Hi there!My name is Lowell and I’m a current junior in the sport management program here at OU.I just wanted to take a second and let you know about a rising issue that’s affecting our industry; environmental sustainability.As a high school student, I know you probably could care less about environmental sustainability, but before you crumble this paper up and throw it in the trash, let me tell you why going green will help advance your career.As a soon-to-be-student in this field, you will one day be part of the generation that keeps this industry functioning.I want to make you aware of this issue, because some day, you will hold the power to create change.
Let me start you off with a broad definition of environmental sustainability.While living on this planet, every living being leaves a footprint behind.The goal of sustainability is to minimize this footprint by using fewer resources, so that future generations will have those same materials during their lives.Since most students our age don’t care about sustainability, this could separate you from the other 400 people in our program alone, and provide a route to success.You might ask, how so?
Being environmentally friendly can help the bottom line of the organization you will work for one day.While people our age focus on sales, customer service, marketing, and other ways to add value to an organization, I encourage you do the same, but from a different perspective.As you learn how operate a franchise, think about ways to keep your team running at a cheaper cost. You should realize that by going green, you can have twice the impact on your company’s bottom line.Something as simple as changing light bulbs to become more energy efficient will save money because they last longer and use less energy.Power companies will start paying you if you install enough solar panels because you’ll have the potential to create more energy than you consume.Also, using appliances that run on less energy will drive costs down.These are just a few ideas to improve the current unsustainability of sport.
Currently, sport is almost completely unsustainable.Take a look at stadia for example, the main problem in the sport industry today.They use a huge amount of materials to build, they consume a large number of resources to keep operating, and then they’re destroyed after a while and replaced with a newer, sometimes larger one.In the New York – New Jersey area, six new stadiums have been built since 2007, and one more is currently under construction.In international sport, countries like Qatar have earned bids to host high-scale events with promised plans to build new stadia for the event.Then, for three weeks or so, hundreds of thousands of people travel to that country to catch the event in-person.But what happens after that?Are the stadia left there to decay?
So let me challenge you over the next few years, as you take classes here at OU, to think about how we can improve sustainability in our industry.In SASM 376 – facility planning and management, think about how we can operate buildings in a more efficient manner. When you take SASM 412 – sport governance and ethics, try to come up with ways to incorporate sustainability while crafting missions, goals, and objectives.Ask your teacher, probably Dr. Yiamouyiannis, why it would be important to do this?Becoming sustainable is a complete alteration in our lifestyle.Making this change surely will not happen overnight.I’m not sure how we can change to become more sustainable… I have a few ideas but I can’t do this on my own.That’s why I’m telling you; because we need more people our age to start brainstorming how we can create this change during our reign as industry leaders.If we continue to live as unsustainably as we are today, we will eventually be unable to survive.As future leaders we need to incorporate greener organizational goals to save our earth.More relevant to us, we have a way to drive down costs, use this knowledge to your advantage!Start small; change light bulbs and appliances to become more energy efficient and less expensive.After that, keep it going.Becoming sustainable is an on-going process.
My name is Lowell Berg.I am a sport management major at Ohio University with a focus in business and professional sales.So far, I’ve really come to enjoy the sales aspect of my education.I was born in New York, but decided to leave my friends and family behind to come to school in Ohio because I, Lowell Berg, have dreams.In 20 years, I want to be running a professional sports team.I want to be the President, the CEO, the General Manger – the guy in charge.So as I sit here in my junior composition English class learning about environmental sustainability, I question why I’m even required to take such a class.See, I signed up for a course titled Writing and Rhetoric II, not Saving the Earth 101.I wanted to improve my writing skills, not learn about how screwed our planet is for the future.One hour and fifty-nine stressful minutes later, the clock ticks from 2:59 to 3:00 PM and I’m free; like a zookeeper let me out of a cage.At 3:00, I get to walk across campus to a class that actually has something to do with my dreams: Sport Governance and Ethics.Today, we learn how to develop organizational goals and objectives, and are asked to write examples of each.Now this is something I can use in the future!
I sit there, scribbling houses and basketball hoops on the pages of my notebook as I attempt to think of the perfect goal for my pretend organization.As my thought process continues, what comes next surprises me.I look down at my paper and see, save money by using renewable forms of energy.What? I know I just came from my English class, but I’m a salesman… why am I worried about saving money when I should be busy bringing it in?
My seemingly useless Saving the Earth 101 class has instilled something in my mind.In the past, American industry has focused their efforts solely on growing business.Entrepreneurs such as Henry Ford have consumed large amounts of resources like steel to build one of the largest automobile companies in the world.For so long, we’ve unlimitedly used resources in order to form the American industries that exist today.It’s time to focus on our planet before we consume everything it has to offer.While we may never destroy it all in the next five to ten years, we need to think long term.
