Conservation 101: the Compete to Conserve Blog

Earlier this year Alex Rodriguez signed a $275 Million, ten-year contract with the New York Yankees, cutting short his $252 Million ten-year contract with the Texas Rangers signed in 2001.  On the other side of the country, the Los Angeles Dodgers recently acquired Manny Ramirez in the final year of his $160 Million contract signed with the Boston Red Sox in 2001.

Major League Baseball may not be synonymous with environmental sustainability, but the 2008 season has treated fans to a shade of green separate and apart from the playing field.

Last April, the Seattle Mariners and Baltimore Orioles played the first carbon-neutral baseball game in MLB history.  To celebrate Earth Day, the teams partnered with Cedar Grove Composting to offset the game’s energy consumption by funding certain energy-conservation projects.  An estimated 230 tons of carbon dioxide produced by flight travel, electricity and natural gas during the game, disposal or recycling of waste, hotel-related emissions, and team staff and fan transportation was offset by an investment in new methane and wind projects.

To start the 2008 season, the Philadelphia Phillies announced the team would offset the carbon footprint created by the utility power usage at the team’s stadium by purchasing 20 million kilowatt-hours of Green-e Energy Certified Renewable Energy Certificates.  This contribution is the functional equivalent of planting 100,000 trees.

Also this season, MLB partnered with the National Resources Defense Council to provide teams with eco-friendly advice in all areas of operations.  “Using corn starch cups, increasing recycling and installing solar panels and possibly wind turbines at ballparks are among the measures teams will consider as part of a major league-wide effort to reduce baseball’s carbon footprint.”  (USAtoday.com, March 12, 2008.)  Named the “Team Greening Program”, each team received software to provide assistance in energy and water conservation, the purchase of eco-friendly products, how to improve sales from concession areas, recyling and transporatation.

Now, the Los Angeles Angels and Compete to Conserve are working together to promote global sustainability, starting with the fans.  In an effort to promote conservation on an individual and accessible level, Compete to Conserve hopes to increase recycling at Anaheim Stadium while inspiring fans to make positive and practical changes in the way they consume natural resources.

As the season enters its final month, it appears that the Angels are familiar with the principles of long-term energy conservation.  Holding firm to a first place lead of 17 games and only 23 left for the season, the Angels are well positioned to sustain their division lead heading into the playoffs.

For more information please visit:

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/359994_greenball22.html

http://greentechnolog.com/2008/05/philadelphia_phillies_go_green.html

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/2008-03-10-MLB-goes-green_N.htm

http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/story?id=52577

photo credit: ..· ✈Katherina ➳·..

As host of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games, China missed key opportunities to leave a meaningful, lasting environmental legacy.

In a recently released report, Greenpeace commends China for living up to many of its environmental promises. But, the watchdogs note, a lack of transparency and independently verified data made evaluation difficult. And many solutions, especially those relating to Beijing’s air quality, are temporary fixes that will not continue after the games, and therefore not be of real benefit to the people of Beijing.

Here’s a quick look at Beijing’s missed opportunities:

• Waste management
  Instead of moving toward a zero-waste policy, polluting incineration was encouraged and more landfill was created.
• Car ownership
  While four new rail lines were added to boost public transportation infrastructure, little was done to curb private car ownership. About half a million cars were added to Beijing’s roads last year, a pace that is expected to continue.
• Air quality
  Dramatic quick fixes like temporarily halting industrial production and banning most private cars from the road may improve air quality for the games, but they are not lasting, cost-effective solutions. A better approach would be to enforce stricter emission standards for manufacturing, make public transportation viable for more riders, and move away from reliance on coal-burning energy plants.
• Water conservation
  Water-saving technologies used at the Shunyi Olympic Rowing and Canoe Park could have been more widely adopting to prevent and further strain on Beijing’s dwindling water supply.
• Air-conditioning and refrigeration
  Most of the cooling technologies used eschew ozone-depleting CFCs, but many use climate-boosting hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). Because most of these systems are new and will likely not be replaced for some time, it represents a failure to leapfrog to more-efficient, greener technologies.
• Building construction
  Green building techniques were encouraged but non-binding, limiting their implementation.
• Sponsors
  Electronic companies Lenovo and Panasonic provided equipment containing known toxic substances like PVC and BFR.

More resources:
Greenpeace’s full report:
http://www.greenpeace.org/china/en/news/green

“IOC Could Have Done More,” TreeHugger
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/07/beijing_ioc_get_mixed_report_greenpeace.php

photo credit: (nutmeg)

A new report from the environmental watchdogs at Greenpeace says that Beijing has lived up to many (though definitely not all) of its green promises made in its bid to host the 2008 Summer Olympics.

