 "Photo: Dan4th")
How many times a year does one fly on an airplane? Two, three - some may even fly up to five or six times a year. But for most people, anymore than that would be ridiculous to suggest.
Now what if the person is an NHL player? If one adds up all the flights a pro hockey player takes, then add to that hotel energy costs and ground transportation such as buses and cars, well that's a lot of carbon dioxide being spilt into the atmosphere. In fact it adds up to over ten tons of greenhouse gas emissions a year, per player. Not exactly what falls into a "normal" carbon footprint.
But there is something being done, and it's being done by the Boston Bruins' own designated hockey hippie, Andrew Ference.
For those that are unfamiliar with the Bruins hard hitting defenseman, he is a Calgary native who was raised with an admiration for the natural world. With this in mind, he got in contact with Dr. David Suzuki, a renowned Canadian environmental activist. With the help of Dr. Suzuki, Ference helped initiate the launching of the NHLPA (National Hockey League Player Association) Carbon Neutral Challenge.
The NHLPA Carbon Neutral Challenge began in December 2007, with the goal of getting players involved in offsetting their carbon emissions.
How does a player offset his emissions? Well, it's not as difficult as it may sound. All the player needs do is to buy carbon offsets, simple enough. A carbon offset, or carbon credit as it is sometimes called, is a financial instrument that is used to represent a reduction in carbon or other green house gasses.
One way these credits may offset emissions is by funding alternate energy sources, thus the CO2 a player gives off is, in a sense, made up for. The offsets that players purchase are of the highest value, they are Gold Standard from an organization called Planetair.
Ference, upon launching this endeavor, did not expect it to catch on as quickly as it has. He anticipated originally somewhere between 70 and 80 players to show interest in the program. Well, since its commencement over 500 players have joined, and with any luck this number will only continue to grow.
But it's more than just a conscious effort on players' parts to go green. It is Ference's ultimate hope that it will snowball into a bigger effect. Much like the entire green initiative, the end goal is to inspire others to do their part.
"The Carbon Neutral Challenge is part of a greater philosophy of trying to do the right thing, but it's the public arm of trying to live green," he told Samaritan Magazine last November. "And whether it's a player that starts the spark or a fan who reads about it, we're hoping that it might be that first action that starts to make a difference in other parts of their lives."
The green movement may start with just a few people - the Andrew Ferences of the world, but the first steps they take are too little effect if the rest of us don't join in. Whether that is to recycle more, switch light bulbs, change to environmentally friendly products, or to make others aware of what they can do it all leads to a greater end result.
That's what the NHLPA Carbon Neutral Challenge boils down to, a few people becoming more responsible for their actions, and setting an example for the rest.
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