Times are changing and people have begun to search for sustainable alternatives in daily life in order to preserve the supply of materials that we depend on every single day of our lives.For example, Honda has created a hydrogen-powered car that only emits water vapor; the Honda Clarity.Generation Y, currently in their teens and twenties will someday take over the running of our planet.As we grow older, it’s important to take a look at rising issues like environmental sustainability and apply it to our profession of choice.As someone who dreams of eventually running a professional sports franchise, I need to understand the importance of working in cooperation with our environment.Because one day, I won’t be scribbling pretend missions in my notebook, I’ll be instilling goals and objectives in massive sport organizations that have huge impacts on our planet.And, it’s important to use the power I hope to hold some day for the good of the earth, the good of future generations, and the good of my company’s bottom line.Although some sports teams are beginning to become sustainably aware, others remain completely unsustainable.Of the many unsustainable practices occurring in sport today, two noteworthy habits include travel methods of teams and stadium construction practices.Let’s take a look at what’s currently going on within the sport industry.
As a die-hard New York Mets fan, let’s examine their schedule.In June, the Mets will travel from Philadelphia, PA to Queens, NY to Denver, CO to Houston, TX to Queens, NY to the Bronx, NY to Chicago, IL and back to Queens (June Schedule).They will travel to each city, excluding the Bronx, by plane.After their plane ride, they will most likely be picked up at the airport by a bus.The plane runs on large amounts of jet fuel, while the bus consumes high volumes of diesel fuel.Many, if not all, professional sports teams these days travel by plane.Most college athletic teams travel to their games via coach buses carrying along cheerleaders, staff, and coaches, usually accompanied by a caravan of dedicated fans and parents.This transportation releases “carbon dioxide and other air pollution that is collecting in the atmosphere like a thickening blanket, trapping the sun’s heat and causing the planet to warm up” (NRDC: Global Warming Basics).I’m not sure if we can do anything to fix this issue, it may be an unavoidable consequence of a necessary practice in the sport industry.Until the plans to build high-speed trains throughout this country turn into actual construction, teams will continue to travel unsustainably.
Not only are transportation practices in sport bad for the environment and therefore unsustainable, so are their stadia.Athletic stadia in America are only growing larger and larger.Cowboys Stadium, completed in 2009 for the Dallas Cowboys, holds 108,000 people (McBride).The abnormally large stadium “averages $200,000 in monthly utility bills… roughly 24,439,918 kwh per year.To give you some perspective, this is equivalent to the same amount of energy as the city of Santa Monica, CA” which has a population of 88,000 people (Glubiak).In the New York – New Jersey area, the following teams have built new stadia to replace ‘old’ ones in the past three years: the New York Giants, New York Jets, New York Mets, New York Yankees, New Jersey Nets, and New York Red Bull.The Giants’ and Jets’ old stadium, Giants Stadium was 34 years old.Meanwhile, in Boston, the Red Sox still play in 99-year-old Fenway Park.Other teams such as the Cubs and the football team at the University of Southern California play in stadia which are almost three times as old as Giants Stadium.So did the Giants and Jets really need to build a brand new stadium?In international sport, countries will propose construction of new stadia in order to gain a bid to host an important event.For example, Qatar, a small country in the Middle East recently earned the right to host the 2022 World Cup by blowing FIFA (Federation Internationale de Football Association) away with their futuristic stadium designs.Check out the video below:
So, let me ask you, what did you think of their stadia?Pretty cool right?How about the last one with 420,000 square feet of television screens wrapping around the entirety of the stadium?The number of harmful chemicals in a 24-inch TV or computer screen is already enough to hurt the environment after it’s thrown away.How about an entire circumference of a stadium covered in these chemicals?The waste of building materials and its impact on the environment is one of the major sustainability issues involving sport facilities.For example, “Beijing National Stadium, the showpiece of the Beijing Olympics has fallen into disuse since the end of the games [two years ago].Paint is already peeling in some areas, and the only visitors these days are tourists who pay $7 to walk on the stadium floor” (Beijing). It appears the stadium “may never recoup its hefty construction cost” (Beijing).So now let me ask you, what will a tiny country like Qatar do with five brand new stadia after the World Cup is over?Will Al-Rayaan Stadium and its TV screens be left to decay?What kind of impact will that have on the environment?I believe international sport organizations need to take into account what will happen to a stadium after the competition ends, during the bid-selection process.If there’s no planned use for it, that country should not be selected.
Many current stadia being used are unsustainable.It’s vital to realize that we can change these facilities to use less of our natural resources, yet serve the same purpose.Building a brand new stadium isn’t necessary.The benefits of adding greener features to sport structures in order to practice more sustainable methods of operation result in the protection of earth’s resources while saving money for the organization. Recycling building materials can lower construction costs and save resources.Switching incandescent light bulbs in favor of energy efficient or motion sensor bulbs will save money on electric bills.Greener appliances will shrink utility costs and save water.We don’t need to completely rebuild stadia to make them greener; we just need to add some embellishments. We should think in the long term instead of the short term.And some teams have already begun to do so.
Dr. Michael Pfahl, a professor in the sport management department at Ohio University, has done extensive research on current environmental sustainability practices in the sport industry, and has helped the Cleveland Cavaliers become a greener organization.In fact, he is currently in the midst of publishing a book titled Sport and the Natural Environment: A Strategic Handbook for Sport Managers, aimed at industry professionals to help them institute greener methods into their daily operations.When asked about sustainability in sport, he said that some teams are changing because of pressures to transform stemming from consumers, some teams are undergoing alterations because they have the money to do so, and others are changing because they actually care.
