What's the "Big Idea": Sports

This week's Big Ideas for a Small Planet will follow three innovators in sports—a world championskier who’s bringing an awareness of global warming to the winter sports industry, a bikemanufacturer who’s discovered that a natural fiber-bamboo-is not only more sustainablethan steel, it’s actually stronger, and a skateboard maker whose boards are certified green.

There are many types of eco-cool equipment that different types of sports enthusiasts can use. Consider using the following:

·         Biodegradable golf tees

·         Water soluable golf balls

·         Balsa and hemp surfboards

·         Bamboo snowboards

·         Less toxic powder-coated bicyles

·         Sweatshop-free sewn soccer balls

·         Recycled plastic sea kayaks

·         Bamboo baseball bats

·         Daypacks made from recycled drink bottles

·         Photo-degradable fishing line and fishing lures made from recycled metal bottle caps

 
This week Gather will have a live chat with Jason Salfi, the co-founder of Comet Skateboards. The chat will take place from 2-3PM EST. Click here to join!

What is your favorite sport? Do you think it is an environmentally friendly activity? If not, how would you like to make it more "eco-cool"? 

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Tuesday, June 26^th to "The Green" to learn more:

9:00pm e/p

“Big Ideas for a Small Planet: Sports”  Bicyclist Craig Calfee’s unusual bike design uses a highly sustainable resource – bamboo – to build a bicycle stronger than steel for champion cyclo-cross athlete Dorothy Wong; Jason Salfi, co-founder of Comet Skateboards, shows off his solar-powered facility where skateboards are made from sustainable materials and introduces us to the students who are producing artwork for these eco-friendly boards; and World Champion Freeskier Alison Gannett launches her “Global Cooling Tour” to highlight the impacts of global warming on the business of winter sports.

9:30pm e/p

Plagues and Pleasures of the Salton Sea(U.S. Television Premiere) – Directed by Chris Metzler and Jeff Springer.  The inimitable John Waters narrates this look at the bizarre environs of the Salton Sea, an accidental aquatic body that lies below sea level in the midst of the California desert.  The film traces the twists and turns – some manmade, some natural -- that resulted in a saltwater sea, and eventually, a happy-go-lucky fishing resort.  Interwoven with the history is a portrait of today’s decidedly emptier Salton communities, where the filmmakers interview longtime residents, recent transplants from Los Angeles and environmental experts. 

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Do you have a "Big Idea" for the environment? Join The Green to learn more about Robert Redford's new television series about sustainable living. To join, click here.