Todd Herrmann
Across much of the country, April, and the warmer weather of spring, means one thing. Baseball! Here in Colorado, the Rockies are 4-25, tied for the worst start in the modern era (since 1901) of Major League Baseball[i]. And across the state, and across the country, millions of kids are getting into the thick of baseball and softball season as well, many of them playing higher quality baseball than the Rockies. Tee ball, little league, middle school and high school teams – baseball, softball, and all youth sports are an integral part of childhood for youths everywhere. According to the 2022 National Survey of Children’s Health, around 54% of youths aged 6-17 had participated in organized sports in the previous year, nearly 27 million people[ii]. And while the performance of the Rockies may be bad for the mental health of their fans, participation in youth sports is greatly correlated with improved mental health. According to a recent study, “Participation in team sport compared to non-sport participation was associated with 10% lower anxious/depressed scores, 19% lower withdrawn/depressed scores, 17% lower social problems scores, 17% lower thought problems scores, and 12% lower attention problems scores[iii].”
But as those in power continue to ignore the realities of climate change, and as our world gets warmer, opportunities for children to play outside could be decreasing. Over the past decade, many states have had to implement rules around high school football programs monitoring the weather, and canceling games or practices if it is too hot. 30 years ago, days that would have met those conditions were extremely rare. Today, in the hottest and most humid areas along the Gulf Coast, communities can expect 7-14 days on average meeting these conditions. This trend will only get worse if our high emissions path continues. By the 2050s, areas along the Louisiana coast, in what are expected to be the worst areas for this, can expect 34-70 fewer days each year that are weather appropriate for playing football[iv].
Meanwhile, in a recent story out of California, Little Leaguers in Imperial Beach, in San Diego County, right near the U.S. border with Mexico, have found unplayable conditions due to a sewage crisis on the Tijuana River. A poorly maintained sewage plant on the river has been discharging nearly 40 million gallons of raw sewage per day onto the beaches and into the Pacific Ocean[v]. The smell of the sewage and the air quality has been so bad on some days that the local league has had to cancel games. For children with asthma or other respiratory conditions, it makes it even harder to breathe[vi]. In Chicago, in 2020, the Hegewisch Little League field had to be closed and the EPA brought in for soil cleanup, after it was discovered the soil contained high levels of lead and arsenic, likely related to storage of waste from steel production dating back to the mid 20th century[vii]. These stories are not outliers. Places to play, and conditions healthy to play in, could only become less common as time goes on, if we do not start taking care of the environment. And as it becomes harder to play outside, those opportunities are likely to become available only to those with resources, the money to access clean fields, the time to travel to cleaner, cooler areas. Outdoor sports should be something all children can participate in. We need to act to protect that opportunity for all.
[i] https://www.denverpost.com/2025/04/29/rockies-braves-score-worst-national-league-start-ever/
[ii] https://www.childhealthdata.org/browse/survey/results?q=10365&r=1
[iii] https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0268583
[iv] https://impactlab.org/news-insights/fewer-game-days-climate-changes-impact-on-football/
[v] https://www.sdcoastkeeper.org/blog/tijuana-river-sewage-crisis-causes-consequences/
[vi] https://fox5sandiego.com/news/local-news/toxic-sewage-from-tijuana-river-impacts-imperial-beach-little-league/
[vii] https://news.wttw.com/2020/07/09/epa-hegewisch-little-league-field-contaminated-lead-arsenic
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