Dr. Pfahl believes that some teams in the NBA and MLB are including green concepts, but their green efforts mostly focus on their marketing strategies.They may promote recycling and other green ways of living at their games, but may not actually incorporate any substantial sustainable practices into their daily operations.Dr. Pfahl argues that by adding a ‘go green’ strategy to a marketing plan, there won’t be enough dedication to inhibit long term change. Rather, teams think of all the things they could promote to go green during a one-time event, such as a Green Week (NBA Cares).I think the reason our country is so unsustainable today is because individuals on their own are resistant to change.Large sport organizations should be role models of sustainability to encourage change within the general population.In the future, if I am going to be a sport manager, I need to go above and beyond incorporating sustainability into marketing plans.Most of the teams that are changing today are large organizations such as the Cleveland Cavaliers, Philadelphia Eagles, and the Olympics because they have the money to do so.As many of us college students argue that we cannot support sustainable practices because we don’t have the money to do so, so do small teams in less renowned leagues.Dr. Pfahl argues that even though these teams cannot make a substantial change, they need to realize that “you will never not have a footprint; you need to focus on maximizing opportunities to minimize impact” (Pfahl).
Rather than incorporate green initiatives into marketing plans, Dr. Pfahl says that in order to be successful, industry leaders need to add them to their organizational missions.So, while sitting in my Sport Governance and Ethics class, writing a mission to save money by using renewable forms of energy, I was actuallyon the right track.It’s important for teams to take on a strategic viewpoint, so that when the CEO leaves, sustainability will continue to be a core value of the team.While businesses have recently created roles such as social media marketing, we now need to create a role titled; environmental operations officer, to make sure we’re doing everything we can to preserve resources for the earth while saving money.Like all strategic initiatives, goals of sustainability need to be measureable, actionable, and attainable.You may not be able to rebuild a stadium right away, but you can change the lights to motion sensor bulbs.You can create drainage in parking lots where the water filters into stadium piping to be used in toilets and field watering.You can add solar panels, piece by piece, to eventually bring in more energy than you can consume.Once you start going green, “there’s no endpoint ever, it’s a complete change in how you live” (Pfahl).Individuals on his/her own are resistant to change. If a sport organization can demonstrate sustainability to their fans, we can only hope that it will catch on.One team that has done just this is the Philadelphia Eagles.Their sustainability mission is “to create and sustain championship performance on the field and in the community through programs that promote the quality of life in our region, green the environment to improve our impact on the planet, and enhance our profitability as a business” (Mission Statement).Check out their website dedicated to sustainability at http://www.philadelphiaeagles.com/gogreen/. As I grow older, I hope to encourage other teams to follow suit in the future.
After talking to Dr. Pfahl, I began to realize the impact I can have on this planet via sport.Someday, if I hope to be a CEO of a team, I need to use sustainability to my advantage and for the benefit our planet.This English class initially left me questioning why it even exists as a junior composition class.With the advice of Dr. Pfahl, I will seek to rise up through the sport industry as a salesman, as planned, but when I get to the top, I will incorporate sustainability into my mission so that even after I leave, sustainability can continue to improve.Because we need to go green if we want to survive on this planet… plus, it helps the bottom line.
Who knew my sour attitude towards this class would ever change?At the beginning of the quarter, I entered Ellis Hall hoping to learn about writing and rhetoric, but I was shocked to see that I had to write six papers on saving the earth.What could I do as a college student?Like a lot of students my age, I recycle – on occasion – and that’s about it.I can’t afford a completely sustainable lifestyle at this point in my life.This assignment has helped me understand the practicality this class will serve in the future.While I may not be able to make a change now, I might get a chance to in the future.I need to remember to do this one step at a time.Replacing light bulbs and recycling are easy ways to get started.Rising to the top of an organization in sport is no easy task.And as I take classes to learn how to increase revenue through sales, dreaming of the future, I realize that focusing on sustainability could be an advantage that will provide an attainable route to success in the future.
------------------------------------------------
Works Cited
"Beijing's Bird's Nest to Be Transformed into Shopping Center." FoxNews.com. Assocaited Press, 30 Jan. 2009. Web. 16 Feb. 2011. <http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,485725,00.html>.
Glubiak, Owen. "Cowboys New Stadium a Reminder of How to Waste Energy." EE Life. EE Times, 18 Aug. 2009. Web. 10 Feb. 2011. <http://www.eetimes.com/electronics-blogs/green-supplyline-blog/4030352/Cowboys-new-stadium-a-reminder-of-how-to-waste-energy>.
June Schedule. Photograph. 2011 Mets Schedule. The Official Site of The New York Mets. Web. 10 Feb. 2011. <http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/schedule/index.jsp?c_id=nym&m=6&y=2011>.
McBride, Rick. "Quick Facts about Cowboys Stadium: The Mind-Boggling Home of the Dallas Cowboys." Suite101.com: Online Magazine and Writers' Network. 13 Feb. 2010. Web. 10 Feb. 2011. <http://www.suite101.com/content/quick-facts-about-cowboys-stadium-a201477>.
"Mission Statement." Philadelphia Eagles Go Green. Philadelphia Eagles. Web. 16 Feb. 2011. <http://www.philadelphiaeagles.com/gogreen/mission.asp>.
"NBA Cares: NBA Green Week 2009." Nba.vom. National Basketball Association. Web. 14 Feb. 2011. <http://www.nba.com/green/greenweek2009.html>.
