Ah, finally an entry for MoJo Sports. Sports Illustrated has a neat article on the impact of global warming on sports.
Football:
Searing heat is turning that rite of passage of Texas high school football, the August two-a-day, into a one-at-night, while at the game’s highest level the Miami Dolphins, once famous for sweating players into shape, have thrown in the soggy towel and built a climate-controlled practice bubble.
Skiing:
One day in November enough snow fell at Colorado’s Beaver Creek to cause the cancellation of practice for the men’s downhill at a World Cup event. A day later on the other side of the globe, officials at the French resort of Val d’Isère called off another World Cup event on account of too little snow, as well as a forecast of prolonged warm temperatures — one of seven World Cup events in Europe this season to have all races canceled for the same reason.
Dog-racing:
The world’s signature dogsled race, Alaska’s Iditarod, hasn’t begun at its traditional starting point in Wasilla since 2002 because of too little snow there.
And on and on. The examples abound. There are also thoughts on how to build a green stadium and instances of players who have undertaken green initiatives and teams that have gone carbon neutral. Here’s is a neat one:
Scientists told the NFL that Super Bowl XLI would put one million pounds of carbon dioxide into the air — not counting air travel to Miami — so the league planted 3,000 trees around Florida in an attempt to pull at least that much of the greenhouse gas out of the atmosphere.
Check out the whole thing. Make sure to look for quotes from our very own Bill McKibben, who wrote “Reversal of Fortune” for MoJo’s most recent issue, and the sidebar packed full of links on how to “become a greener sports fan.” Activism and sports, suh-weet.
