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MotoGP and environmental sustainability

S

samba_t

Joined Nov 2010
3 Posts | 0+
Dear powerslide forum members,



In recent times the sustainability of the earth has become increasingly more important for us, and ‘Green’ has become a trend in many countries. As a student and fan of motorsports I’m interested to understand existing views on sustainability and motorsports and MotoGP. For this reason may I kindly ask you to help me on this research project by filling in a questionnaire about this topic? It will take around 5-15 minutes of your valuable time and in return I can guarantee you that with your help you will make someone very HAPPY today.



The results will remain strictly confidential, anonymous and will only be used for the purpose of completing my master dissertation at London Metropolitan University.



Please follow this link for the survey



The aim of this survey is to understand the attitudes and opinions of motorsport/MotoGP enthusiasts about the much debated topic of environmental sustainability. I'm particularly interested to see where there is a bridge between motorsport fans and the ordinary 'man/woman in the street'. Therefore this is the first step of the research. The majority of the questionnaire will consist of statements to which you will be asked to what extend you agree or disagree with them, making it easier for you to answer.The majority of the questionnaire will consist of statements to which you will be asked to what extend you agree or disagree with them, making it easier for you to answer.



Thank you very much for your contribution! Your efforts are appreciated!



Tim Rowinkel

Student International Marketing & Communications (MA)
 
Very interesting survey. I encourage others to fill it out.



Tim, good luck. Please come back and post a link to the results of your project. Thanks
 
For the love of God, Powersliders, remember that MotoGP (the actual racing event) is probably one of the most productive and efficient uses of fossil fuel on the planet earth. Besides F1, NASCAR, and other major racing series, where else can you burn a few thousand gallons of fuel, and generate a quarter billion (or billions in the case of NASCAR and F1) dollars in revenue? You can't. ICE motorsports (the race) is the most sustainable form of carbon burning on the planet.



Any "green" work that MotoGP needs to do should be conducted behind the scenes when Dorna transports the circus around the globe. I suspect Dorna are already working overtime to reduce the fuel cost (thus the carbon impact) of transporting the circus all over the planet, so green technologies might be largely superfluous or symbolic.



It is important to know basic economic theory before you take a survey like this one. If you want to be more efficient and more sustainable, more fuel will be allocated to the income earning activity (the races) and less fuel from the administrative overhead transport. Yes, that's right. If you want MotoGP to be more efficient and more sustainable, you will vote to increase the size of the gas tank and put more bikes on the grid so the racing improves and the sport generates even more economic activity relative to the amount of fuel that is being burned.



That's what it is. Think before you click some of these outlandish answers.
 
mylexicon said:
For the love of God, Powersliders, remember that MotoGP (the actual racing event) is probably one of the most productive and efficient uses of fossil fuel on the planet earth. Besides F1, NASCAR, and other major racing series, where else can you burn a few thousand gallons of fuel, and generate a quarter billion (or billions in the case of NASCAR and F1) dollars in revenue? You can't. ICE motorsports (the race) is the most sustainable form of carbon burning on the planet.



Any "green" work that MotoGP needs to do should be conducted behind the scenes when Dorna transports the circus around the globe. I suspect Dorna are already working overtime to reduce the fuel cost (thus the carbon impact) of transporting the circus all over the planet, so green technologies might be largely superfluous or symbolic.



It is important to know basic economic theory before you take a survey like this one. If you want to be more efficient and more sustainable, more fuel will be allocated to the income earning activity (the races) and less fuel from the administrative overhead transport. Yes, that's right. If you want MotoGP to be more efficient and more sustainable, you will vote to increase the size of the gas tank and put more bikes on the grid so the racing improves and the sport generates even more economic activity relative to the amount of fuel that is being burned.



That's what it is. Think before you click some of these outlandish answers.
Click to expand...





There you have it folk, MotoGP would be less green because this way they will allow larger fuel loads.
<
C'mon Lex, really? I think the project aims at a high goal, like being environmentally responsible. I don't think burning a few more liters in the tank is the aim here, its about the massive waste generated by the entire circus, shipping, logistics, etc.
 
I knew I should have put the folowing disclaimer:



"And before anyone asks I have already clicked on the button marked next ....... an inordinantly non-environmentally friendly amount"



Anyone else know if it works with firefox?
 
