National Hockey League works to reduce its water footprint

New York Times : This year’s Stanley Cup Finals between the Vancouver Canucks and the Boston Bruins was the first “water neutral” series in the history of the National Hockey League, according to a spokesperson for the league. The NHL purchased water restoration certificates through the Oregon-based Bonneville Environmental Foundation, which in turn paid water-rights holders in the Pacific Northwest to conserve water. Margaret Palmer, an environmental science professor at the University of Maryland, said the program is more philanthropic than anything else; she likened it to a donation to water-rights holders to preserve or restore water they don’t need. “I doubt it’s going to explode, but it is a good program,” she said. The NHL calculated that during a seven-game playoff series about 800 000 gallons of water are used, for the ice, concessions, and toilets. The league, which has agreed to restore at least a million gallons by purchasing certificates from Bonneville, is the first major sports organization to commit to such a large-scale effort, writes Jeff Dinunzio for the New York Times.