Take Me Out to the “Green” Ballpark
Posted on April 22nd, 2008 - 11:28 AMAbout the author: Alan J. Steinberg is the Regional Administrator for the New York Regional Office.
I might just be the biggest baseball fan in the world, and, you might say, I am also a major fan of the planet Earth. This year, I had the chance to truly combine business and pleasure, and I’m proud to share my story as the first contributor to a new Agency-wide blog.
As a baseball “nut,” I’ve been blessed. I grew up outside of Pittsburgh and rooted for the Pirates of Roberto Clemente. I also had great affection for a bunch of “Bums” from Brooklyn, including the courageous Jackie Roosevelt Robinson. In my adult years, I became a New York Mets fan. All’s right in my world when baseball is being played at Shea.
Next year, Shea Stadium will give way to the new Citi Field. Recently, I had the pleasure of announcing that our “green team,” a multi-discipline group of EPA staffers focused on pollution prevention, had hit a virtual homerun with the signing of an agreement with the Mets calling for many outstanding green practices at their new ballpark.
The agreement underscores the team’s innovative and comprehensive commitment to sustainable development, spelling out design, construction and operational principles that will ensure that the stadium meets the highest environmental standards. The Mets are building the new ballpark with 95% recycled steel. They’re installing a green roof to decrease energy needs. Water conserving measures, such as hands-free faucets and automated flush valves, will save millions of gallons of water every year.
When Citi Field is fully operational, the Mets plan to join EPA’s WasteWise program and Energy Star. And, that just scratches the surface of the many planned, environmentally friendly features of the new ballpark. Citi Field will be a model for other sports arenas (hint, hint…Yankees).
As I announced the agreement from Shea Stadium, I couldn’t help but think that the New York Mets had hit a grand slam, converting a “field of dreams” into a “field of green.”
And, what better time is there to be green than the start of baseball season and the Earth Day celebration? I hope you all do right by the planet, and I encourage you to keep reading this blog as staffers from across the Agency share their stories. Happy Earth Day everyone!
Tags: baseball, mets, new york, sports, steinberg
| Permalink | TrackBack
Question of the Week
April 22nd, 2008 at 2:23 pm
It was nice to hear that you grew up outside of Pittsburgh, because so did I. And still today, I live in the south hills of Pittsburgh.
I was pleased to read in a recent Waste News article that major league baseball teams around the nation are planning new sustainable practices. I hear that PNC Park, the Pittsburgh Pirates field, will be implementing recycling initiatives this year. I think that this is a great step for MLB!
April 22nd, 2008 at 2:47 pm
Dear Mr. Steinberg,
Finally, someone I can ask this of: I find myself bewilderingly deflated by the fact the everyone talks about green things now. As an environamental scientist of 25 years I was the only one in my coffee klatsch to know about the environment. Now my children are better informed than I about some things. I must have been getting an egocentric pleasure all those years - a kind of “I’m- greener-than-thou” superiority. I don’t trust my motives anymore. Is something wrong with me? - Well, must shove off, have to get back to work saving the planet!
April 22nd, 2008 at 3:05 pm
Go Mets!
April 22nd, 2008 at 5:20 pm
Great post today. I would like to see al the major (and minor) sports branch into “recycling.” At the very leadt for all the beer bottles and the cups they’re poured into.
Let’s go Mets!
April 22nd, 2008 at 7:21 pm
Region 2 promoted green receation just as Region 8 has done with the Pepsi Center in Denver. But wouldn’t these efforts happen without EPA? By voluntarily going green, these private sports investors reduce their costs and meet a public demand. While Region 2’s agreement with the Mets generated no national press, EPA’s denial of California’s right to cleaner cars, the court’s rejection of EPA’s cap and trade mercury rule, and EPA’s new ozone standard being set higher than that recommended by its Science Advisory Board certainly has made news. That’s because ‘man bites dog’ is news and EPA blocking states that would be cleaner reverses EPA’s historical role. Promoting voluntary green efforts by industry and consumers reduces EPA’s role to that of cheerleader. Is cheerleading all that Congress and the public expects from EPA or is that all our lame duck leaders will permit?
Leave a Reply
April 23rd, 2008 at 12:50 am
Don’t you think that “Greenversations” is the worst name for anything ever?
April 23rd, 2008 at 8:44 am
You can read more about baseball and the Federal blogger, as well as the Washington Nationals’ efforts to make their new ballpark the first major stadium in the United States to be LEED certified, over at InfoFarm, the blog of the National Agricultural Library.
And Blogerman, you might get your wish.
Besides the Nats and the Mets, Newsweek reported that the Twins and Marlins have plans to make their new stadiums more environmentally friendly. In addition, other teams around the league are making similar efforts to “go green” in their existing stadiums, from composting and recycling to solar panels and biodegradable cups.
Go Tribe!
May 15th, 2008 at 8:30 pm
Hello my friends
