Sports Illustrated’s Hottest Cover Ever
Image: Sports IllustratedThe guys and some gals may disagree with me on this one, but the cover for the hottest Sports Illustrated cover is…global warming.
Clearly, environmentalists aren’t the only ones talking about global warming anymore: it’s affecting ski resorts, insurance companies, and a host of cultural institutions like the wide world of sports: The Miami Dolphins have built a climate-controlled bubble to avoid the extreme Florida heat during practices, seven World Cup ski racing events in Europe have been cancelled this season because of warmer temperatures, and Alaska’s Iditarod dogsled race hasn’t started at its traditional location in five years because of lack of snow.
So what is the sport world’s part in fighting global warming? Make sure stadiums are easily accessible by mass transit and install renewable energy systems (solar or wind) on stadiums are a few ideas. But many professional organizations and athletes are taking action now:
- Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, MA has a water filtration and reuse system that collects and recirculates "black" and "gray water" to make the most of all that beer and all those flushes.
- Saints safety Steve Gleason runs his Dodge Ram pickup on biodiesel.
- The NFL planted 3,000 trees around Florida to try to offset Super Bowl XLI’s estimated one million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions, a main contributor to global warming.
- NASCAR driver Ward Burton's foundation is pledged to habitat management, land conservation and environmental education in his home state of Virginia.
Ken Rakoz of Centralia, WA built the first biodiesel-powered dragster. He told Sports Illustrated:
"In the environmental movement there's way too much preaching to the choir. There are people sitting on the fence, and Joe Sixpack doesn't really know about [biodiesel] until we do something like racing."
As it impacts us all more and more, creative and meaningful action from all sectors of society will be critical to fighting it. There’s no wild card for the planet in the league of global warming.
March 15th, 2007 at 6:27 pm
Because “green” has become popular it is definitely getting more attention.People like to be “in” but will they be willing to make personal changes if it means sacrificing comfort? This is very interesting, thanks.
March 15th, 2007 at 7:15 pm
One of my students brought this article in to me just minutes before I read your post. Kudos to SI for having the balls to put this on their cover and potentially reach a ton of people who would otherwise not pay attention. Not that there’s no green sports fans…we have two in our household!
March 23rd, 2007 at 6:23 pm
Wow, yeah Sports Illustrated is the expert on global climate change… just like their Feb. 2, 1970 issue, which proclaims this will be the last chance to play sports before GLOBAL COOLING destroys us all.
http://i.cnn.net/si/si_online/covers/images/1970/0202_large.jpg
Oh but we’re SURE they’ve got it right this time.
Look I don’t disagree that the climate is changing and we may need to make some changes… but warming, cooling, the earth will do what it wants and humans have too much hubris to think we can stop it.
That’s not to say we shouldn’t curb pollution. Pollution is a bad thing (causes athsma, cancer, etc.) and that should be our incentive to curb it.
March 25th, 2007 at 8:18 pm
Dave,
SI isn't claiming to be the expert on global warming, but rather is listening to the scientific consensus (For information, visit the Journal Science (http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/306/5702/1686).
For more information on global warming solutions, check out (http://www.usatoday.com/weather/climate/2007-02-02-climatechange_x.htm) and stay tuned for the next two reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which will outline the most effective solutions.
May 19th, 2007 at 4:37 am
Sports can move one more step towards green with our new line of FSC-certified sports balls. First in the US!
More info on our blog: http://fairtradesports.com/?p=115
- Scott James
Fair Trade Sports
http://www.fairtradesports.com
Fair Trade Soccer Balls with FSC Certification!
March 31st, 2008 at 2:16 am
[...] not as ambitious as some other efforts we’ve seen from major leagues sports franchises, but it’s a start… and Scott told [...]