Image by Triple Tri / Creative Commons

The big game is almost here and if you are any kind of football fan you’ve probably already figured out who you are watching the game with, where you are going to watch it, what you are eating and most importantly which team you want to win. With all of that figured out, I wanted to give you a few friendly tips to help lower your environmental footprint just a bit. Don’t worry, they are easy to do and won’t cramp your style. You game?

First of all, many people are planning on attending parties, get-togethers or gathering at a local bar/restaurant in order to watch the game. Needless to say, there is going to be a lot of food at most of these places. You will probably have your choice of tasty snacks, drinks and other foods.

Image via Netta S on Pinterest via Facebook.com

That being said, it is important not only to not eat too much, but to not waste food either. Take a look at some of these shocking facts about how much food we waste. My tip is to a) make less, b) send friends home with leftovers so they don’t go to waste, c) compost any other left over food, and d) recycle all bottles and cans.

If you are the host of a game day party, or if you are going to a “potluck” party, then here are some organic recipes that may help you out. I know we all have our favorite, go-to snacks, but there is no need to indulge in 100% fatty foods when you can add in some fresh, yummy, organic alternatives. Feast away!

Now, you may not be aware of this, but for the last 18 years the NFL has been taking steps to “green” the Super Bowl, and this year is no different. Green Mountain Energy Company is going to be the company supplying 15,000 megawatt hours of “renewable energy certificates” designed to help offset some of the electricity (and resultant greenhouse gas emissions) that will be used at seven of the primary NFL venues on game day.

If the NFL can do it, so can you. My first tip is to to carpool wherever you are going. Second, if you don’t have plans for the game, make them – 10 people in one room will use a lot less electricity than those same 10 people being in 10 different rooms watching the game. Third, if you’re planning a big get-together, you and your guests can choose whichever Green Mountain offset product best suits your needs and take steps to offset your environmental footprint for the entire day.

Ditch the disposables. Instead of going out and getting plastic forks, knives, spoons, plates and cups, my tip is to ask all your guests to bring their own. Trust me, it’s not that hard. Besides, if someone forgets, you can also have some reusable supplies on hand to help them out.

Well, that about covers it for now. If you have any other helpful tips, please feel free to drop a comment and share the wealth. For those of you who missed it, here was last year’s green facts and figures surrounding the Super Bowl. Here’s hoping you have a great and biofriendly weekend. Enjoy the game!

Image by dorena-wm

Unbelievable as it may seem, the end of the week is already here. Therefore I figured I’d do a quick environmental round-up. These are just a few of the environmental or eco-stories I came across this week that I thought you might be interested in.

1) Emissions: Why Focus on the Supply Chain? – Lifecycle costs are not always factored in when it comes to purchases and supplies, yet it is a key factor related to environmental impact.

2) Taco Bell sells Fake Meat. So What? Everybody’s doing it – With all that came up in the news this week regarding Taco Bell, it kind of all comes down to the fact that people need to be aware of what they are eating. If you don’t want “fake meat”, then go organic. Don’t want contaminated fruits and veggies? Then grown your own. There are healthy solutions.

3) What Does Organic Mean? – Speaking of organic, it’s good to know what organic really means. What level of organic are you really looking for? Know before you go.

4) Fancy Solar Cooker Concept a Possible Solution for Off-Grid Communities – To me this appears to be a great idea. As long as it is affordable, this could definitely have possibilities. Seems like it might be good for camping, etc.

5) Eco-Kids Protecting Animals for One More Generation – I always love hearing stories about kids taking steps to save animals, improve the environment, raise awareness to eco-activities, etc.

6) Cornfields vs. Oilfields (Infographic) – So what are the impacts of using corn for fuel? Is it worth the investment? Take a look.

7) Freecycling at Work Drives Green Engagement, Business Growth – This one I thought was a great idea for businesses. Inspiring people at work often trickles into their personal lives as well.

Now here’s one that many of you can get behind…the 2011 Local Hero Award. Check it out and see who has already been nominated. Then if you don’t see someone you think should be there, nominate them for a Heart of Green Local Hero Award! There are lots of unrecognized green heroes out there.

