Do you prefer burning calories over carbon fuel? Many of our favorite human-powered activities – running, cycling, swimming, climbing, paddling and trekking – are inherently eco-friendly. Nature provides the arena where we do much of our training and competing. Lush forests, rushing rivers and majestic mountain summits are our playgrounds. But while you’re out there being active are you also being eco-active?

With concerns mounting worldwide about global warming and other environmental issues, athletes have an opportunity to take their appreciation of nature to a new level. The miles we drive, the gear we use and the foods we consume, all represent impacts that can be reduced. More than ever, the active community is stepping up with solutions and setting examples. Here are some of the ways local athletes are getting eco-active.

The Green Athlete

As a pro mountain biker for Trek Bicycles, Jeremiah Bishop logs a lot of miles using pedal power. Whether he’s competing in a stage race in South Africa or running errands near his home in Harrisonburg, Va., Bishop prefers turning cranks over turning car keys.

“Reducing my impact is something that’s on my mind daily,” he explains. “My entire lifestyle is planned around it.”

He starts most training rides from his doorstep, rather than driving to a trailhead. When he’s done, he refuels with as much locally-grown food as possible, bought from a nearby farmer’s market. Recently, he started outfitting his home with energy-reducing upgrades and planting trees in his backyard.

“They’re all little changes, but they start to add up,” he says.

Despite his best efforts, there are some impacts a world-class athlete can’t avoid. Competing in events around the globe requires significant travel by plane and car, so Bishop’s solution was to give back. After wrapping up his 2007 season, Bishop tallied his mileage for the year and made a donation to offset his carbon emissions.

For $59.24, he offset 31,000 miles with a donation to CarbonFund.org, an organization that supports carbon-reducing programs focused on renewable energy, energy efficiency and reforestation.

“It’s something worth doing,” Bishop says. “It takes just a little time and is inexpensive compared to the price we’ll have to pay later.”

Bishop’s contribution was made as part of Volkswagen’s Carbon Neutral Project. Funds from the project will go toward reforestation of 1,100 acres of the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley. See www.carbonfund.org/vw.

Race Green

If you’ve ever volunteered at a race or stuck around after the competitors have cleared out, you know how much waste an event can generate. Thousands of jettisoned cups, spent gel packs, unwanted goody bags and other items add up to a mound of negative environmental impact. Over the years, responsible trash collection was considered sufficient, but these days many of the area’s progressive race directors are exploring new levels of stewardship.

The George Washington Parkway Classic 5K and 10 miler, held April 27, upped the ante to reduce its carbon footprint this year. Among its most intriguing initiatives, promoters partnered with the Nature Conservancy to purchase 5,487 trees – one for each race entrant – in support of the Nature Conservancy’s campaign to plant a billion trees in Brazil’s rainforest by 2015.

Promoters also chose to hand out re-usable totes instead of disposable goody bags and printed race brochures on recycled paper using soy inks. To cut fuel consumption, fuel-efficient buses were used to transport runners to the race start, where a hybrid pace car led the way. “The George Washington Parkway Classic is one of the most beautiful races in the area, using some of our most scenic roads,” says Kathy Dalby, race director of the George Washington Parkway Classic. “Our overall mission in dealing with green initiatives is to preserve that beauty.” See www.gwparkwayclassic.com.