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Super Bowl gets greener, offsets emissions for first time

Until this year, we loved the Super Bowl for precisely three reasons: beer, commercials, and ass-slapping. But we're adding a fourth reason this year, as the NFL will be planting native trees and buying renewable-energy certificates to offset greenhouse-gas emissions from the game. Yes -- guilt-free beer farts! "Carbon mitigation: that to me is where the excitement, the challenge, and the opportunity are," says NFL Director of Environmental Programs Jack Groh, who might need to get out more. The Super Bowl has incorporated green elements for 14 years, but the upcoming game will be the first to offset its emissions. Such football-licious sustainability comes hot on the heels of other sporting events that have gone for the green, including an ethanol-fueled Indy 500, climate-neutral soccer World Cup, and recycle-happy Turin Olympics. Extra point! Forward pass! End-zone dance! And ... that's all the football terms we know.