Seattle Mariners center fielder Dustin Ackley watches from the wall as fans reach for the home run by Chicago Cubs' Starlin Castro in the first inning of a baseball game Saturday, June 29, 2013, in Seattle. At left is left fielder Raul Ibanez. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
(CNSNews.com) – Two professional sports team have endorsed President Barack Obama’s global warming proposals. Executives from the Major League Baseball’s Seattle Mariners and the National Basketball Association’s Portland Trailblazers issued statements after Obama announced new environmental regulations last week.
The support from the two northwestern sports teams occurs after Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said she talked with the National Football League about encouraging them to promote the Obamacare health law.
On Saturday, The New York Times reported that the NFL stated it “is not participating in an effort with the Obama administration to help promote enrollment in health insurance plans under the new health care law, a spokesman said.”
Scott Jenkins, vice president of operations for the Seattle Mariners, is also chairman of the board of directors for the Green Sports Alliance.
“We are pleased today to see President Obama outline his plan to address climate change, expand clean and renewable energy and improve energy efficiency,” Jenkins said in a statement posted on the Green Sports Alliance’s Facebook page.
“Green Sports Alliance member teams and venues have been embracing conservation efforts and cleaner sources of energy not only because it is better for the environment, but it is also better for our bottom line,” Jenkins continued.
“Since the health of the sports industry depends on a stable climate we appreciate his leadership on this critical issue. Sports venues throughout our nation have demonstrated that adopting smart environmental strategies is good for both the environment and for business.”
Justin Zeulner, senior director of sustainability for the Portland Trail Blazers, expressed support for Obama’s initiatives.
“Being one of the leaders in environmental stewardship among professional sports franchises, the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers take great pride in applauding the President’s remarks,” Zeulner said in a statement that was part of a press release by Business for Innovative Climate & Energy Policy, or BICEP, a coalition of businesses supporting government action on global warming.
“As a recent signatory of the Climate Declaration, we believe addressing climate change is not only essential for the health of our planet and children, but will result in a healthy economy,” Zeulner continued.
“As a member of BICEP and one of the co-founders of the Green Sports Alliance, the Trail Blazers are pleased with the President’s acknowledgement and commitment to clean air, increased energy efficiencies, mitigation of carbon emissions, investments in renewables and moving this country towards a healthy future,” he said.
Obama rolled out a sweeping agenda on global warming last week during a speech on the campus of Georgetown University. Among the initiatives was Environmental Protection Agency regulations for all new and existing power plants to reduce carbon pollution that the president said were authorized by the Clean Air Act.
The statements from the two sports executives were also posted on Whitehouse.gov, along with statements from other business leaders supporting the new Environmental Protection Agency regulations to reduce carbon pollution.