sports

Ball-kickers power stadiums with renewables

And you thought by “football” in my title I meant football? Pssh. I do love me some obscure European soccer news. So with no further ado: Scottish soccer team powers its stadium floodlights with wind power! Swiss soccer team has the world’s largest stadium-integrated photovoltaic system on the roof of the Stade de Suisse Wankdorf […]

And synthetic turf, to boot

Beijing’s four-day trial run of keeping vehicles off of its roads was either wildly successful or a complete wash, depending who you ask. The city plans to put 50,000 bicycles out to rent during the Games in hopes of easing congestion and pollution. (But will they be in fancy vending machines)? You’ll also be glad […]

NYC debates grass v. artificial turf on playing fields

This NYT piece is interesting in that oh-I-never-thought-of-that sort of way. Grass playing fields are — in New York City, at least — an endangered species: To avoid the ignominy of being trampled underfoot, the grass fields need to be idle all winter, and once a week the rest of the year. As a result, […]

A linky post

Oy vey. A “vacation” (read: four-state, four-family, Midwestern extravaganza) has left me decidedly off the ball. Prepare for heavy linkiness, and my apologies that much of this is not terribly current. There’s a Dead Meat Olympics? Who knew? Steve Nash (heart!) is opening an environmental gym in Vancouver. London Olympics 2012 update: Amphibians are being […]

New York Sports Club kicks in to conserve

The other day at the gym I was engaging in classic attention-deficient media trawling -- attempting to read my magazine, watch the morning newscast, and work up a sweat all at the same time.

So it didn't bother me too much when the TV kept shutting off. The equipment at these high-traffic fitness clubs is renowned for breaking down, so I chalked it up to an electrical glitch. Today I learned that in late July, the New York Sports Clubs reprogrammed their televisions to automatically turn off when not in use (this doesn't account, I guess, for those who want to watch without listening, but you can always plug in your headphones without putting them on).

When one person makes an effort to conserve energy, it's a good thing; when a facility with as much daily energy consumption as the NYSC network tries to conserve, it's great. Hat tip to the sports clubs for a simple and effective step in the right direction.

Or should that be get fast trashed?

In college I wrote my honors thesis on the connection between running and spirituality. And I like the idea of eco-running as a combining-of-passions sort of idea. Except I’m not really into combining my passions a la eco-runner Samuel, by picking up trash while I run. Because I’m training for a marathon, and I live […]

And a bit of introspection

From the Oregonian: Wild birds competing with youth baseball. City wants to turn Little League diamond into wild space. Little Leaguers don’t want to be forced out of their park. Should wild birds trump kiddie baseball players? If I say no, does that go against everything I allegedly stand for as an environmentalist a person […]

Ichiro! Ichiro!

I watched the end of the MLB All-Star Game last night. I missed Ichiro Suzuki’s inside-the-park home run, alas, but did see the post-game when he was declared MVP and presented with a Chevy SUV hybrid. It’s a step. Maybe next year, the All-Star MVP will be presented with free solar panels for his house. […]

Well, not that dirty

I love, love that the Waste World Cup exists. This ESPN chap said it, not me: Bicycles are the new SUV. That’s all. (So my cousin came to visit a few weekends ago, and we were discussing those inevitable awkward situations when you’re at a social gathering, and you’re chatting with someone, and even if […]