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Page added on September 20, 2012
Peak Oil: The Major Sports’ Leagues
Not only is the business of big-time sports highly visible in our culture, but it also can use tremendous environmental resources and generate significant emissions (think lighting at night games, air conditioning in domed stadiums, high-volume traffic getting to and fro). When teams, leagues, and stadiums make significant progress in improving their performance, they deserve our applause. [1]
In recent weeks, several articles and blog posts have been written about the commitment our major sports leagues and teams therein have made to sustainable, environmentally-aware practices. A related report by the NRDC provides a more detailed description of the greening and renewable energy efforts.
I’ve provided links * to those articles at the end of this post.
The various pieces describe an impressive range of responsibilities undertaken by our professional teams—a needless-to-say vital contribution to our future well-being, and a great example to the tens of millions of sports fan across the country. What if our political leaders were smart enough to suggest national efforts at conservation and sustainability? [Good to have dreams….]
You realize just how out-of-step anti-environmental lawmakers are when a $400 billion industry with hundreds of millions of fans is busy installing solar panels and expanding recycling programs. [2]
Baseball playoffs are just around the corner; college football and the NFL are now in full swing, and millions of fans are now and will be flocking to games around the country. Any and every effort favoring sustainable practices and energy conservation is a welcome bonus.
More than two years ago, I raised the specter of Peak Oil’s impact on sporting events.
A bigger question remains unanswered: when gas prices are so much higher because supplies are that much more difficult to come by because they are more difficult to access and thus costlier, take longer to get to market, are of an inferior quality, and thus of necessity are not as readily and immediately available to everyone all the time for all their needs, where do major (or minor) athletic competitions fall on the scale of prioritization? How much will fans continue to be willing to pay for the fuel needed to get from here to there?
And if our fossil fuel supplies are no longer as readily available and affordable, how will they get from here to there when the narrow-minded and shortsighted leaders from one of our major political parties (hint: begins with the letter “R”) see almost no reason to invest in alternative forms of transportation?
When the necessity of public transportation becomes vital to meeting everyone’s daily needs and challenges, just how quickly, efficiently, and inexpensively are we likely to create the infrastructure and mass transit systems needed to accommodate just about all of us?
Sure hope the Magic Technology Fairy doesn’t use up all of her pixie dust on shale oil and tar sand production.
5 Comments on "Peak Oil: The Major Sports’ Leagues"
BillT on Thu, 20th Sep 2012 3:25 pm
Many changes coming, including the end of today’s gladiator spectacles. Many things we assume are permanent are already on their way out. When the collapse of the financial system finally happens, the reset will find most of today’s pleasures gone. The real “Survivor” game will be you trying to provide for your family and keep them safe in the new world.
DC on Thu, 20th Sep 2012 6:50 pm
‘Pro’ Sports does indeed occupy a strange place. Largely intended to keep sheeple poor and distracted, they are indeed a huge waste of resources in the sense that they consume so many of them. Even getting to a stadium takes hours. However, since wars and sports are the main thing that keep the public distracted and under control, its hard to see why the elites wouldnt make sure they keep getting the resources they need to keep operating, even if at a reduced level.
-Need a car to get to your ‘game’-no public transit allowed in the US of Oil!
-Stadiums often located in distant areas, requiring long commutes just to get to them.
-Teams are often shuttled around N.A., first class in fuel-wasting jets. Often 100x’s a year or more.
Local sports can be very energy efficient. Super-bowls and circuses, anything but.
Stephen on Thu, 20th Sep 2012 7:36 pm
There is a chance that pro-sports could survive in some form actually. If we shifted to a motion of day games (as opposed to night games which the lights use a lot of power), and did it at stadiums accessible by rail lines, this might actually be one form of entertainment we could sustain to bring people together! We might have to reduce concession offerings some, but if you think about it, players and fans could be transported there if the trolley lines or train lines were electrified and run of solar panels.
Chuck on Thu, 20th Sep 2012 10:47 pm
Dream on sports fans, sports activities at all levels but local will fade quickly from the scene. Without the large broadcast media covrage and financial inputs, already strained team budgets will cripple their ability to continue. All broadcast and print media exists for one purpose; stick advertising before your eyes. The sports endeavors are a magnet to attract spenders like you and me. When there is insufficient capital for the viewers(spenders), either in person or electronically, to buy the products advertised and tickets, there will be insufficient capital to buy the advertising supporting the media who are paying the sports teams for access to the game broadcast. Fuel usage will quickly diminish to public transport, food production, governmental, industry, military, and emergency services as we go forward. Sports does not fit in any of those categories. Just finding an opposing team to play that is reachable will be difficult
BillT on Fri, 21st Sep 2012 12:50 am
Dream on Stephen, sports are a luxury not often enjoyed outside the West. Get used to doing with a lot less in your life. Your spare time will be spent surviving, not slouched in front of a TV or eating overpriced junk food at a pro game.