How to Green Your Super Bowl Party
By Chris Baskind in Holidays, Home & Garden, Super Bowl Sunday
There’s not much green about a mass sporting event. But with a little planning, you can keep your family Super Bowl party from tackling the environment.
Football widows (and widowers), rejoice! The last hurrah of the pro season is at hand. It’s Superbowl weekend — one last chance to enjoy an evening of screaming for your favorite team before we do it all again next autumn.
It’s tough to put some green shine on a mass event like the Super Bowl. But if you’re watching the game at home, there are a few ways to soften the impact of a viewing party on the environment and your wallet. So invest a few minutes planning your get-together, and we’ll meet you in front of the widescreen.
Consolidate your party errands
Grab a pad of paper and write down everything you’ll need for game day. Set your menu, check your stock of refreshments, and try to avoid any frantic last-minute beer runs. Don’t overlook your normal shopping needs. Sure, gasoline is relatively inexpensive right now. But wasted trips are still wasteful — and wouldn’t you rather be watching the halftime show?
Run a clean grill
If you’re one of those hardy people who don’t mind cooking outdoors in the dead of winter, think green. If you own a charcoal grill, consider something like Greenlink’s All Natural Briquettes. They’re made from entirely renewable materials, such as coconut husks, and don’t contain clay or anthracite fillers. Skip the liquid charcoal starter for an electric one, or opt for an efficient charcoal chimney to get things going.
Rustle up some green grub
We’ve long said that you needn’t be a vegetarian to go green. But there’s really no denying that meat production is many times more resource-intensive than farming a similar number of vegetable calories. Put a few veggie dishes on the table. Black bean nachos are great football food, and you can get them on the table in under ten minutes. If you’re going with hamburgers and hot dogs, you’ll find plenty of tasty veggie patties and franks in your grocer’s freezer section. And maybe this would be a great weekend to give an organic beer or wine a try. You’ll find both at most well-stocked whole food stores.
One final note: ditch the disposables. Paper plates and plastic cutlery are a convenience, but there’s no reason not to use the real stuff when you’re at home. Just drop everything in the sink until after the game: they’ll keep. And properly sort, recycle, and compost the trash when you’re done.
Enjoy the game! And remember — after the final down, it’s just 221 days until the kickoff of the 2009 season.
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