Remember to have a biofriendly weekend and if you’re planning on watching the Super Bowl this weekend, please keep your waste to a minimum. Check out some of the cool Green Facts and Figures Surrounding the Super Bowl.

Image by Mahanga via Wikimedia Commons

Well, the big game day is almost here and if you’re like most football fans, you’ve already been plotting and planning for a game day get-together. However, did you know there is a lot more green going on in and around the Super Bowl…other than just the Green Bay Packers being there of course.

Before we get into that, let’s start with some facts and figures about game day consumption (as it is not necessarily the greenest of days):

It is estimated that over 8 million pounds of guacamole and 14.5 tons of chips are consumed on Super Bowl Sunday. More than $50 million dollars are spent on food during the big weekend. Popcorn is another hot item and ranks up there with the volume of guacamole consumed.

Image by bowena

Other than Thanksgiving, there is no day that Americans eat more food than on Super Bowl Sunday. One main difference though is in the set-up. While Thanksgiving is more of a sit-down, bring out the best china and crystal type of day, game day parties tend to opt for plastic cups, plates, disposable plastic-ware and paper napkins. Needless to say a lot of waste is generated on game day. Just in the stadium alone, past Super Bowls have generated an average of 65+ tons of trash each. Note that I’m not even taking into account all the leftover food that goes to waste.

Another fact is early football were made out of pig bladders, but now all footballs are made from cowhide. In fact, it takes around 3000 cows to make enough footballs for one NFL season. Here are a few more interesting facts about the Super Bowl:

Now let’s get into some of the green actions taken in preparation for the upcoming Super Bowl. The NFL has actually continued to work on environmental actions every year over the past 17 or so years. They are intent on walking the walk when it comes to green, environmentally-friendly actions. This year’s preps all started with a tree:

Following that a full-blown environmental program was put into place and included initiatives designed to minimize the environmental impact of the upcoming Super Bowl. These initiatives were such things as:

• Solid waste management and recycling
• Prepared food recovery
• Materials donations
• Sports equipment and book donations
• and a Climate change initiative

As a result of these programs and initiatives, some of the following events have already transpired or are soon to transpire:

• At least 1/3 of all buses being used for Super Bowl XLV transportation will be powered by biodiesel
• Renewable energy credits are being used to “power” not only Cowboys Stadium, but all the main NFL venues and team hotels as well. This is being done through Just Energy to ensure Super Bowl XLV is the greenest yet.
• Around 6500 trees were being planted around North Texas through a variety of different planting projects to help combat carbon emissions.
• In coordination with the Salvation Army, a large donation event took place wherein students donated items they no longer needed to other kids in need. The program – Super Kids-Super Sharing.

You can get a more in depth look at green lessons to be learned from Super Bowl XLV here.

Cowboys Stadium itself even took some large steps to green their operations:

• They reduced solid waste by 25%
• They reduced energy by 20%
• 90% of the old stadium construction waste was recycled
• They use recycled plastic seats
• They have a very efficient LED display (reportedly the World’s largest)
• They use native plants and trees for landscaping
• They also have recycled bins throughout the stadium

Another example is they partnered up with Totally Green, an environmental innovation company, to really step up their sustainable actions. A bio-composting reactor (the ORCA Green™ Machine) was installed in the stadium and apparently can take up to 2400 pounds of organic waste per day and turn it into nutrient-rich grey water. By doing so they are keeping that waste out of landfills. Take a look at how the machine works:

All in all, when it comes down to it, whether you’re routing for the Packers or the Steelers, remember that a lot of green went in to making Super Bowl XLV a little more environmentally-friendly. So please be sure to do your part to keep your impact on the environment to a minimum as well. Enjoy!

Image from superbowlflorida.blogspot.com

Last year an estimated 98.7 million Americans tuned in to the watch the big game on Super Bowl Sunday. That’s not including the 70,000+ people who actually attended the game. But do you have any idea of the costs, both monetary and environmental, of the Super Bowl? Well, let’s review some of those facts and figures as well as go over some environmental tips for your own personal game day activities.