"NRDC: Global Warming Basics." NRDC: Natural Resources Defense Council - The Earth's Best Defense. 18 Oct. 2005. Web. 10 Feb. 2011. <http://www.nrdc.org/globalwarming/f101.asp>.
Pfahl, Michael. "Sustainability Practices in Sport." Personal interview. 16 Feb. 2011.
Qatar 2022 World Cup Stadiums. YouTube. 30 Apr. 2010. Web. 10 Feb. 2011. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcAi3GLQyOI>.
My name is Lowell Berg.I am a sport management major at Ohio University with a focus in business and professional sales.So far, I’ve really come to enjoy the sales aspect of my education.I was born in New York, but decided to leave my friends and family behind to come to school in Ohio because I, Lowell Berg, have dreams.In 20 years, I want to be running a professional sports team.I want to be the President, the CEO, the General Manger – the guy in charge.So as I sit here in my junior composition English class learning about environmental sustainability, I question why I’m even required to take such a class.See, I signed up for a course titled Writing and Rhetoric II, not Saving the Earth 101.I wanted to improve my writing skills, not learn about how screwed our planet is for the future.One hour and fifty-nine stressful minutes later, the clock ticks from 2:59 to 3:00 PM and I’m free; like a zookeeper let me out of a cage.At 3:00, I get to walk across campus to a class that actually has something to do with my dreams: Sport Governance and Ethics.Today, we learn how to develop organizational goals and objectives, and are asked to write examples of each.Now this is something I can use in the future!
I sit there, scribbling houses and basketball hoops on the pages of my notebook as I attempt to think of the perfect goal for my pretend organization.As my thought process continues, what comes next surprises me.I look down at my paper and see, save money by using renewable forms of energy.What? I know I just came from my English class, but I’m a salesman… why am I worried about saving money when I should be busy bringing it in?
My seemingly useless Saving the Earth 101 class has instilled something in my mind.In the past, American industry has focused their efforts solely on growing business.Entrepreneurs such as Henry Ford have consumed large amounts of resources such as steel to build one of the largest automobile companies in the world.For so long, we’ve unlimitedly used resources in order to form the American industries that exist today.It’s time to focus on our planet before we consume everything it has to offer.While we may never destroy it all in the next five to ten years, we need to think long term.
Times are changing and people have begun to search for sustainable alternatives in daily life in order to preserve the supply of materials that we depend on every single day of our lives.Generation Y, currently in their teens and twenties will someday take over the running of our planet.As we grow older, it’s important to take a look at rising issues like environmental sustainability and apply it to our profession of choice.As someone who dreams of eventually running a professional sports franchise, I need to understand the importance of working in cooperation with our environment.Because one day, I won’t be scribbling pretend missions in my notebook, I’ll be instilling goals and objectives in massive sport organizations that have huge impacts on our planet.And, it’s important to use the power I hope to hold some day for the good of the earth, the good of future generations, and the good of the company’s bottom line.Currently, although some teams are beginning to become sustainably aware, others remain completely unsustainable.Of the many unsustainable practices occurring in sport today, two noteworthy habits include travel methods of teams and stadium construction practices.Let’s take a look at what’s currently going on within the sport industry.
As a die-hard New York Mets fan, let’s examine their schedule.In June, the Mets will travel from Philadelphia, PA to Queens, NY to Denver, CO to Houston, TX to Queens, NY to the Bronx, NY to Chicago, IL and back to Queens (June Schedule).They will travel to each city, excluding the Bronx, by plane.After their plane ride, they will most likely be picked up at the airport by a bus.The plane runs on large amounts of jet fuel, while the bus consumes high volumes of diesel fuel.Many, if not all, professional sports teams these days travel by plane.Most college athletic teams travel to their games via coach buses carrying along cheerleaders, staff, and coaches, usually accompanied by a caravan of dedicated fans and parents.This transportation releases “carbon dioxide and other air pollution that is collecting in the atmosphere like a thickening blanket, trapping the sun’s heat and causing the plane to warm up” (NRDC: Global Warming Basics).This may be an unavoidable consequence of a necessary practice in the sport industry.Not only are transportation practices in sport bad for the environment and therefore unsustainable, so are their stadia.
Athletic stadia in America are only growing larger and larger.Cowboys Stadium, completed in 2009 for the Dallas Cowboys, holds 108,000 people (McBride).The abnormally large stadium “averages $200,000 in monthly utility bills… roughly 24,439,918 kwh per year.To give you some perspective, this is equivalent to the same amount of energy as the city of Santa Monica, CA” which has a population of 88,000 people (Glubiak).In the New York – New Jersey area, the following teams have built new stadia to replace ‘old’ ones in the past three years: the New York Giants, New York Jets, New York Mets, New York Yankees, New Jersey Nets, and New York Red Bull.The Giants’ and Jets’ old stadium, Giants Stadium was 34 years old.Meanwhile, in Boston, the Red Sox still play in 99-year-old Fenway Park.Other teams such as the Cubs and the football team at the University of Southern California play in stadia which are almost three times as old as Giants Stadium.So why did the Giants or Jets need to build a new stadium?In international sport, countries will propose construction of new stadia in order to gain a bid to host an important event.For example, Qatar, a small country in the Middle East recently earned the right to host the 2022 World Cup by blowing FIFA (Federation Internationale de Football Association) away with their futuristic stadium designs.Check out the video below:
So, let me ask you, what did you think of their stadia?Pretty cool right?How about the last one with 420,000 square feet of television screens wrapping around the entirety of the stadium?The number of harmful chemicals in a 24-inch TV or computer screen is already enough to harm the environment after it’s thrown away.How about an entire circumference of a stadium covered in these chemicals?The waste of building materials and its impact on the environment is one of the major sustainability issues involving sport facilities.For example, the “Beijing National Stadium, the showpiece of the Beijing Olympics has fallen into disuse since the end of the games.Paint is already peeling in some areas, and the only visitors these days are tourists who pay $7 to walk on the stadium floor” (Beijing). It appears the stadium “may never recoup its hefty construction cost” (Beijing).So now let me ask you, what will a tiny country like Qatar do with five brand new stadia after the World Cup is over?Will Al-Rayaan Stadium and its TV screens be left to decay?What kind of impact will that have on the environment?
