Author and environmental activist Sandra Steingraber will explore how the climate crisis is harming the health of athletes and threatening the future of sports — and how athletes are standing up and pushing back — in a presentation at Ithaca College on Wednesday, Nov. 13. Titled “Game On: Sports Confronts the Climate Crisis,” the talk will be held at 6:30 p.m. in Textor 102. It is free and open to the public.
A biologist who researches and writes on the links between human health and the environment, Steingraber serves as the Distinguished Scholar in Residence in the Department of Environmental Studies and Sciences in Ithaca College’s School of Humanities and Sciences.
Steingraber’s presentation will examine how exposure to air pollution from fossil fuel combustion affects lung development and athletic performance in youth athletes; the rising incidence of heat stroke in outdoor sports, such as long-distance running; the leadership role that surfers, skiers and snowboarders are playing in the fight for a renewable energy future; and the ways in which sports psychology can serve as a useful tool in overcoming fear and anxiety about climate change.
The talk is being co-sponsored by the Department of Exercise Science and Athletic Training and Department of Environmental Studies and Sciences.