In One 30 Second Commercial, NASCAR Identifies Six Ways the Sport is Green

Did you know that NASCAR pace cars are electric vehicles? Did you know that a NASCAR track is solar powered, and that the racing cars are equipped to use corn-based biofuel? NASCAR also recycles and buys carbon offsets. That’s six ways in all. Not bad for a sport that once was synonymous with puffs of tailpipe smoke. Learn more about NASCAR’s green programs at http://green.nascar.com.

This Stadium was made with 22,000 Recycled Rubber Tires

Photo credit: John Bollwitt - Flickr

It’s in Canada – more specifically, in Vancouver, British Columbia. You can’t see the rubber tires but they’re there, all ground up under the playing surface.

Why? Because having a cushion of rubber tire flakes helps prevent injuries and helps improve drainage.

This stadium, called Empire Field Stadium, was temporarily used by professional sports teams. Its long-term future is as an athletic field the entire community can enjoy.

To learn more, read this Inhabitat article.

More US Baseball Teams Starting Variety of ‘Green’ Initiatives

Pretty soon the baseballs used by major league teams in the US will be colored green.

 Nah. But just about everything else associated with pro baseball in the US is starting to go green.

 In St. Louis the Cardinals stadium recently added solar panels. The Kansas City Royals also added solar panels.

Meanwhile in Seattle the Mariners will continue the tradition of playing a carbon-neutral game by buying renewable-energy credits and water certificates that offset the amount of energy and water the team and its fans will consume on that day.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have a new green program targeting recycling and waste reduction at the ballpark. And, as we told you last week, for every home run the Philadelphia Phillies hit this season, a local environmental group will plant a tree. (You’ll find that story right below this one.)

To learn more, read this Major League Baseball post including a video report.

St. Louis Rams Scoring Off the Field With Their Environmental Program

They’re not going to win the Super Bowl this year, but the St. Louis Rams of America’s National Football League may win the trophy for the greenest professional football team.

With more and more NFL teams incorporating green practices into their routines, the Rams have a lot of competition. But as this article from Missouri Sport Magazine indicates the Rams have quite a game plan.

During the club’s “Green Week” in October, the Rams’ all-volunteer “Green Team” worked to revitalize a local area. (The team’s regular job is to collect recyclables from the stands after games.)

The Rams also hosted a consumer electronics recycling drive, handing out prizes as more than 7,000 pounds worth of items were turned in.

They also turned that week’s home game against the New Orleans Saints into the “Bud Light Green Game – Bud meaning beer, green meaning the Rams offset 100% of the electricity consumed by buying wind power credits.

NASCAR Pushing to ‘Green’ Car Racing Through Biofuel, Recycling, Solar and More

Think about a NASCAR race and probably the last thing that comes to mind is environmentalism.

But that’s exactly what NASCAR hopes people will soon be thinking when they watch those cars go tearing around the track.

As this story in the Sun Sentinel notes, NASCAR recently hosted a “green summit” in Florida to discuss all this.

Officials went over the next generation of biofuels that NASCAR vehicles may run on, as well as current programs that have seen solar panels installed at one racetrack and more than a thousand tons of motor oil, car parts, etc. recycled from the season’s races.

Officials say they are anxious to move beyond today’s ethanol fuel, whose environmental credentials are questionable, into cellulosic ethanol, which is considered greener because it’s made from agricultural and other organic waste, not from food crops like corn the way most ethanol fuel is currently made.