A recent issue of Sports Illustrated examined how global warming is affecting sports and athletes. The TV show Living on Earth this week interviewed the story's co-author, David Epstein, and features a transcript on its website.
Some of the more obvious concerns involve heat exhaustion or Nordic skiers not having any snow. But Epstein also looked at auto racing and how the sport is changing.
"There's not a cohesive movement right now. Well in some sports there are. Let's say in some of the driving sports, which maybe can make a big difference. In the clean air act of 1970 which said, you know, new consumer cars would have to run on unleaded fuel, race cars were actually exempt so they don't have to comply with that. But NASCAR is now going to comply with it anyway and they're mixing in ethanol into their fuels. And Indy Car is going to 100 percent ethanol, and F-1 is introducing hybrids and ethanol, things like that. And obviously their emissions are a drop in the bucket but how far is it from a NASCAR driver to a NASCAR fan in terms of being conscious about ethanol," said Epstein.
He also pointed to athletes that are making environmentalism a personal issue, the way other athletes are philanthropic in their off-field activities. He noted that Steve Gleason of the New Orleans Saints drives a biodiesel truck and started a foundation called One Sweet World that's devoted to sustainability.
[Source: Steve Curwood/Living on Earth]
Some of the more obvious concerns involve heat exhaustion or Nordic skiers not having any snow. But Epstein also looked at auto racing and how the sport is changing.
"There's not a cohesive movement right now. Well in some sports there are. Let's say in some of the driving sports, which maybe can make a big difference. In the clean air act of 1970 which said, you know, new consumer cars would have to run on unleaded fuel, race cars were actually exempt so they don't have to comply with that. But NASCAR is now going to comply with it anyway and they're mixing in ethanol into their fuels. And Indy Car is going to 100 percent ethanol, and F-1 is introducing hybrids and ethanol, things like that. And obviously their emissions are a drop in the bucket but how far is it from a NASCAR driver to a NASCAR fan in terms of being conscious about ethanol," said Epstein.
He also pointed to athletes that are making environmentalism a personal issue, the way other athletes are philanthropic in their off-field activities. He noted that Steve Gleason of the New Orleans Saints drives a biodiesel truck and started a foundation called One Sweet World that's devoted to sustainability.
[Source: Steve Curwood/Living on Earth]
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