Written by Jess Ardrey
Environmental consciousness has grown exponentially in the past few years. But when one thinks of contributors to this movement, sports may not usually come to mind.
This changed last week when the major professional sports organizations in the U.S. came together to form the Green Sports Alliance. The GSA includes teams from Major League Baseball, the National Hockey League, the National Football League, Major League Soccer, the National Basketball Association and the Women’s National Basketball Association.
The Environmental Protection Agency also paired with the teams on the project, much to the excitement of EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson.
“EPA commends the founding members of the Green Sports Alliance for recognizing the importance of protecting the environment and stepping up their green game,”Jackson said.”We thank them for their commitment to protecting our health and the environment. We hope that their efforts and the work toward environmental innovation will inspire theirmany fans and fellow teams to make choices that protect our people and our planet.”
This is the first time all of the leagues have come together to decrease their environmental footprint.
The creator behind the GSA is Paul G. Allen, Microsoft co-founder, owner of the Portland Trail Blazers and Seattle Seahawks and co-owner of the Seattle Sounders.
The alliance focuses mainly on large stadiums, aiming to reduce their environmental impact in multiple ways. In the past few years, a few teams have already taken steps to achieve this goal.
The Minnesota Twins constructed a recycling system for rainwater in their new stadium Target Field, complete with filtered tap water. The Philadelphia Eagles’ Lincoln Financial Field will soon be equipped with 25,000 solar panels and 80 small-wind turbines, and it is supposed to run entirely on self-generatedelectricity by fall of this year.
Apart from reducing their own effects, the GSA hopesto spread the message.
“Sports matter,” Natural Resources Defense Council senior scientist Allen Hershkowitz said. “Outside of the family, the most influential role models in our society are athletes and entertainers. The most widely watched TV shows worldwide are sportsshows.”
According to HU SportsInformation Director Scott Goode, even Harding has gotten into the GSA spirit.
“The Green Sports Alliance is an admirable effort by the professional teams in the Pacific Northwest,” Goode said. “In Harding athletics, we have worked with the facilities people at First Security Stadium, Rhodes Field House and Jerry Moore Field for the last few years on a similar initiative, especially encouraging our fans to recycle the products they purchase at our games.”
