Green Diamonds: Baseball Stadiums Take a Swing at Energy Efficiency

Many MLB arenas now incorporate cutting-edge ecofriendly features















Share on Tumblr



PLAY BALL: Washington, D.C.'s Nationals Park, the first stadium certified as a green building in Major League Baseball. Image: Washington Nationals

More In This Article

At the Cleveland Indians home opener on April 10 crowds can expect to hear super fan John Adams pound away on a bass drum in left center field as he has in virtually every home game since 1973. Over by the first base side of the field—and commanding a bit less attention—game- goers may also notice another distinguishing feature at Cleveland's Progressive Field: an upper deck solar panel array. The Indians were the first American League team to install an alt-energy power source in 2007, making it a member of the growing number of ball clubs whose stadiums are going green.

"We view ourselves as a civic leader, so it's our duty not just to think and act green, but to try to influence fans and the community, as well," says Curtis Danburg, a spokesperson for the team. The franchise put up $100,000 toward the $180,000 panels, with two grants covering the rest. Danburg says the panels generate 8.4 kilowatts, or "enough to energize the 400 televisions we have in the ballpark."

Many Major League Baseball (MLB) teams echo these sentiments, having taken similar action to "green up" their sport. In a partnership announced last year, the commissioner's office joined with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), an environmental advocacy group based in New York City, to spearhead the Team Greening Program. The initiative helps teams figure out ways to do their part in protecting the environment and staving off climate change.

"This effort is really changing baseball for the better," says Allen Hershkowitz, senior scientist and coordinator of the sports greening project at the NRDC. "Baseball isn't green yet, but it's in the process of greening."

The process has unfolded in much the way the game is played, with the MLB's franchises trying to best one another in scoring energy efficiency accolades. "Everything reduces to a competition in our game," says John McHale, executive vice president of communications for the Office of the Commissioner of Baseball, only half kidding. "And when you see something this positive come out of that, it's great."

He says that pro baseball has not yet collectively calculated its carbon footprint, but some individual teams have attempted to keep tabs on their contribution to global warming. The Philadelphia Phillies, for example, purchased about $250,000 worth of renewable energy credits to offset their Citizens Bank Park's utility power use for all of 2008, says team spokesperson Brian Mahoney. These credits—intended to pay for carbon-neutral electricity production from wind turbines and biomass burning—will also be bought to offset stadium energy needs for 2009, Mahoney says.

In a win–win, though, many teams have already financially benefited from reducing energy use and expanding recycling. The Seattle Mariners, for example, saved almost half a million dollars by cutting natural gas and electricity usage at Safeco Field by about 36 and 18 percent, respectively, the past two seasons, says team spokesperson Rebecca Hale. The organization also recycled 342 tons of plastic, glass and cardboard last year, saving $60,000 in waste disposal costs.



3 Comments

Add Comment
View
  1. 1. Charlie Peters 10:27 PM 4/5/09

    California CalEPA Secretary Linda Adams, signed a MOU with the UN in China on earth day. China gets about 50% of the world carbon tax and the China government gets a 50% tax of the credits.


    ** China goods and services may increase

    ** We pay the carbon tax and Pew Business Environmental Leadership Council (BELC) Member Companies: ABB, Air Products, Alcoa Inc., American Electric Power, Bank of America, BASF, Baxter International Inc., The Boeing Company, BP, California Portland Cement, CH2M HILL, Citi, Cummins Inc., Deere & Company, Deutsche Telekom, The Dow Chemical Company, DTE Energy, Duke Energy, DuPont, Entergy, Exelon, GE, Hewlett-Packard Company, Holcim (US) Inc., IBM, Intel, Interface Inc., Johnson Controls, Inc., Lockheed Martin, Marsh, Inc., Novartis, Ontario Power Generation, PG&E Corporation, PNM Resources, Rio Tinto, Rohm and Haas, Royal Dutch/Shell, SC Johnson, Toyota, TransAlta, United Technologies, Weyerhaeuser, Whirlpool Corporation, Wisconsin Energy Corporation and friends may all share in the public/private partnership of corporate and NGO welfare

    Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this
  2. 2. Charlie Peters 10:29 PM 4/5/09

    A random "Smog Check" inspection & repair audit, corn ethanol cap and elimination of dual fuel CAFE credit can cut California car impact over 50% in 2010. (Over 2000 tons per day HC, NOx & CO2.) Improved performance of AB32

    Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this
  3. 3. Charlie Peters 10:31 PM 4/5/09

    Should a grand jury consider the cause of death of Alexander Farrell, 46, expert on alternative fuels?



    http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/04/18/BAOK1087DP.DTL

    Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this
Leave this field empty

Add a Comment

You must sign in or register as a ScientificAmerican.com member to submit a comment.
Click one of the buttons below to register using an existing Social Account.

More from Scientific American

See what we're tweeting about

Scientific American Editors

More »

Free Newsletters


Get the best from Scientific American in your inbox

Solve Innovation Challenges

Powered By: Innocentive

  SA Digital
  SA Digital

Science Jobs of the Week

Email this Article

Green Diamonds: Baseball Stadiums Take a Swing at Energy Efficiency

X
Scientific American Magazine

Subscribe Today

Save 66% off the cover price and get a free gift!

Learn More >>

X

Please Log In

Forgot: Password

X

Account Linking

Welcome, . Do you have an existing ScientificAmerican.com account?

Yes, please link my existing account with for quick, secure access.



Forgot Password?

No, I would like to create a new account with my profile information.

Create Account
X

Report Abuse

Are you sure?

X

Institutional Access

It has been identified that the institution you are trying to access this article from has institutional site license access to Scientific American on nature.com. To access this article in its entirety through site license access, click below.

Site license access
X

Error

X

Share this Article

X