MLB is also threatened by rising sea levels. According to NASA, projections from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change suggest that sea levels will rise by up to 6.6 feet by 2100\u00a0[3]<\/a>. If this happens, stadiums located in coastal cities will be at risk of being consumed by the sea. For example, artist Nikolay Lamm, using sea level rise maps from Climate Central, illustrated the effect of just a 5-foot rise in sea level on San Francisco\u2019s AT&T Park in Figure 1 (via Business Insider).<\/p>\n Figure 1 – AT&T Park\u00a0[4]<\/a>.<\/p>\n Some of the core equipment players use is also at risk. According to Matt Markey of the Tribune Business News<\/em>, 60% of all MLB players use Louisville Slugger bats manufactured from ash trees grown along the New York-Pennsylvania border. Alarmingly, Markey writes, that ash forest is in danger of being completely decimated by the emerald ash borer, an insect that methodically kills ash trees\u00a0[5]<\/a>. The borer\u2019s spread into the region has been hastened by climate change-induced drought, which has weakened the ash trees, and a declining number of extreme-cold days in recent years\u00a0[6]<\/a>.<\/p>\n MLB and many of its individual franchises have been working towards reducing their impact on the environment, however. For instance, the Minnesota Twins opened Target Field in 2010 and established a groundbreaking irrigation system that captures, conserves, and reuses rain water, thereby reducing the ballpark\u2019s city water needs by 50%\u00a0[7]<\/a>. Target Field was also the first ballpark to achieve both LEED Silver certification both for new construction and for operation and maintenance\u00a0[8]<\/a>. Even 104-year-old Fenway Park has seen green\u00a0improvements; in 2008, Fenway became the first ballpark in MLB to install solar thermal panels to heat the stadium\u2019s water, saving 18 tons of carbon dioxide each year\u00a0[9]<\/a>.<\/p>\n Despite the positive initiatives, however, there is plenty of room for MLB to improve. For example, air travel is an important component of MLB that contributes to climate change. Of the 30 MLB teams, 24 are located in unique metropolitan areas. (New York, the greater Los Angeles area, and the San Francisco\/Oakland area are all home to two teams\u00a0[10]<\/a>.) Over a standard 162-game schedule, this means that teams must travel a lot, usually via air. According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), aircraft engines produce various greenhouse gasses, including carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and even water (when given off at altitude), and ground operations at airports belch further\u00a0carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases\u00a0[11]<\/a>. Clearly, then, the amount of travel required of teams contributes negatively to climate change. Although there is no ready-made, easy solution to the travel requirements in baseball, the travel could be reduced by decreasing the number of games in the season, which would help reduce the number of flights each team would be required\u00a0to take.<\/p>\n In addition, the majority of MLB games are currently played at night\u00a0[12]<\/a>. Despite energy efficiency improvements, it still requires electricity to illuminate the playing field, the concourse areas, and the grandiose scoreboards in each stadium. Even with advancements in renewable energy, 33% of the electricity in the United States is still generated from burning coal, which gives off greenhouse gasses, while only 13% is generated from renewable sources\u00a0[13]<\/a>. A solution to this could be playing more games during daylight hours to reduce the amount of electricity needed to run the lights in the stadium, and teams (or the league itself) could further invest in sources of renewable energy.<\/p>\n The battle MLB fights against climate change is like Clayton Kershaw, the best pitcher in baseball, facing off against Mike Trout, baseball’s best hitter, with the game on the line. Will Kershaw strike out Trout, or will Trout hit a game-winning home run?<\/p>\n (Word Count: 797)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Footnotes<\/strong>:<\/p>\n [1]<\/a> Major League Baseball, \u201cSchedule,\u201d http:\/\/mlb.mlb.com\/mlb\/schedule\/index.jsp#date=10\/02\/2016<\/a>, accessed November 2016.<\/p>\n [2]<\/a> Elliott Negin, \u201cMajor League Baseball Copes with Climate Change.\u201d The Huffington Post<\/em>, August 16, 2012. http:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.com\/elliott-negin\/major-league-baseball-cop_b_1785103.html<\/a>, accessed November 2016.<\/p>\n [3]<\/a> NASA, \u201cUnderstanding Sea Level: Empirical Projections,\u201d https:\/\/sealevel.nasa.gov\/understanding-sea-level\/projections\/empirical-projections<\/a>, accessed November 2016.<\/p>\n [4]<\/a> Business Insider, \u201cWhat will America Look Like Under 25 Feet of Seawater, Part 2,\u201d http:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/illustrations-of-what-america-will-look-like-if-sea-level-rises-2013-7<\/a>, accessed November 2016.<\/p>\n [5]<\/a> Matt Markey, \u201cDestructive Insect Could Wipe Out Ash Wood for Bats.\u201d Tribune Business News<\/em>, April 29, 2012. ABI\/INFORM via ProQuest, accessed November 2016.<\/p>\n [6]<\/a> Brian Bienkowski, \u201cThriving in Warmer Winters, A Beetle Threatens a Key Source of Major League\u2019s Cherished Wood Bats: The White Ash Forests of Pennsylvania and New York.\u201d The Daily Climate<\/em>, March 31, 2014, http:\/\/www.dailyclimate.org\/tdc-newsroom\/2014\/03\/major-league-baseball-bats<\/a>, accessed November 2016.<\/p>\n [7]<\/a> Major League Baseball, \u201cMLB News,\u201d http:\/\/m.mlb.com\/news\/article\/7905456\/\/<\/a>, accessed November 2016.<\/p>\n [8]<\/a> Minnesota Twins, \u201cTarget Field,\u201d http:\/\/minnesota.twins.mlb.com\/min\/ballpark\/go_green.jsp<\/a>, accessed November 2016.<\/p>\n [9]<\/a> Boston Red Sox, \u201cFenway Park,\u201d http:\/\/boston.redsox.mlb.com\/bos\/ballpark\/gogreen_solar_monitoring.jsp<\/a>, accessed November 2016.<\/p>\n [10]<\/a> Major League Baseball, \u201cTeams,\u201d http:\/\/mlb.mlb.com\/team\/index.jsp<\/a>, accessed November 2016.<\/p>\n [11]<\/a> Federal Aviation Administration, \u201cAviation & Emissions: A Primer,\u201d https:\/\/www.faa.gov\/regulations_policies\/policy_guidance\/envir_policy\/media\/aeprimer.pdf<\/a>, accessed November 2016.<\/p>\n [12]<\/a> Major League Baseball, \u201cSchedule,\u201d http:\/\/mlb.mlb.com\/mlb\/schedule\/team_by_team.jsp?tcid=mm_mlb_schedule<\/a>, accessed November 2016.<\/p>\n [13]<\/a> U.S. Energy Information Administration, \u201cElectricity in the U.S.,\u201d http:\/\/www.eia.gov\/energyexplained\/index.cfm?page=electricity_in_the_United_States<\/a>, accessed November 2016.<\/p>\n Cover Photo Credit<\/strong>:<\/p>\n Andy Thomas, Fenway Park, May 23, 2015.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" And it’s one, two, three strikes you’re out at the old ball game.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2679,"featured_media":12640,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[1843,1839,1218,1842,1840,167,1841],"class_list":["post-12639","hck-submission","type-hck-submission","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-att-park","category-baseball","category-climate-change","category-fenway-park","category-mlb","category-sports","category-target-field"],"connected_submission_link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/assignment\/climate-change-challenge-2016\/","yoast_head":"\n![\"Figure](\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/11\/ATT-Park-Underwater.jpg\")
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