, who has an unexpected green leaning, as one commenter writes.

“Kegs are banned at Dartmouth unless you register them way in advance. It’s a huge pain, it sucks for the environment (we drink a LOT of cans and none of the frats try very hard to recycle) and most importantly, it’s an infringement on our freedom of beverage container choice for no apparent reason.”

So, there you have it. Keggy, is in fact, the eco-hero among mascots. Provided students use refillable cups.

Also, it’s a bit out-dated, but Keggy’s blog is amusing nonetheless.

No Comments »

I’m sure this is completely sacreligious to the Bud-swilling sausage-and-peppers types, but, suck it up. In keeping with their out-of-control ticket prices, now rivalling Broadway plays and Sting concerts, stadiums are offering more refined eating (and drinking) options. In some cases, they’re giving the regional cuisine favorites a veggie twist, reports MSN.com. PETA has named the Philadelphia Phillies’ Citizens Bank Park the “most vegetarian-friendly ballpark in the country” thanks to items like two vegetarian cheesesteaks from Rick’s Steaks and vegan hot dogs (which must taste better than usual vegan hotdogs, by virtue of their coming from a ballpark), veggie burgers and a vegetarian chicken cheese steak (is this another way to say grilled cheese?). And Coors Field, home to the Colorado Rockies, has veggie wraps and garden burgers and, most awesome, an onsite brewery for the creamy and delicious Blue Moon Brewing Company. In fact, PETA has a top ten list of ballparks with meatless cuisine.

No Comments »

We all know the three R mantra of the environmental movement (a tad more logical than the three “R”s in education, since only one of those actually starts with the letter). And a few of us have even heard the catchy little Jack Johnson tune about those 3 Rs more often than we’d care to admit. But there’s passing-clothes-down-to-a-younger-sibling reusing, and there’s wearing-the-same-freaking-shirt-for-four-years reusing. The latter is what a now 12-year-old Ridgefield, Conn. boy David Witthoft did after receiving a Brett Favre jersey for his birthday in 2003. His parents, bowing to his stubborn style choice, simply washed and mended the thing to keep it wearable. The boy didn’t see an actual Green Bay Packers game until Dec. 2007, and is planning to attend the Sept. 8 game when the Packers retire Favre’s No. 4 jersey. Besides the silliness of this story getting far too much national news play, is the hidden green one. Maybe we don’t all have the “sticktoitiveness” of young David, but his obsession offers a lesson in just how durable our clothing is when we actually wear it out.

No Comments »