It’s vital to realize that we can change these facilities to use less of our natural resources, yet serve the same purpose.Building a brand new stadium isn’t necessary.The benefits of adding greener features to buildings in order to practice more sustainable methods of operation result in protecting earth’s resources while saving money for the organization. Recycling building materials can lower construction costs and save resources.Switching incandescent light bulbs with energy efficient or motion sensor bulbs will save money.Greener appliances will save both money and water.We don’t need to completely rebuild stadia to make them greener; we just need to add some embellishments. We need to think in the long term instead of the short term.And some teams have already begun to do so.
Dr. Michael Pfahl, a professor in the sport management department at Ohio University, has done extensive research on current environmental sustainability practices in the sport industry, and helped the Cleveland Cavaliers become greener.In fact, he is currently in the midst of publishing a book titled Sport and the Natural Environment: A Strategic Handbook for Sport Managers, aimed at industry professionals to help them institute greener methods into their daily operations.When asked about sustainability in sport, he said that some teams are changing because of pressures to transform stemming from consumers; some teams are undergoing alterations because they have the money to do so, and others are changing because they actually care.
Dr. Pfahl says that some teams in the NBA and MLB are only including green concepts in their marketing strategies.They may promote recycling and other green ways of living at games, but may not actually incorporate any substantial sustainable practices into their daily operations.Dr. Pfahl argues that by adding a ‘go green’ strategy to a marketing plan, there won’t be enough dedication to inhibit long term change.Rather, teams think of all the things they could promote to go green during a one-time event, such as a Green Week (NBA Cares).After hearing this, I learned never to do this in the future.If I am going to be a sport manager, I need to go above and beyond incorporating sustainability into marketing plans.Most of the teams that are changing today are large organizations such as the Cleveland Cavaliers, Philadelphia Eagles, and the Olympics because they have the money to do so.As many of us college students argue how we cannot support sustainable practices because we don’t have the money to do so, so do small teams in less renowned leagues.Dr. Pfahl argues that even though these teams cannot make a substantial change, they need to realize that “you will never not have a footprint; you need to focus on maximizing opportunities to minimize impact” (Dr. Pfahl).
Rather than incorporate green initiatives into marketing plans, Dr. Pfahl says that industry leaders need to add them to their organizational missions.So, while sitting in my Sport Governance and Ethics class, writing a mission to save money by using renewable forms of energy, I was actuallyon the right track.It’s important that teams need to take on a strategic viewpoint, so that when the CEO leaves, sustainability will continue to be a core value of the team.While businesses have recently created roles such as social media marketing, we now need to create a role for titled; environmental operations officer, to make sure we’re doing everything we can to save resources for the earth while saving money.Like all strategic initiatives, goals of sustainability need to be measureable, actionable, and attainable.You may not be able to rebuild a stadium right away, but you can change the lights to motion sensor bulbs.You can create drainage in parking lots where the water filters into stadium piping to be used for toilets and field watering.You can add solar panels, piece by piece, to bring in more energy than you can consume.And once you start going green, “there’s no endpoint ever, it’s a complete change in how you live” (Dr. Pfahl). Individuals on his/her own are resistant to change.If an sport organization can demonstrate sustainability to their fans, we can only hope that it will catch on.One team that has done just this is the Philadelphia Eagles.Their sustainability mission is “to create and sustain championship performance on the field and in the community through programs that promote the quality of life in our region, green the environment to improve our impact on the planet, and enhance our profitability as a business” (Mission Statement).Check out their website dedicated to sustainability at http://www.philadelphiaeagles.com/gogreen/.I hope to encourage other teams to follow suit in the future.
After talking to Dr. Pfahl, I began to realize the impact I can have on this planet via sport.Someday, if I hope to be a CEO of a team, I need to use sustainability to my advantage and for the benefit our planet.This class initially left me questioning why it even exists as a junior composition class.With the help of Dr. Pfahl, I will seek to rise up through the sport industry as a salesman, as planned, but when I get to the top, I will incorporate sustainability into my mission so that even after I leave, sustainability can continue to improve.Because we need to go green if we want to survive on this planet… plus, it helps the bottom line.
