Member, Canadian Cross Country Ski Team & Play It Cool co-founder

Sara Renner

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  Play It Cool: Why is being a member of Play It Cool and going carbon neutral important to you?
  
  Sara Renner: I love skiing and winter and climate change could have a large impact on the sport I love- cross Country Skiing. I make decisions in my personal life with the environment in mind like riding my bike and hanging my laundry to dry. Air travel to competitions is my greatest emitter of carbon and, as an athlete, I want to set an example that I am trying to make a difference and encourage others to do the same.

  Play It Cool: What effects of global warming have you witnessed in your travels?
  
  Sara Renner: Our sport now depends on snowmaking and in the last decade, race organizers have had to become increasingly inventive because it can be too warm to blow snow. Sometimes, they make snow on a mountain pass where it is colder and then truck the snow down to the race venue. In Finland, they blow snow in January and then cover it in sawdust to preserve it throughout the summer. In the early winter they remove the sawdust and spread the snow. They found this more reliable than waiting for cold weather to produce. And this is close to the Arctic Circle.

  I've noticed a big difference in the glaciers that we train in the summer. We ski at the Haig Glacier in the Kananaskis Country. The glacier used to be snow covered throughout the summer but in the last few years it is down to ice in August and impossible to ski on.

  Play It Cool: What positive changes are you making to reduce your impact on the climate?
  
  Sara Renner: Life is really great outside of my car. It's much more social and I can say hi to my neighbors as I whiz by. My daughter, who is three, sits on a seat on my handlebars and loves the ride. We also installed a solar hot water heater on our roof - now the sun heats our floors and showers. We plant a veggie garden in the summer and line dry our clothes. I also try to limit my non-essential travel.

  I realize that the personal steps I take need to be backed up with a change in political will in Canada. I lend my voice to the cause and help to organize events that make a difference - like Canmore, Alberta's 350.org international climate day.