NBA’s Kathy Behrens & Michael Behar

“Green is Good” chats with Kathy Behrens, Executive Vice President of Social Responsibility and Player Programs of the National Basketball Association. The league has partnered with the NRDC to create better fan awareness and help lessen its environmental impact.

“We’re not shy about the fact that we consume a lot — we have a big carbon footprint,” Behrens admits. “We want to do everything we can to lessen the impact that our operations have on the environment.”

NBA Cares, a philanthropic program that gives back to the communities where the league is established, was launched in 2005. The program has created more than 465 facilities, houses and community centers in just five short years.

NBA Green is a newer initiative that aims to share information on how to live greener, both on and off the court. NBA Green brings players, executives and fans together with the goal of greening the NBA’s cities and facilities.

In the second half of the show, green writer Michael Behar joins Mike and John to discuss a storyline investigation he recently did on renewable energy in “Red America,” Kern County, CA, for the NRDC’s OnEarth magazine.

“What Kern did was memorize the California Environmental Quality Act,” Behar says. “They’re really good at navigating it, and when a developer comes in, they guide them through the process. [Dealing with counties] is never smooth, but they’ve turned the tables around.”

Kern County, near Bakersfield, prides itself on its understanding of renewable energies — solar and wind power in particular — and guides developers toward successful growth and development in the area.

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