Greenbirds?

On Sunday, the Washington Post ran a story called Green Becomes Official Color of Baseball about Major League Baseball's commitment to go green.

"Baseball attracts close to 80 million spectators every year. They drive cars to the ballparks, consume bottled water and beer in plastic cups, use restrooms with paper towels and tissue -- and generally leave behind a mess to be cleaned up after every game. Add to that the electricity needed for lights and air conditioning and vending machines and the scoreboards, and the result can be a huge toll on the environment with every game. That is what the league is aiming to address."

I went to a Redbird's game last night and although I brought my own refillable water bottle, my friend bought three bottles of water while we were there. (For $4 each!)

On our way out he said, "I don't see a recycle bin, do you?"

I didn't.

I decided to find out if the Redbirds planned to go green like the rest of major league baseball. The Redbirds' Marketing Assistant Allison Slater told me that they do indeed have plans to be a more environmentally friendly organization.

"Since this transformation is a big step, we have started internally first," says Slater. "This includes recycling in our front office, less paper being printed and so
forth."

She also told me that the Redbirds are developing a productive new system and want to make sure that all of the kinks are worked out before launching it.

Until then, they are taking baby steps. Right now there is a bag saving promotion going on in the gift shop. Fans who choose not to take their merchandise home in a bag are entered to win a $50 gift card to Camy's Fine Foods in Midtown. So far, Slater says it has been a great success.

While she didn't give details of the "productive new system" they have in the works, I can only hope that they take a cue from the Pittsburgh Pirates. This year the Pirates launched a Let's Go Bucs, Let's Go Green initiative that includes recycling aluminum, plastic and cardboard, converting used cooking oil to biofuel, switching to energy-efficient light bulbs and toilet paper made from recycled materials, and having the team's U.S.-based scouts driving around the country in flex-fuel vehicles.