She’s racing to save the environment. Sara Renner, Canadian cross-country skiing Olympic silver medallist, is taking big strides to prevent
climate change. As a new mom, Renner wants to create a healthy planet for future generations.
“As a mother, as an athlete and a Canadian, I have a huge responsibility to my daughter,” said Renner. “At a time when it’s so crucial, everyone has to do something for the environment. Everyone has to stand up and say ‘my children are important and I will not be remembered as someone who didn’t do anything.’”
Throughout her 12-year international cross-country skiing career, Renner has witnessed winter climate conditions grow increasingly unpredictable and she sees the unseasonable weather as a threat to the future of her sport.
“I am so used to racing on snow that has been trucked in from hundreds and hundreds of kilometres, and that snow they truck in is getting dirtier and dirtier every year,” said Renner. “It’s just so difficult for these organizers to pull off these [World Cup] races in Europe.”
This month in Montreal, Quebec, Renner attended a three-day intensive training session about environmental science and solutions to the climate change crisis. Talks were led by former United States vice president Al Gore and climate experts, including renowned Canadian scientist Dr. David Suzuki . Renner was among 250 athletes, business leaders, educators, environmentalists and government officials from across Canada who attended the sessions organized by
The Climate Project (TCP) Canada . Participants returned home to their communities as climate ambassadors armed with the most current information necessary to increase public awareness of the growing climate crisis.
Renner got her climate change summit invitation through the Clean Air Champions , a non-profit organization seeking to improve air quality by working with respected athletes who motivate and educate Canadians to adopt everyday practices to enhance environmental and personal health. For Renner, attending the sessions was worth the guilty feeling that comes from “burning the carbon” to fly across the Canadian prairies. And to lessen the guilt, she often buys carbon offsets, a voluntary tax on carbon-producing emissions, for air travel. She admits that it’s not ideal, but it’s one of the ways she can lessen her impact.
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