Phillies Going Green
The bright lights on a baseball diamond for an evening playoff game in October is about as American as apple pie. But now some of those lights are going to be tinted green as the Philadelphia Phillies endeavour to cut their carbon footprint.
In an announcement made by the governor of Pennsylvania, the mayor of Philadelphia, and the president of the Phillies, it was revealed that the Phillies are to become the first professional sports team to join the Environmental Protection Agency’s Green Power Partnership. The team will purchase 20 million kilowatt hours of Green-e Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) - the equivalent of planting 100,000 trees. RECs are a way of buying energy generated from renewable sources, though is still a step short of carbon offsets, as the energy would have been produced regardless of the Phillies buying it. That should not in any way downplay the significance of this announcement.
Apart from the immediate impact this will have on global warming by helping the team reduce their carbon footprint, the greater hope is that it will act as an example to other teams and their millions of fans. With about 30 pro baseball teams, and roughly the same number in basketball and football, should the trend catch on it could quickly result in a huge boost to renewable energy. To further promote the fight against carbon emissions, the Phillies have are now actively encouraging their fans to reduce their own carbon footprint and providing them with tips and tricks to do so. And with the extra backing provided by the league, it is hard to imagine that no other teams would follow suit.
While the team would not discuss the costs associated with this initiative, it has been described as ‘significant’.
The EPA’s Green Power Partnership was designed to encourage organisations across the country to reduce their carbon footprint by purchasing green power. They offer advice and assistance to partners, and provide extra publicity and credibility. To date, the program has been a huge success that can list some of the biggest companies and organisations in the country as their partners. Currently, the top 3 purchases of green energy are Intel Corp., Pepsi, and the US Air Force, with Pepsi getting 100% of their electricity from green providers.
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