One of the easiest - and most significant - things we can all do is pick up litter. If every sports fan picked up and properly disposed of just one piece of litter per year, more than 1,480 tons of unsightly trash could be removed from trails, beaches, lakes, rivers, forests, oceans, and other fragile ecosystems. That's enough to fill 185 garbage trucks! And it goes without saying that you should always dispose of your own garbage in a properly marked container.
Here are some other sports-specific tips:
Baseball/Softball - You can save energy by scheduling daytime games for your baseball and softball leagues. A single field can use an average of 72,000 kwh of energy annually for nighttime lighting. This much energy could keep your house lit for 60 years! In the U.S., more than 33 million youth participate in organized ball teams. If just 10 percent of these teams rescheduled one evening game for a daylight hour, the energy saved could broadcast MLB's all-star game on 11 million TV's.
Basketball - Take your daytime pickup game outside. You'll save energy as well as wear and tear on the indoor court. Gymnasium lighting can consume over 60,000 kwh per year, much of which isn't needed during the day anyway. If you get the chance, check out one of the more than 100 courts around the country made from the soles of recycled athletic shoes - they're cropping up in lots of major cities, including Atlanta, Miami, and Washington, D.C.
Football and soccer - If you have the choice, choose playing on natural grass over artificial turf. Natural grass is renewable, and clippings can be composted. Grasses produce oxygen, remove air pollutants, filter rainwater, and maintain cooler surface temperatures. Artificial turf production is energy intensive and uses synthetic materials, none of which are recyclable. And artificial fields last for an average of just 10 years, after which they are pulled up and taken to - you guessed it - the landfill.
Golf - Try visiting one of the hundreds of conservation-minded courses in the U.S. that have committed to decreasing water consumption, reducing chemicals, preserving native landscapes, and protecting wildlife habitats. If an additional 1 percent of the 16,000 courses in the U.S. adopted water conservation strategies, we'd save enough water to restore a wetland the size of Augusta National Golf Club.
Surfing - When you're vying for better beach access, remember to keep your vehicle on paved roads or marked pathways, and never drive across sand dunes. You'll save on gas, protect coastal habitats, prevent erosion, and ensure a future of good surf.
Tennis - Play outdoor tennis during daylight hours in order to prevent the need for energy-intensive nighttime lighting. Lighting for a single court can consume more than 4,700 kwh of energy per year, enough to power the average household for about six months.
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These simple steps give the earth the biggest impact and require just a little effort on our part.
Green sports tips courtesy of The Green Book: The everyday guide to saving the planet one simple step at a time.
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