Jumkie said:
There you have it folk, MotoGP would be less green because this way they will allow larger fuel loads.
<
C'mon Lex, really? I think the project aims at a high goal, like being environmentally responsible. I don't think burning a few more liters in the tank is the aim here, its about the massive waste generated by the entire circus, shipping, logistics, etc.
Click to expand...



Jumkie, it is what it is. If you want to allocate fuel resources more efficiently, we need more racing series and less passenger cars. The bikes need more fuel (b/c they generate all of the revenue) and the overhead needs less. Safety and greenness is how MotoGP got ruined in 2007 so excuse me if I'm a bit skeptical of a survey that is full of bad ideas (no offense, Tim, you're just trying to gather data).



I'm not pushing an agenda. I'm demonstrating how the world of economic soft-science (a world we rarely delve into) is completely at odds with the socio-politics of the green movement (not even slightly scientific or even reasonable). If people understood that racing generates all of the revenue, do you think they would have voted to make it far more difficult to build and operate a MotoGP bike by reducing displacement and fuel capacity? Of course not!! Those changes were made for political reasons following Kato's death. If people understood that the most efficient use of fossil fuel is for racing entertainment, would they vote to reduce fuel capacity, tax the fans, impose emissions restrictions, or any other bad ideas. Of course they would b/c no matter what you tell them, they will only be thinking about the socio-politics of the environment which is far more powerful than reason ATM. You're probably wondering why I bother. I don't know. I guess I'm a Pollyanna of sorts who looks for the good in people. It will be the end of me.



Everyone knows that consumer goods (not media and other intellectual property) are the problem, but regulating consumer choice is a sticky business with no political gain. Much better to redirect the green movement at the highest-profile polluters (who are often the most efficient users of fossil fuel) and then regulate those people. Let's attack the most economically efficient use of petrol? I'm sure that's going to end well.



I wouldn't have said anything, but the survey is a minefield of bad ideas with only a few sensible ideas sprinkled here and there for posterity. We are talking about the green movement, a movement that supports electric vehicles b/c the pollute somewhere people can't see it, a movement that encourages people to take out loans and use government subsidies to buy $30,000-$40,000 serial hybrids (AKA Volt) or hybrid SUV's while poor people who can only afford $10,000 Hyundai Elantra (a far more efficient vehicle in the grand scheme of things) are treated like a second-class citizens and get no government assistance even though they've been buying green cars all along.



The green movement is not serious, and I don't want the mindlessness of it infecting MotoGP. If people think, the green movement won't claim another victim.
 
lex, i'm getting the impression that no matter what is to be debated it all boils down to " add more fuel and some ccs to it" for you
<




@ tim : i'm glad to take part in the survey but its kinda hard for me to answer questions such as "is motogp more damaging than the olympics" .the truth is i don't know the answer to that question! how much energy is needed for a motogp season? how much energy is needed for olympic games? the only opinion i can give on that is based on the fact that the olympics sure waste loads of energy and that i don't get any entertainment out of them
<
 
BarryMachine said:
I knew I should have put the folowing disclaimer:



"And before anyone asks I have already clicked on the button marked next ....... an inordinantly non-environmentally friendly amount"



Anyone else know if it works with firefox?
Click to expand...



worked fine for me and i use firefox?
 
I think we should wait for it to get dark so we can make the track light
<
 
Tom said:
I think we should wait for it to get dark so we can make the track light
<
Click to expand...

haha yeah

biggest waste of energy ever those night races,especially since they do not make the action itself more entertaining



use solar power in qatar!

ideally during the day time,enough sun power
<
 
cliché guevara said:
lex, i'm getting the impression that no matter what is to be debated it all boils down to " add more fuel and some ccs to it" for you
<




@ tim : i'm glad to take part in the survey but its kinda hard for me to answer questions such as "is motogp more damaging than the olympics" .the truth is i don't know the answer to that question! how much energy is needed for a motogp season? how much energy is needed for olympic games? the only opinion i can give on that is based on the fact that the olympics sure waste loads of energy and that i don't get any entertainment out of them
<
Click to expand...

Ah yes, there wer several. I put 5 on those as a confusion vote. Olympics r once every 4 years, but am i suppose to count the hours of prep between?
 
Tim,



I find it sadly ironic that a marketing student is worried about human environmental impact. The whole point of marketing is to sell boatloads of disposable, overpriced, environmentally carcinogenic .... to as many people as possible - people who, more often than not, really don't need any more inherently useless .... in their lives.



