MANAGING EDITOR – SOPHIA KUSSEL
ORIGINALLY PRINTED ON MARCH 2, 2023
Ah yes, the Superbowl. The magnificence of throwing a brown oblong back and forth is renowned across the world. So how can something so pure and American result in such environmental havoc?
The Super Bowl has had a long- standing tradition of hating the environment. Not explicitly, but their production of Greenhouse gases certainly seems to. According to Waste Management, four major professional leagues (NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL) are responsible for producing nearly 35,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) each year— just from their fans’ waste activities alone.
Celebrities such as Alicia Silverstone, Meghan Trainor and even Ozzy Osbourne, have made cameos in the Super Bowl’s 2023 commercials. Naturally, these precious celebrities deserve the best treatment. This means private jets, baby. The most popular private jet model— the Cessna Citation XLS– burns, on average, 189 gallons of fuel per hour. Washington Posts’ analysis of flight data states that celebrities are responsible for 3,376 metric tons of CO2 —480 times more than the average individual’s emissions annually. Those numbers don’t account for the emissions of the traveling crews or exotic shooting locations. So, what’s the big deal? What exactly does carbon dioxide do to our atmosphere anyway? To answer this question, the Rattler reached out to an expert.
Dr. Evelynn Mitchell, a professor of environmental science at St. Mary’s University, broke down the science: “Carbon dioxide is a natural component of our atmosphere given off by many processes like plate tectonic activity, volcanic eruptions or fires started by weather events. The higher the concentration of CO2, the more of that energy is trapped in our atmosphere rather than being emitted into space. As the levels of CO2 have increased it traps more of this energy, warming our atmosphere and oceans. Humans evolved in a “Goldilocks” time period on the planet when the CO2 level was not too low, and not too high, making the temperatures just right for humans to thrive.”
To put it in simpler terms: at one time, the planet had the perfect balance of CO2 for human life.
That is until humanity expanded and started to industrialize, killing the forests that actually removed CO2 from the atmosphere. Humans began using ridiculous amounts of fossil fuels, then when burnt, release large amounts of greenhouse gases — creating even more CO2 just for giggles. That’s when CO2 levels started to rise rapidly—and now everything is hot. Because everything is hot, icecaps are melting, there are reduced agricultural yields, wildfires are more numerous and severe, and intense droughts are more frequent.
On the bright side, this year’s Super Bowl has tried to change, opting to “go-green.” NFL Green, the league’s environmental program, emphasizes its use of renewable energy by supplying more of their electricity through renewable generators. NFL Green estimates to scourge for as much as 140,000 pounds of donatable food and beverages. However, many know little about NFL Green’s steps to cut down on travel emissions — a large producer of CO2 emissions. All this is frankly not enough.
Everyone has a responsibility toward the planet and to each other to ensure change. As Dr. Mitchell points out: “The first thing we need to do is acknowledge that combusting fuels is making the problems worse. As individuals, we can make choices to use less energy and try to utilize renewable resources. We can also encourage research in an area called carbon sequestration, where we look at methods to remove CO2 from our atmosphere. Trees already do this for us, so protecting and planting more trees is also a way to help process the CO2. Plus, trees provide shade that also helps local temperature.” Today, carbon emissions are inescapable, even at sports games. Corporations seem to be trying to lessen the impact, but individuals also play an important role. It’s up to everyday people to stay informed, learn how their community uses their energy, create constructive dialogue and find ways to restore and protect the only environment they have.
