Member, Canadian Long Track Speed Skating Team

Kristina Groves

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  Play It Cool: Why is being a member of Play It Cool and going carbon neutral important to you?
  
  Kristina Groves: Joining Play It Cool was an easy step for me to take because of how I feel about environmental issues. I felt it was one small way that I could help raise awareness about climate change as well as set a good example of taking responsibility for the large amount of air travel that I do. I am of course very aware that what I do contributes to the problem of climate change and short of quitting and living in a hut off the land, joining Play it Cool was a way for me to be pro- active and make it known that athletes care about the environment and want to do something about it.

  Play It Cool: What effects of global warming have you witnessed in your travels?
  
  Kristina Groves: We don't race outdoors much anymore. There are still many rinks that operate outdoors but because of unpredictable weather and the effect it can have on results most World Cups and all World Championships are held indoors. Indoor rinks use huge amounts of energy to refrigerate ice surfaces and enormous amounts of water for building and maintaining the ice. The trend toward indoor rinks is good for our sport in terms of performance and fairness but unless energy sources shift to renewables and water is recycled/conserved the impact our sport will have on climate change will continue to be a negative one.

  Play It Cool: What positive changes are you making to reduce your impact on the climate?
  
  Kristina Groves: In addition to joining Play It Cool and off-setting the carbon from all my travel the following are some of the things I've done to help out:

  • Installed dual-flush low flow toilets (I've calculated that these save us about 35,000L per year!)
  • Started composting
  • Recycling everything we possibly can
  • Use reusable shopping bags
  • Bought a front load washer and got rid of the dryer (we hang everything!)
  • Keep the heat at 18 in the day and 15 at night
  • Bought a new energy star refrigerator that uses about 435kwh/year instead of the 1000kwh/year our old one used
  • Ride my bike to the rink most days, even in the winter
  • Shop at farmers markets in the summertime
  • Try to buy organic food
  • Installed lots of CFL's and keep the lights off
  • Had an energy audit on our condo and hope to implement some changes - maybe a new furnace!
  • Started a project with some other skaters on the team to examine Speed Skating Canada's current footprint, which led to the establishment of a Sustainability Committee, which we hope will bring about change in SSC's operations
  • Am a member of Clean Air Champions, an educational program for athletes to give school presentations on climate change
  • My big dream is to build a straw bale house off the grid!