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STUFF TO SUPPORT GSA-USA

Our Brand New Program – The Local Trust
Whether you’re flying to Tucson to ride El Tour, or heading off on a fall excursion for business or pleasure, you’re putting unwanted carbon dioxide into the air. GSA-USA can now neutralize it for you with a new project - The Local Trust. It’s a community-based carbon credit program – one of the first of its kind. Buy carbon credits through The Local Trust and 100 percent of your money stays in your community. It supports the local economy, creates green jobs and builds treescapes you can see and use yourself. Our pilot project allows Tucsonans and visitors to the Old Pueblo to invest in urban forestry for recreation and shade, and energy-saving solar hot water heaters on local nonprofits right in Tucson.  To calculate your travel carbon emissions and neutralize them go to www.thelocaltrust.org.

El Tour De Tucson Reminder – Ride for GSA!!!
Don’t Forget, if you plan to ride the UniversityMedicalCenter 26th El Tour de Tucson, consider riding for GSA USA. Both Indoor El Tour and Outdoor El Tour will benefit GSA and its projects. So keep the environment and GSA in mind when the pedaling gets tough!

GSA Events

International Coastal Cleanup Update
Picking up trash is just a good thing to do. On September 20th GSA-New York partnered with the Cornwall, NY Conservation Advisory Council and Storm King Adventure Tours  (SKAT) to clean up two miles of Hudson River shoreline. Over 1100 pounds of garbage was removed by 71 volunteers, many in kayaks that SKAT generously provided.  These cleanup efforts were part of GSA's participation in the Ocean Conservancy's International Coastal Cleanup, administered in New York by the American Littoral Society. The ICC has collected over 116,000,000 pounds of trash since 1986 and urges individuals to continue the cleanup on a daily basis.

UNEP Environmental Declaration
The 2008 Global Forum for Sports and Environment attracted many distinguished advocates for environmental awareness. GSA-USA president Jane Poynter and GSA Founder Dr. Tatsuo Okada attended the event, organized by United Nations Environment Programme and Global Sports Alliance. By the end of the three day forum participants finalized the “Alicante Declaration on Sport and Climate Change”, which addresses reducing the environmental and carbon footprint of international sporting events and goods industries. To find out more visit the UNEP website.

New York Triathlon-Eco Guideline Event
The New York Greenway Triathlon took place September 28 to become one of the first sporting events to adhere to the GSA-USA's recently drafted Recommended Ecoflag Event Guidelines. The guidelines include eco-friendly principles such as reducing material consumption, decreasing energy use, and protecting the natural environment. As GSA braches out worldwide we hope to include more sporting events as supporters of the Ecoflag Event Guidelines.
[photo: ocean cleanup.bmp] [photo: greenway.bmp]

Upcoming Events

El Tour De Tucson Reduces Waste
The 26th annual El Tour de Tucson is only a few short weeks away! As we close in on the event date the logistics of hosting an event with over 10,000 riders can be daunting. This year El Tour is taking a major step towards preventing waste: Instead of handing out thousands of plastic bags for race packets, reusable grocery bags will be provided. Don’t miss out on your eco-bag. El Tour 2008 will take place on November 22nd. Register here.

Team Captain Spotlight

Kevin Trotta
Since the conception of Global Sports Alliance-USA there have been several individuals who have gone out of their way to help raise awareness about the environment. Turf specialist, hiker, road biker, environmentalist, and GSA NY Team Captain Kevin Trotta strives to involve his regional community, as well as the national network of sports facilities managers, in more environmentally sound activities. When asked about his work with Global Sports Alliance Trotta commented that he “believes that given the chance, the Earth can heal itself” and “our work with the GSA can help make that happen. Stewardship is a team sport”. Kevin’s work is a great example of how we can all practice the ethics of Ecoplay.

Sports Eco-tip

Paper or Plastic…..or?
The age old question has finally been answered: neither! After a long and convenient relationship with disposable grocery bags it is time to part with the old and switch to reusable cloth bags. The advantages are obvious: decreased waste and increased use for the buyer, decreased cost for the seller, and a fashionable way to show off your green side. As El Tour de Tucson shows, the bags can be a great way to promote your company or event while flexing the old CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) muscle.