Gretchen Bleiler named one of Planet Green’s Top 5 Eco Athletes
Planet 100 is a new webseries from Planet Green that gives you the top environmental stories in 100 seconds or less. Now you can be well informed – fast! This week they’re talking about the Top Eco Athletes. Check this out:
Cycling champion Lance Armstrong trades two green wheels for four, professional snowboarder Gretchen Bleiler campaigns to “save the snow,” and Planet 100 counts down the top five eco-athletes.
5. Lance Armstrong
This week seven time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong became the first person in America to own the all electric Nissan Leaf.
Excited by the new clean, green technology, Armstrong was happy to represent the all-electric car that can go 100 miles on a single charge. Nissan’s use of celebrity pedal power may have paid off-with all 13,000 production vehicles already sold out.
4. Yao Ming
In a number four, at 7 foot 6 inches, Shanghai born NBA star Yao Ming is a predator on the court and when it comes to protecting the environment.
The Houston Rockets center and Shanghai Sharks owner teamed up with WildAid to urge China to say no to shark fin soup by appearing in a television commercial to shame the rich and stop the overfishing of these endangered species.
3. Gretchen Bleiler
Professional snowboarder and 2006 Olympic silver medalist Gretchen Bleiler clearly wants the snow to stick around.
The 29 year old FHM hottie works with the Climate Project, the NRDC, the Aspen Snowmass Save Snow campaign, and StopGlobalWarming.org-and has even designed a 100 percent recycled polyester snowboarding suit for Oakley.
2. Ovie Mughelli
Atlanta Falcons’ fullback and eco athlete Ovie Mughelli is helping Southern youth tackle green issues.
The Ovie Mughelli Foundation provides football training camps to underprivileged kids in Charleston and Atlanta. But once in the camp, Mughelli serves up a dose of eco-education with talks and activities like recycling in a gridiron. www.OvieMughelliFoundation.org
1. Leilani Munter
At number one, biology graduate turned race car driver, Leilani Munter is on a mission to ensure every race car uses clean, renewable biofuels and every race track has a recycling program.
Self described “Vegetarian Hippie Chick,” Munter uses her celebrity status to inspire race car fans to make a difference. She is focused on getting the 135 million Indy and Nascar fans to recycle and use efficient bulbs-small actions that add up to big changes.
For more on this story, please visit GlobalShift.org