Who knew my sour attitude towards this class would ever change?At the beginning of the quarter, I entered Ellis 020 hoping to learn about writing and rhetoric, but I was shocked to see that I had to write six papers on saving the earth.What could I do as a college student?Like a lot of students my age, I recycle – on occasion – and that’s about it.I can’t afford a completely sustainable lifestyle at this point in my life.This assignment has helped me understand the practicality this class will serve in the future.While I may not be able to make a change now, I might get a chance to in the future.I need to remember to do this one step at a time.Getting to the top of an organization in sport is no easy task.And as I sit here learning how to increase revenue through sales, dreaming of the future, I realize that focusing on my sustainability could be an advantage that will provide an attainable route to success.
-----------------------------------------
Works Cited
"Beijing's Bird's Nest to Be Transformed into Shopping Center." FoxNews.com. Assocaited Press, 30 Jan. 2009. Web. 16 Feb. 2011. <http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,485725,00.html>.
Glubiak, Owen. "Cowboys New Stadium a Reminder of How to Waste Energy." EE Life. EE Times, 18 Aug. 2009. Web. 10 Feb. 2011. <http://www.eetimes.com/electronics-blogs/green-supplyline-blog/4030352/Cowboys-new-stadium-a-reminder-of-how-to-waste-energy>.
June Schedule. Photograph. 2011 Mets Schedule. The Official Site of The New York Mets. Web. 10 Feb. 2011. <http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/schedule/index.jsp?c_id=nym&m=6&y=2011>.
McBride, Rick. "Quick Facts about Cowboys Stadium: The Mind-Boggling Home of the Dallas Cowboys." Suite101.com: Online Magazine and Writers' Network. 13 Feb. 2010. Web. 10 Feb. 2011. <http://www.suite101.com/content/quick-facts-about-cowboys-stadium-a201477>.
"Mission Statement." Philadelphia Eagles Go Green. Philadelphia Eagles. Web. 16 Feb. 2011. <http://www.philadelphiaeagles.com/gogreen/mission.asp>.
"NBA Cares: NBA Green Week 2009." Nba.vom. National Basketball Association. Web. 14 Feb. 2011. <http://www.nba.com/green/greenweek2009.html>.
"NRDC: Global Warming Basics." NRDC: Natural Resources Defense Council - The Earth's Best Defense. 18 Oct. 2005. Web. 10 Feb. 2011. <http://www.nrdc.org/globalwarming/f101.asp>.
Qatar 2022 World Cup Stadiums. YouTube. 30 Apr. 2010. Web. 10 Feb. 2011. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcAi3GLQyOI>.
As a huge sports fan growing up, my favorite team was undoubtedly the New York Mets.From the first time I realized I was a Mets fan while in elementary school, I fell in love with their home field; Shea Stadium.Each season, I would attend 2-3 games with my family, cheering on players from Mike Piazza to David Wright.By the time I was 14, I knew that stadium like the back of my hand.In 2006, when I heard the Mets would be tearing Shea Stadium down, it broke my heart.Just 44 years after the opening of the stadium, it would be torn down and replaced by a newer, sponsored stadium called Citi Field.Across town in the Bronx, the Yankees announced plans to tear down the 85-year-old house that Ruth built in favor of a new Yankee Stadium.The old Yankee Stadium was almost twice as old as Shea.In the same year, the New York Giants and New York Jets announced plans to tear down 34 year-old Giants Stadium.But wait, that’s not it!The New York Red Bull, who once called Giants Stadium home as well, announced plans to build their own stadium across the Hudson River called Red Bull Arena.And now, most recently, the New Jersey Nets broke ground last spring in Brooklyn starting the construction of their new home – the Barclays Arena.
If New York area sport doesn’t explain the epitome of unsustainability in sport today, I don’t know what does.All of these sports teams have torn down, or will eventually tear down their old homes in favor of new, state-of-the-art stadiums.Meanwhile, in Boston, the Red Sox are still playing in their 99-year-old stadium called Fenway Park.In Chicago, the Cubs still play in their 95-year-old stadium ;Wrigley Field.And in Los Angeles, the LA Coliseum has hosted 12 different sports teams and two different summer Olympics starting in 1923.So I must ask, was it really necessary to tear down all of those comparatively younger New York – New Jersey Stadiums?
“Sport and recreation organizations have traditionally attempted to construct functional and innovative facilities to meet the needs of patrons” (Gibson, 26).By focusing narrowly on the customer, and on short-term objectives, we’ve created a mostly unsustainable industry.The main goal of most teams is revenue generation.Concessions are outsourced in order to provide the cheapest product to be sold at the highest price.This obsession in revenue maximization has led to a search for the cheapest raw materials to be used in the production of sport instead of more sustainable raw materials.In fact, a focus on the long term would actually increase the bottom line of these sport businesses.However, due to the comparatively high startup costs of ‘going green,’ it’s taken too long for teams to start making things more sustainable.
In international sport, countries battle it out to create the most favorable opportunity to host these important competitions.Often, new, state-of-the-art stadiums are drawn up from scratch in order to wow committee members from committees such as the International Olympic Committee (IOC).Most recently, Qatar earned the right to host the World Cup in soccer by designing four new stadiums to be built over the next few years.The stadiums include outdoor air conditioning, futuristic designs, and a lot of raw materials needed to complete construction.However, will these massive stadiums ever be used again in a small country like Qatar after the World Cup is over?This is one of the main sustainability issues in sport.The high cost and large consumption rates of these stadia are clearly unsustainable.