As the Olympic Committee has noted, part of its selection decision was based on the hope that sustainable development would benefit China as it continues its crash course in rapid development. While there are many areas that could have been improved, sustainable development advocates are hoping that Beijing’s environmental successes will serve as a blueprint for other developing cities in China and around the world.

Greenpeace found that “Beijing achieved and in some cases surpassed original environmental goals but missed some opportunities that could have ensured a better short- and long-term environmental Olympic legacy for the city.”

Here’s a quick look at Beijing’s laudable green triumphs:

• A Shift Away from Polluting Fossil Fuels
  New Olympic venues showcase an array of sustainable energy technologies, including solar hot water, geothermal heating and air-conditioning, and solar photovoltaic systems. And wind power from a new nearby wind power station will provide enough energy to meet the annual demands of 100,000 families.
• New Energy Efficient Upgrades
  More than 32,000 household-heating systems have been upgraded from coal to electricity. And more than 50,000 large-scale boilers have been upgraded to be more energy efficient.
• Stringent Vehicle-Emission Standards
  Ahead of what was originally promised, new vehicles must now meet EURO IV emission standards, which are among the strictest in the world.
• Improved Public Transportation
  Four new rail lines have been added in Beijing. A fleet of new, natural-gas buses are running during the games. And fares have been reduced to encourage ridership, which now averages 19.5 million a day. (Olympic ticket-holders can ride free, for 51 days.)
• Improved Wastewater, Water Reuse, and Sewage Systems
  Drinking water now meets World Health Organization (WHO) standards and new reusing technologies should help with increased water demand. Rural sanitation construction is set to protect groundwater supplies. And the government has cracked down on illegal construction, farming, and mining, which pollutes waterways.
• Sponsors Going Green, Too
  Coca-Cola’s nearly 6,000 refrigeration units are HFC-free. (Hydrofluorocarbons replaced ozone-depleting CFCs in refrigeration units in the U.S. in the 1980s, but have since been pinpointed as a source of global warming because of their heat-trapping properties.) And Samsung is providing cell phones that are free of polluting polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and bromide flame retardants.

Overall, Greenpeace commends China and the city of Beijing for its efforts and for demonstrating that, given the political will, it is possible for a rapidly developing city to leap ahead of polluting technologies. But for any of the green initiatives to have any meaningful and lasting impact for China after the games, the country must engage in long-term energy reforms and move away from its dependence on hyper-polluting coal as an energy source.

Read the full Greenpeace report at:
http://www.greenpeace.org/china/en/news/green

photo credit: apert

Thanks to enormous human intervention and tens of millions of dollars spent, the California condor population is at 279, up from just 21 in 1982. But according to a new report released by California Audubon, this recovery effort requires “constant and costly human assistance” that is unsustainable and unrealistic unless lead is banned from ammunition.

Lead Is Bad News for Condors and People Alike

Lead poisoning from spent ammunition is what drove North America’s largest birds to the brink in the 1980s, and it continues to sicken and kill the last surviving California condors. Condors, as a scavenging species, feed on carcasses, so the killed game remains left by hunters are integral to condor survival. Unfortunately, when the carcasses contain lead-bullet fragments, condors inadvertently ingest lead. The consequences are deadly.

(It’s also worth noting that the lead fragments in shot game are highly toxic for humans and at least 48 other species, including Bald and Golden eagles.)

Tiny Lead Fragments Cause Birds to Starve

What happens to the majestic birds after ingesting lead fragments isn’t pretty. Lead poisoning paralyzes the birds’ digestive systems and they are doomed to slowly starve. So poisoned birds are trapped, confined, and injected twice a day with a chemical to rid the body of lead. Sometimes the treatments don’t work, and birds die despite conservationists’ best efforts.

Copper Bullets Cost More and Are Not Always Available

Efforts to encourage voluntary replacement of lead ammunition and to remove or bury kills have been largely unsuccessful. Not all hunters are aware of the environmental harm lead bullets wreak. Habits are hard to break. And higher costs and lack of widespread availability of alternatives, such as 100-percent copper bullets, also hamper compliance, even on ranges where lead ammunition is already banned.

Today, human assistance acts as a costly band-aid to the problem. California condors are provided lead-free food at man-made feeding stations, hindering their ability to forage. They are also regularly monitored, trapped, tested, and treated for frequent lead poisoning, which lessons their fear of people and man-made structures. As a result, the birds risk electrocution from sitting on utility lines and frequently feed harmful “microtrash” (nuts, bolts, rags, bottle caps, etc.) to their young chicks.

