http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5jhnDMz7BxlUpLrh3T5QH3070gVVg

Japan baseball looking to fight global warming with shorter games

Mar 18, 2008

TOKYO — Japanese baseball is going green.

As part of the fight against global warming, Japanese professional baseball has come up with a plan to shorten its games and reduce carbon dioxide emissions at stadiums.

Teams will aim to cut playing time by six per cent, or 12 minutes, from the average of three hours and 18 minutes per game, Japan pro baseball officials said Tuesday.

Under the plan, teams will be required to spend no more than two minutes and 15 seconds when they change from fielding to batting.

Pitchers will be asked to throw within 15 seconds of receiving the ball from the catcher when no runners are on base.

The proposal to cut playing time was set in accordance with Japan’s pledge to cut its emissions of greenhouse gasses by six per cent from 1990 levels between 2008 and 2010 under the Kyoto Protocol on climate change.

Japanese baseball officials said staging games results in a huge amount of carbon dioxides to be discharged through the use of energy to move players and spectators, supply electricity for lighting and other purposes.

Japan is struggling to meet its emissions cuts obligations under the Kyoto pact.

Even before the latest plan, Japanese baseball has been looking for ways to speed up the pace of games.