The CatScan is an online eco-magazine and reports about anything from how to recycle your newspapers to policy change and environmental sustainability. My role working with The CatScan has increased my awareness about ‘green’ issues but has also reduced the amount of material I will accept as true.
Going green or organic or eco-friendly or carbon neutral seems to be used as a marketing ploy stuck on just about every product, political campaign or even sports team. But, what does ‘going green” mean, especially in the sports arena? Well, this week I decided to find out. This week my blog is inspired by an interview I did for an article I am working on for another journalism class.
The Global Sports Alliance or GSA is a company based out of Tokyo, Japan focusing on changing the sports arena to be more environmentally aware. Their philosophy has been to focus on sports enthusiasts as role models and supporters of environmentally friendly practices. At first I was skeptical; no I was actually cynical about a program that uses sports to reduce the carbon footprint of an entire nation let alone the world. It seems like that lack of a sports community would be the best way to reduce negative environmental effects. I mean, c’mon, does it really matter how many napkins you throw away when you’re eating your hot dog at a ball park? Well, it turns out that GSA is not all that interested in the actual effects that sports have on the environment; they’re looking at the common ethic between sportsmanship and environmental sustainability. It’s like ‘fair play’ but with the environment. The GSA philosophy is:
“The fundamental cause of environmental problems is our failure to apply the basic scientific knowledge we learn in school, such as photosynthesis, the heat of evaporation, and the second law of thermodynamics, in society as a whole, widening the gap between ‘what we know’ and ‘what we do.’ Experiencing nature and developing a true consciousness are essential to understanding and applying this knowledge.
Going green or organic or eco-friendly or carbon neutral seems to be used as a marketing ploy stuck on just about every product, political campaign or even sports team. But, what does ‘going green” mean, especially in the sports arena? Well, this week I decided to find out. This week my blog is inspired by an interview I did for an article I am working on for another journalism class.
The Global Sports Alliance or GSA is a company based out of Tokyo, Japan focusing on changing the sports arena to be more environmentally aware. Their philosophy has been to focus on sports enthusiasts as role models and supporters of environmentally friendly practices. At first I was skeptical; no I was actually cynical about a program that uses sports to reduce the carbon footprint of an entire nation let alone the world. It seems like that lack of a sports community would be the best way to reduce negative environmental effects. I mean, c’mon, does it really matter how many napkins you throw away when you’re eating your hot dog at a ball park? Well, it turns out that GSA is not all that interested in the actual effects that sports have on the environment; they’re looking at the common ethic between sportsmanship and environmental sustainability. It’s like ‘fair play’ but with the environment. The GSA philosophy is:
“The fundamental cause of environmental problems is our failure to apply the basic scientific knowledge we learn in school, such as photosynthesis, the heat of evaporation, and the second law of thermodynamics, in society as a whole, widening the gap between ‘what we know’ and ‘what we do.’ Experiencing nature and developing a true consciousness are essential to understanding and applying this knowledge.
If we can promote action in over one billion sport enthusiasts that are truly aware of the importance of clean air and water through personal experience, then we will surely be able to tackle global environmental problems.”
This week I interviewed Jane Poynter made famous through her previous work as a TV host, Biosphere 2 crewmember, sustainability consultant, author, speaker, and technology company president. You might be curious as to how Poynter fits into this whole picture. Well, she says all of her life experiences have a common thread that has led her to join GSA. Jane Poynter is the president of GSA-USA whose headquarters will be located in Tucson, Ariz. My interview with Poynter revealed her goals for GSA-USA and how she’s going to make it successful in the states.
After coming to the realization that many other industries and organizations had or were in the process of tackling environmental issues, Poynter saw a need in the sports arena.
“Who doesn’t love sports?” said Poynter. “If you’re a lover of sports you already think about the air you breathe.”
Through harboring the sportsmanship ethic present in virtually every sport, Poynter and GSA-USA hope to promote the idea of ‘eco-play’. “It’s really very akin to the core of sustainability,” said Poynter.
GSA-USA plans on having ‘teams’ in every major city in the United States by 2010. The teams will be led by team captains and will work on contacting sports teams, sports enthusiasts and community members to foster awareness about environmental issues as well as ask what more can be done?
Although the exact plans for GSA starting up here in the US are still pretty vague, it’s obvious that their voice has been heard elsewhere with a thriving GSA presence in 29 countries. Keep your eye out for GSA in Tucson and around the nation in the near future.
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