Removing the Source of Lead Is the Condors’ Only Hope

As long as lead exposure continues, recovery efforts are doomed. Researchers hope that a successfully enforced ban on lead ammunition across Western hunting ranges would allow the California condor to survive without human assistance.

More resources:

Audubon California
View the complete report as a downloadable PDF:
http://ca.audubon.org/AOU_CONDOR_REPORT_Aug08_final.pdf

The Audubon California page below hasn’t been updated to reflect the passage of CA bill AB821, but it provides a good summary of recovery efforts and information on where to find alternatives lead bullets:
http://ca.audubon.org/California_Condor.html

The American Fisheries Society on the impact of lead in shooting and fishing sports (downloadable PDF)
http://www.fisheries.org/afs/docs/fisheries/fisheries_3305.pdf

U.S. National Park Service
http://www.nps.gov/pinn/naturescience/leadinfo.htm
Lead v. Copper Bullets Quicktime movie

photo credit: Mark Sadowski

The flap over Beijing’s air pollution levels during the 2008 Summer Olympics has us wondering: what are the real implications for athletes? And what do air pollution levels mean for the rest of us?

Most people will tell you they can feel the effects of a particularly smoggy day, but air pollution is of particular concern to athletes, especially those who participate in endurance sports like long-distance running and cycling.

Athletes Take in More Air

Athletes breathe in up to 20 times more air than sedentary individuals, which means they breathe in up to 20 times more pollutants. When pollutants make up a higher percentage of air, it also means less oxygen is taken in, which could affect an athlete’s performance.

Once air pollutants (called “particulate matter” or PM for the tiny harmful particles and liquid droplets that make up pollution) are in the lungs, they cause irritation and inflammation and can exacerbate existing heart, pulmonary, or respiratory conditions such as asthma. Common reactions are coughing, breathing difficulties, eye irritation, chest pain, and darkened mucous secretions. More serious reactions include asthma attack, heart attack, even death.

The Worst Pollution Is the Kind You Can’t See

The most harmful particles measure less than 10 micrometers in diameter and are called PM10. (For size reference, a human hair measures about 70 micrometers in diameter.) High PM10 levels are particularly dangerous because the particles are small enough to lodge deep in the lungs and sometimes even enter the bloodstream.

When you hear reporters talk about air pollution levels, they are usually talking about the amount of PM10 in the air. That’s how Chinese officials are measuring their success at reducing air pollution during this week’s Olympic events. Beijing’s goal is to reach 50 micrograms of PM10 per cubic meter. A typical day in Beijing can measure 250 micrograms, so it’s a laudable, if difficult to achieve benchmark. (A typical day in London measures 21 micrograms.)

How to Reduce PM10 Levels

So what can you do to reduce PM10 in the air? Most PM10 comes from cars, power plants, and factories, so you can make the biggest impact by driving less and using less electricity. Perhaps the even bigger lesson in Beijing, however, is that voluntary measures have great limitations. It wasn’t until severe restrictions were placed on drivers, utilities, and manufacturers that air quality improved.

The International Olympic Committee is hoping that many of Beijing’s green measures will improve the environmental quality of life after the games are over. How Beijing fares will serve as a lesson for the rest of world.

Basic Information on PM from the EPA
http://www.epa.gov/oar/particlepollution/basic.html

photo credit: merfam

Tracing its origin as far back as 16th Century England, “Townball” was a game involving 20 to 30 boys in a field attempting to catch a ball hit by a “tosser”.  The tosser used a four-inch bat with a tapered handle.  The bat was designed to improve leverage and control for the tosser.  Although unconfirmed, baseball folklore believes this is the beginning of the baseball bat.

The baseball bat evolved during the 19th Century, but there were very few limitations imposed upon the instrument.  1884, however, marked the beginning of the wood baseball bat business when a woodworker and his father teamed up with a Louisville player who had just broken his favorite bat.  After providing the player, Pete Browning, with a custom baseball bat made of white ash, the Hillerich family’s baseball bat business began and the official Louisville Slugger was born.

Without dispute, baseball bats are big business.  Even with 100 years of evolution, wood baseball bats used today in Major League Baseball are similar to the ones used by Honus Wagner (the first player to autograph a Louisville Slugger for money).  Even metal and aluminum bats, first patented in 1924, never made a debut in MLB. (more…)