PHOTOS: Greening the US Open | OnEarth

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You might think the biggest sporting event in the country is the World Series or the Super Bowl. But by head count, neither comes close to the US Open tennis tournament, when 700,000 guests flood into the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens, New York, over the course of two weeks. As at all sporting events, this wave of fans likes to eat, drink, and buy memorabilia. Much of the effort to “green” the tournament has focused on visible aspects, such as recycling waste and food. More, however, goes on behind the scenes. Over the past three years, the United States Tennis Association has worked with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), among others, to re-plumb the operations of this complex sporting event in order to reduce its environmental impact. See how it’s done. 2010-09-10