Henry Abbott at TrueHoop brings up the important topic of the NBA making a push to be more environmentally-friendly. If they are doing so, it is not getting much or any publicity.
David Stern’s stated concerns about global warming notwithstanding, can you ever remember seeing any mention of the environment in anything the NBA has ever done publicly? This is the last refuge of the Escalade! The NBA has always been all about encouraging people to drive more miles to more stadiums in more opulence while buying more TVs, wearing more sneakers, and drinking more pre-packaged beverages …
I agree completely that the NBA has not taken up a league-wide effort, or at least a publicity campaign on the back of that effort, to “go green”. However, it does seem that teams are doing so individually, which is an encouraging sign.
- Steve Nash convinced the Suns to power their Arena with Solar Energy
- The Lakers will be doing the same with even more solar panels
- Wind will power the San Antoniao Spurs AT&T Center as part of an effort to make it the greenest arena in the US. The initiative includes recycling and water conservation ideas as well.
- The Rose Garden in Portland is going to purchase 100% renewable energy through Pacific Power’s Blue Sky program (side note here, the worst quote I’ve ever heard: “Our participation in the Blue Sky program means that every dunk at the Rose Garden will be a windmill dunk.”)
Beyond that, however, I have seen very little in the way of environmental efforts from other NBA teams. I imagine part of the problem is that the upside is so small for them. Will it sell any more tickets? I doubt it. Some of the efforts, such as alternative power, should actually save the teams money over time, so those will be the first to be implemented.
What we need is for a bigger push from the players. We have seen how Nash got his message through to Phoenix ownership. These players want the attention (and some of them actually may care), so what is the downside? All politicians love supporting the environment because there is no downside. The players agents should recognize this and be pushing for their players to request the NBA green movement as well as look for green endorsement deals.
In the end, it all comes back to money, unfortunately. Of course money is green, too.
