The Environmental Impact of the Most Important Rain Delayed Baseball Game Ever

As I sit down to write this, there are fireworks going off down the street. People are yelling and screaming, hooting and hollering. Car horns are honking.

I live about 5 miles as the crow flies from South Philly, and the Phillies just won the World Series in the most important rain delayed baseball game ever.

I’m not a big sports fan, but like everyone else in the region, I’ve felt the excitement of the past week. A sea of red t-shirts and baseball caps has poured out of the elementary school doors each day when I pick my kids up from school. My local friends who have Facebook accounts have been talking Phillies for days. It’s been Phillies Fever all the way. The rain delay and the two days of waiting for this final game to continue has only added to the frenzy.

But I’ve got to wonder, what was mother nature thinking when she rained out Tuesday night’s game? Didn’t she realize that the environmental impact of this particular game would be doubled?

• » See also: Green Blogger Series: Jennifer Lance of EcoChildsPlay.com
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• Double the traffic jams going over the bridges and on 95.
• Double the gas it took all the cars to drive to the stadium.
• Double the cars idling in the parking lot while the the tailgating went on before the game (Does the rest of the country tailgate like Philadelphians? It’s an art form here.)
• Double the trash created from the tailgating. I doubt too many people made sure their Coors Light cans ended up in a recycle bin.
• Double the number of beer and soda cups, bottles from water, hot dog wrappers and popcorn bags thrown in garbage.
• Double the energy used to light the stadium and run the concession stands.
• Double the …..

I don’t begrudge Philadelphia its fun. It’s been a while since the City of Brotherly Love has had a big win like this. I may not join in in all the excitement over professional sports, but I understand its importance in our culture. It brings people together. Families gather on Sunday afternoons to watch a game and end up sharing dinner together, brothers head out to the bar together to watch the big game on the big screen tv, friends tailgate in the parking lot even when they don’t have tickets to the game.

Still, I have to wonder if there is a way to do the whole sports arena experience more environmentally friendly because each game takes a big toll on the environment. And when mother nature pulls what she pulled this past Tuesday night, the toll is doubled.

Image courtesy Bob Jagendorf from flickr.

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