After realizing this, some people asked, what can we do to change this?A group of sport industry professionals audited the current sustainability practices in sport and came up with a suggestion.We need to go green.Some teams, such as my New York Mets, encourage use of mass transportation over driving to the game, but we need to do more, and it starts with the facilities.“A ‘green’ or ‘sustainable’ facility is a structure designed, built, renovated, or operated in an ecologically and resource efficient manner.These buildings often utilize energy-efficient processes to accomplish long-term cost savings… by incorporating design practices and materials that use energy most efficiently” (Gibson, 26). By building green stadia, you can create three possible benefits – conservation of natural resources, increased energy efficiency and water conservation, and an improved indoor environment.
Construction habits of the past often “consume large quantities of steel, wood, plastic, cardboard, paper, water, and other natural resources that unnecessarily lead to resource depletion” (Gibson, 26).So when the stadiums are built for the World Cup in Qatar, they will consume these large amounts of natural resources for a three-week event.Hopefully, Qatar has planned an intended use for the stadiums after the World Cup is over.Green construction habits encourages “the efficient use of natural resources” and the re-using of materials (Gibson, 26).Recycled materials as well as old materials used in past construction should be utilized in order to conserve our natural resources.
Once the construction has ceased and the stadium is built, it’s important to have energy efficient practices installed.This can even be done without renovating or rebuilding.For example, my parents recently threw out all of the incandescent light bulbs in our house in favor of fluorescent, energy efficient light bulbs.They last longer, use more energy, and serve the same purpose – it’s a no brainer.“Improving energy efficiency and using renewable energy sources are effective ways to reduce the potential of energy supply interruptions, improve air quality, and reduce the impacts of global warming” (Gibson, 27).For the sports teams that are worried about increasing their bottom line, “lowering utility expenses allows organizations to reap the financial benefits of sustainability on a continual basis” (Gibson, 27).When you go to a stadium, a lot of water is used.Each concessionaire has access to a sink or hose of some sort.Bathrooms are stocked with toilets – as many as the room can handle.Inside, sinks are sometimes left running.Baseball fields are watered nightly, and sometimes before practices and games.Jerseys and equipment are washed after each practice and game.The evolution of entertainment in the sport industry has created pools, fountains, and waterfalls accompanying stadiums.With all of the water being used, it’s important to think long term in order to preserve the earth’s supply of this resource.Using “high-efficiency appliances and landscape water management systems” along with recycled, non-potable water in low flush toilets is a way to conserve water (Gibson, 27).Any additional supporting signage telling customers to think about their ecological footprint could only be beneficial.
Lastly, “the purpose of a building is not only to provide shelter for its occupants, but also to provide an environment conductive to high performance of all intended occupant activities” (Gibson, 27).Clean air will reduce diseases caused by dangerous materials sometimes used during construction including formaldehyde.Formaldehyde, for example, is used in furniture and shelving despite the fact that it emits toxic gases.“Choosing construction materials and interior finish products with zero or low emissions” reduces the impact of global warming and “improves air quality” (Gibson, 28).By taking simple steps like using zero emission supplies in construction, you can create a safer environment for humans and our planet.Overall, going green in the construction of sport stadia is largely beneficial because it conserves natural resources, energy, and water, while enhancing indoor air quality and saving money in the long term.
Dr. Michael Pfahl, a professor in the sport management department at Ohio University has been doing research on various sustainability practices in the sport industry…
That movie was not only pretty gross, it was kind of sad. Farmers are clearly being taken advantage of, not to mention all of the livestock. The livestock is clearly mistreated, from before birth to their violent death. Their parents are fed growth hormones which produce asymetrical animals built for human consumption. They may not be able to walk, but if they could feed a family who will pay for them, who cares right? As long as the food processing giants continue to be succesful with their current business plans, the farmers will continue to be forced to mass produce animals for human consumption.
Just seeing the process these animals go through to be slaughtered was pretty disturbing. The meat processing plants didn't look sanitary at all. And despite how much I was grossed out by the video, at the end of the day, there's really not much I can do. See, I'm a college student living off no salary, and even less money. When I go to the supermarket, there's one thing that determines what I buy; price. If your price isn't the lowest, I'm not gonna buy it. Now, I will spend money on fruits and vegetables over chips and other trans fat-filled foods, but even that has a negative impact when I'm buying grapes from Chile and coffee from Costa Rica. The balance human diet demands food from all parts of the pyramid, which makes me want to buy fruit and vegetables when they're out of season.
Overall, even though the film told me there's something I can do as an individual to change our food processing and eating habits, I feel helpless. Because I'm still gonna eat fruit in the winter, I'm still gonna buy cheaper meet since I can't afford to buy locally raised meat, and I'm still gonna go to Kroger over your local grocery store because that's the most convenient for my 'busy' life.