If you attended Super Bowl I, you would have paid about $6 per ticket. Advertisers paid an estimated $42,000 for a 30-second ad spot. Today if you wanted to see Super Bowl XLIV, you’d pay anywhere between $1275 and $5650 per ticket.  Advertisers are paying an average $2.65 million for a 30-second ad spot…and that’s down from the last two years.

Some past advertisers including General Motors, FedEx and Pepsi, have opted out of this year’s advertising slots. However, despite complaints received by the Treasury Secretary, Chrysler plans on being the only U.S. auto-maker to run an ad during this year’s Super Bowl.

Take a look at this 1969 Super Bowl commercial from Chrysler:

Even though Pepsi is not having an ad during the Super Bowl, they are the official drink of the NFL and are debuting their new energy-efficient, HFC-free coolers at the Super Bowl, so I’m sure they will get plenty of promotion.

As far as the stadium and those in attendance for the big day….there are 20,000 parking spaces available e.g. a potential for 20,000 vehicles. The EPA estimates there is about 19.4 pounds of CO2 emitted for every gallon of gasoline burned. Even if each car only drove 20 miles to get there, that would still be over 7 million pounds or over 3500 tons of CO2 emissions. (NOTE: That doesn’t factor in trucks used to bring in food, supplies or any other CO2 emissions generated during game day preparations.)

When you factor in the trash generated on game day from left-over food containers, promotional flyers, etc you are talking even further environmental impact. Did you know at the 2004 Super Bowl, over 428 tons of trash was collected during the four-day event?

Luckily the the NFL has the “Super Bowl XLIV Environmental Program“ in place this year. Their program is designed to help lower the environmental impact of Super Bowl XLIV.

Solid Waste Management/Recycling: They intend to have recycling containers at all major event facilities where Super Bowl related activities will take place.

Prepared Food Recovery: Excess prepared food will be collected up and donated in coordination with Daily Bread Food Bank. Last year over 65,000 pounds of food was donated, due in part to activities like this and the annual “Taste of the NFL” event.

Materials Donation: After the Super Bowl, the NFL plans to donate as many supplies and materials as possible, so as not to waste them. This includes building materials, non-perishable foods and drinks, decorations, live plants, etc.

Sports Equipment/Book donation project: The “Super Kids-Super Sharing” project will be working to collect used sports equipment and books from local schools and school children for donation to other under-equipped schools and school children in South Florida.

Climate Change Initiative: Last but definitely not least, this initiative has a variety of facets, including using renewable-sourced energy to “power” the stadium and other facilities. Basically, the NFL has teamed up with NextEra Energy Resources who will supply Green e-certified Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) to match electricity consumption during the Super Bowl and related events. They will also be decreasing transportation emissions from the Super Bowl fleet by using hybrid vehicles or alternative fuels. Providing sources for alternative fuels to all vendors and partners, including the broadcast media, for use in powering their on-site generators. Planting trees in coordination with the US Forest Service and local community groups to help offset carbon output, etc.

So, with the NFL doing their part to help lessen their environmental impact on Super Bowl Sunday, here are a few tips for you:

1) If you are driving to another location to watch the big game, car-pool with friends. If you are unable to do so, a proven fuel additive could help lower your emissions.

2) Use recyclable or bio-degradable plates, cups, etc. Try to recycle as much as you can.

3) Make your own game day treats, don’t have food delivered. Delivery means someone has to drive food to your home (emissions) and your food will probably come in non-recyclable containers inside a plastic bag. Be prepared and get your food ahead of time.

4) Don’t waste food. Most Super Bowl parties will have more food than people will eat, so package up what you don’t eat and save it for later.

If you really want to offset your Super Bowl Sunday and help the environment, you can always purchase a “Super Bowl Party Offset” from EarthEra. For $10, they say they will offset 1200 pounds of carbon dioxide. And 100% of their revenues from EarthEra product purchases apparently go to build more solar and wind energy project in the U.S.

What are your plans for Super Bowl Sunday? Do you have any tips you use to help lower your environmental impact on game day? Hope you have a great weekend…and don’t forget to get outside a little bit (before or after the game).