Thank the EPA!

The National Council of Churches of Christ's newsletter today asks all interested in protecting and preserving God's earth andGod's children to say a big, "Thank you!" to the EPA. Their email is quoted below:

"Join us in saying “Thank You” to the EPA for saying “no” to the devastation that Mountaintop Removal mining has on God’s Creation and God’s children.

Two weeks ago, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized a veto of permits for a new West Virginian mountaintop removal coal mine - the Spruce Number One mine. After years of litigation and debate, the EPA said “no.”

• No to the destruction of God’s Creation.
• No to polluted water and choked waterways.
• And No to adverse health impacts and high rates of poverty in Mountaintop Removal communities."

If you would like to sign an electronic petition of thanks, surf on over to the NCC Eco-Justice page.

Google Earth Outreach

In case you didn't know ... Google has a special outreach effort for Google Earth that encourages nonprofit organizations to use Google Earth to help tell their story and follow their actions.

At the Google Earth Outreach site, Google proclaims, "You want to change the world. We want to help." All sorts of projects and actions with either the full Google Earth program or the Google Earth web browser plugin, called EarthView.

Below is a video introduction about Google Earth Outreach.

Sports go green

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) has helped makes sports more environmentally friendly through its “Greening the Games” initiative. The NRDC has helped dozens of pro sports teams evaluate and improve their environmental impacts.

Philadelphia Eagles. The NRDC started working with the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles in 2004, providing advice for the team's "Go Green" effort. Today the Eagles:

• Get all of their energy at Lincoln Field from wind power
• Pour fans’ drinks in biodegradable corn-based plastic cups
• Power their scoreboard with solar panels
• Have reduced overall electricity use by a third

Major League Baseball. In 2008, NRDC teamed up with Major League Baseball (MLB) to first green the All Star Game and, in 2009, the World Series. The NRDC later assessed each team’s environmental footprint and recommended improvements. Several teams then built or refurbished their stadiums with sustainability in mind. Boston’s Fenway Park, Atlanta’s Turner Field, Washington, DC’s Nationals Park, and San Francisco’s AT&T Park all get high marks for pro-environment features and operations.

U.S. Tennis Association. Also in 2008, NRDC began working with the U.S. Tennis Association (USTA) to green its top event, the US Open. Results included a move to 100 percent post-consumer recycled paper for tournament programs. An environmental review of all operations at the USTA Billie Jean King  National Tennis Center in Queens, New York led to a number of green improvements for the 2009 US Open, including the switch to 90 percent post-consumer recycled paper for some 2.4 million napkins, increasing the percentage of Hybrid vehicles, and a move to wind turbines for the tournament’s electricity. For the 2010 US Open, the USTA expanded its efforts at the National Tennis Center to help ensure that the US Open registered as little impact on the environment as possible. The NTC grounds featured site-wide composting for the first time. Hybrid vehicles made up 60 percent of the player transportation fleet and a sponsor held a daily MetroCard giveaway, where 125 fans each day won a $4.50 MetroCard to encourage use of mass transit to the US Open.

National Basketball Association. The NBA jumped on the NRDC sports bandwagon in 2009, working with the group to organize its first annual Green Week in early April. During Green Week, the entire league works to increase environmental awareness and generate funds for related causes. As part of the festivities, which took place in 2010 as well and will happen again in April 2011, each NBA team hosted community service events including tree plantings, recycling drives and park clean-up days.

National Hockey League. NRDC got the NHL to skate in on the act as well, helping to green the Stanley Cup Finals and working with individual teams as it did with baseball and football. In announcing the launch of the NHL Green program, league commissioner Gary Bettman commented that it’s only fitting for professional ice hockey to care about staving off global warming: "Most of our players learned to skate on outdoor rinks. For that magnificent tradition to continue through future generations we need winter weather—and as a league we are uniquely positioned to promote that message."

National Football League. The NFL itself has also come aboard, putting varied green initiatives in place at the Super Bowl, the Pro Bowl and other big events. The NFL website states that Super Bowl XLV's Climate Change Initiative includes several steps to reduce the overall greenhouse gas impact of Super Bowl activities and events:

• Renewable energy credits. The NFL is using renewable energy credits to provide "green" power for all major Super Bowl XLV event venues including Cowboys Stadium, the Super Bowl Media Center, NFL Super Bowl headquarters, the NFL Experience and the AFC and NFC team hotels.
• Tree planings. Several thousand trees are being planted at sites that include all 12 North Texas Super Bowl host communities as part of the overall "greening" of Super Bowl XLV. Partners include the Texas Forest Service, the Texas Trees Foundation and the US Forest Service. On Monday, Jan. 24, a luncheon event called "Touchdown for Trees" will honor the mayors and the students in each of the twelve communities for their participation in this regional project.
• Monitoring of tree planting results. In partnership with the US Forest Service, the environmental benefits of all trees planted the past seven years in connection with Super Bowl will be monitored and the quantitative results certified by researchers at the US Forest Service.
• Biodiesel fuel. One third of all buses in use on game day will be using biodiesel fuel.

Sources

• EarthTalk", from E/The Environmental Magazine, 28 Knight Street, Norwalk, CT 06851. Phone: (203) 854-5559 ext 106, FAX: (203) 866-0602, earthtalkcolumn@emagazine.com
• NRDC's "Greening the Games" web page
• National Football League news story, January 14, 2011
• US Tennis Association News, "USTA launches new programming and fan enhancements for 2010 US Open", May 25, 2008

Related links

• Greening the games (NRDC)
• NBA Green
• NHL Green
• MLB Team Greening Program
• Super Bowl XLV Community Outreach Programs