Throughout this class we have explored readings discussing mankind’s interaction with planet earth.Growing up in New York, I made regular visits to New York City, and after seeing that, I know that’s clearly not wilderness.Nor is the land left uninhabited and unconstructed in the heart of New York City: Central Park.Before this class, I envisioned wilderness as larger chunks of land preserved by our government.For example, as a Boy Scout growing up, we went on monthly campouts to parks such as Ward Pound Ridge Reservation and Mountain Lakes Camp.The principles we were taught in scouting, such as learning to live in cooperation with our land, have reemerged in this class.In The Trouble with Wilderness by William Cronon and The American Indian Wilderness by Louis Owens, both authors discuss what wilderness really is and if it even exists. Both authors believe that wilderness is what we as humans make of it, and that we need to live in cooperation with the land in order for us as animals and wilderness to survive.
William Cronon discusses, in The Trouble with Wilderness, what true nature really is.He says that, “for many Americans, wilderness stands as the last remaining place where civilization, that all too human disease, has not fully infected the earth” (Cronon, 11).We see Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Canyon as wilderness because they are uninhabited and preserved for observation.However, Cronon disagrees with the people that only see wilderness in this way.He believes that our definition of wilderness is ever evolving – it’s whatever we make of it during our existence.For example, nowadays we think of wilderness as the “island in the polluted sea of urban-industrial modernity” (Cronon, 11).Back before Europeans came to North America, the Native Americans saw wilderness as a part of them and saw themselves as a part of wilderness.They were brothers and sisters of animals that inhabited this planet and took only what they needed to survive.Included in their cooperation with the land, they also tried to live under the ideals I came to learn in scouting; leave no trace.This is a much different point of view than the “Western pattern of thought that sees humanity and wilderness as mutually exclusive” because our footprint on the land we live on has destroyed true wilderness (Owens, 69).
Meanwhile, Louis Owens backs up Cronon’s beliefs in The American Indian Wilderness.He talks about how our interpretation of nature has evolved over the years.Our names for landmarks in this country are different than the names that past inhabitants gave to the same landmarks.This supports Cronon’s hypothesis that nature is what people make of it during their time of existence.For example, what we now know as Glacier Peak in Washington State used to be called Dakobed, or the Great Mother, by the Native Americans before the 16th century (Owens).Owens believes that “wilderness is an absurdity, nothing more than a figment of the European imagination” (Owens, 70).He says that there is no wilderness, because we depend on nature to survive.Therefore, humans and nature cannot be independent; we must learn to get along with each other.Even “before the European invasion,” when we imagine wilderness at its climax, “there was not wilderness in North America; there was only the fertile continent where people lived in a hard-learned balance with the natural world” (Owens, 70).In the past, “our Native ancestors… lived within a complex web of relations with the natural world, and in doing so they assumed a responsibility for their world that contemporary Americans cannot even imagine” (Owens, 71).Owens believes that instead of continuing to set aside land to keep independent of mankind, we should focus on working with the land to use it sustainably for our needs while also leaving it behind for future generations to use.We set land aside because we’ve ruined the land that we inhabit.If we could live in cooperation with the land we live on, we won’t need to set any land aside for preservation.
Overall, both essays discuss most American’s interpretation of wilderness as the chunks of land set aside from human touch for preservation.However, even these lands cannot remain independent of humans as they’re managed and embellished daily by humans.Trails are dug into the land and structures are built so that other humans can come to visit them.Both authors would argue that there may be no problem with this.We need to understand that with human life, there is no wilderness.There’s land and materials that come with this earth which humans depend on to survive.We just need to realize that we need to be respectful of the land and how much of it we consume so that we don’t entirely wipe it out.For if we run out of nature’s materials, we may not be able to survive.
Both essays are written in a way, which make it easy for the reader to relate to.When we begin reading both pieces, we find ourselves agreeing with what the authors believe is our point of view of true nature.Cronon informs us that the definition of nature is what we make of it at that time.On the other hand, Owens believes there is and never has been true nature.We consume nature, but we should do it in a more respectful and sustainable manner in order to survive.Cronon might argue that this could be human’s current view of what nature is.As we read on, both authors provide insightful information on what nature actually is, and how we should keep it alive.These essays are especially important today because of our consumerist lifestyle.While we also need consumerism to survive, we need to figure out a way in which we can consume and rebuild nature at the same time.
The film we watched in class, A Forest Returns, showed the cycle we might have to endure.The video showed the local Wayne National Forest – an area characterized by what we imagine as true nature.During the 1900s, the land we now call Wayne National Forest was consumed in the logging industry. Hillsides were stripped completely bare of trees.Due to the methods used during this logging, the land suffered from devastating erosion problems.The trees were cut down for human consumption, which was necessary for humans to survive during those rough economic times.However, after the southern Ohio logging industry was put out of business, the government decided to replace the empty wilderness with trees.Thousands and thousands of trees were planted in a program designed to provide jobs during the recession.Years later, a land once bare and destroyed is now a beautiful forest.The important piece to learn from the Wayne National Forest is that the trees were replanted, making that section of our earth whole again.While we may have to tear apart the earth at some point, we need to realize that we have the ability to repair the damage done.It is vital that we incorporate processes like this into our daily consumption patterns.
In conclusion, after reading the essays by Cronon and Owens, I’ve learned to take on a new perspective of true nature, different from that of most Americans.I now see that while there are thousands of acres of land set aside for preservation, there is no true nature.As rational thinkers, we must comprehend this and gain an understanding of our ecological footprint during our residence on this planet.If we can do this, we can leave a more resourceful planet earth for our future generations.
