In the aftermath of Live Earth 7.7.07, it struck me that the sporting world could also take up the green cause in a more formal fashion. Live Earth apparently attracted an audience of two billion people. [As an aside, I would like to see some of the performers be greater role models in their personal lives.]


The forthcoming Rugby World Cup in France, the Super Bowl (every year in the US) and the 2010 World Cup in South Africa would be great platforms for athletes and sponsors alike  to showcase that they care about more than just the turf on which they play.

Considering all the money involved in sport and the status symbols and opinion leaders that sports heroes represent, they certainly would have their fans' ears. And these sports have the merit of a worldwide scope (football's reach is truly the widest).  I shudder to think of the impact of golf courses and the amount of water needed to sprinkle the greens. Or the future of the snow sports, including the Winter Olympics.  Is it not time for Formula One -- which does not inherently use up a significant amount of petrol itself, but could be a role model -- to get a dose of bio-fuels?

In an effort to find a down-to-earth incentive -- beyond common sense -- for the sports world to take up the mantle, it seems that, if the trends continue, the number of rained-off games, parched grounds, melted ice rinks and so on will on increase, causing havoc to the schedulers, not to mention ticket sales. In the anticipated climate changes, sports equipment will have to be adapted. Conditioning will be dramatically impacted as players will need to contend with enormous swings in temperatures.

Stadiums will need to be adjusted to include air conditioning in the summer. This will all mean less money for the owners. Not good business. So, should we not be seeing an Earth Fit 8.8.08 or a Green Dream Team as part of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing?  It would be a great message if China, which along with the US  fills the top two spots on the carbon dioxide emissions list, were to take up the cause more publicly.  Politics and sport have a natural common cause in this regard.

A potential Green Dream Team of sporting figureheads could ally themselves across a number of sports. On the one hand, the sponsors of individuals could find the marriage of performance and the eco-cause of value. If Roger Federer chose to take on the campaign, Nike, Wilson (racket) and Rolex might all benefit. Among former tennis stars, John McEnroe and Martina Navratilova have already joined in the cause for clean water by being ambassadors for the Global Water Foundation (one of its originators is Johan Kriek, who won the Australian Open twice). Maybe a quorum of past and present already in the making?

Another sport that needs to look at the effects of the climate change directly in the face is skiing where, in the past season alone, seven World Cup events were entirely cancelled for a lack of snow.  And then there is my US hometown, Philadelphia, whose sports teams I support wholesale (especially the bottom of the barrel in '07 Flyers).  The Philadelphia Eagles have made a happy marriage with the firey slogan "Go Green."  They are certainly setting a very good example as they have also officially joined the Stop Global Warming March. 

In short, there are teams and sports personalities beginning to get on the bandwagon, but let's push it up another notch and reach for the visibility that Live Earth achieved, but with another audience.