As for your questions....
<
What the heck are you on about? Looking for a sales angle perhaps? Hell, ANY human activity will impact the freaking environment. Playing the "mine is bigger/better than yours" game seems sadly beside the point. And please, please tell me WTF 'environmental sustainability' is supposed to mean?



And what's with the dumbed down, lead-me-by-the-nose questions like, "Sport events are known to be environmentally friendly." Got context? Nope! "Next useless question, please!"



If you have specific issues you'd like to discuss, please post something here. Lord knows there are enough blowhards members around here, most of which would be glad to offer an opinion!
<
If you really want meaningful insight into people's opinions, I'd ditch the IQ-30 surveys and engage in real communication with real people. (Yea, I know that's not how marketing monkeys are supposed to do things, but you just might give it a try.)



-Grumpy (and sick of being sold .... every waking moment of the freaking day.)
 
I started to fill out the survey, but stopped because of the way the questions are worded. If I had continued, many of my choices would have implied that I actually believe motoGP (and other forms of motorsports) can and does have an impact on the climate.
 
Hi all,



It's very interesting to see a discussion develop and I'm happy to learn about the feedback. But before I comment I want to distance myself from geonerd's comment as I feel some of it is directed at the integrity of my intentions.



I understand your image of marketing but I don't agree with how you put my work (this research) or me in a box on the basis of this prejudice. Please can you come with an argument more related to me why you think I can't worry about human environmental impact? To me it has nothing to do with me or what I study. Even if it's a small difference, I'm doing marketing communications which is in principle about communicating. For me it has not directly something to do with selling "boatloads of disposable, overpriced, environmentally carcinogenic .... to as many people as possible" (geonerd) Also animals and what not more communicate, and I never have seen them selling something to one another. I share some of your concerns and If you feel this way about marketing fair enough! But I think it's a misconception and that you are judging too soon if you are talking about me. I can't speak for others but I'm born as human and influenced by culture. I didn't design the mechanisms of how the world is working, I'm only trying to do what I think is best. And as such it may come as a surprise that I can worry about things too. And out of this concern I'm conducting this study. Which might even be more of a study for sociology. Sales angle? Of course it's possible to spin it that way as I do recognize my study can be used for that purpose. But this is not the fault of this study nor me. In fact I think this is a whole different discussion. To be clear on my intentions there is no sales angle for me other then graduating. This might be the indirect sales angle if you like. Of course I could try to sell the information I'm gathering without any explanation but I won't as I find it disrespecting towards the people who are helping me. As I said before I'm looking to better understand the existing views on this topic. Personal interest prevails over sales angle. However I do apologize if the name of my course evoked a wrong impression.



As for the research I agree with some of the shortcomings. One of these is that it indeed could have been more specific and thus more insightful would I have spoken to fans in this way first. However this is one of the limitations of the research due to the time frame. Since this research is part of my study and I'm working alone it's not as extensive as a research designed for commercial purposes. Of course it is up to the quality of the researcher to overcome these limitations. All roads lead to Rome.. I know mine won't be the smoothest, but I'm trying to learn as I'm going. So I can only comment on my reasons and hope it will provide some understanding.



As for the topic of sustainability I can say it's complex and obviously sensitive as it is touching the core of economic and social paradigms. One of the definitions is; “sustainability may be defined as a values-laden umbrella concept about the way in which the interface between the environment and society (including its institutions and individual members) is managed to ensure that human needs are met without destroying the life supporting ecosystems on which we depend.” (Visser & Matten, 2010, pg 385)

Out of the assumption that motorsport can become more subject of public/political scrutiny in the future I'm looking to explore perceptions on this matter. It's is exactly my point that motorsport is not any more damaging than the olympics. I also don't know. However in the perception of the ordinary man/woman in the street it might because motorsport is burning fossil fuels and perhaps has a anti environmental image. As it is with the hybrid car example of mylexicon. My interest is with the perceptions. Although it might seem there is no context in "sports events are known to be environmentally friendly", I think there is in that although you might not have enough information about the real situation people still have an opinion about it. To include information all through the survey would have made it more complex, so I choose to compromise.



"Safety and greenness is how MotoGP got ruined in 2007 so excuse me if I'm a bit skeptical of a survey that is full of bad ideas (no offense, Tim, you're just trying to gather data)." (mylexicon) This is why I wanted to do the survey with motorsportfans because it's more relevant what they think. Again I have my opinions about the environment and I'm not looking to put blame on motorsports. Only I think that our current way of living raises questions, and I do think motorsport just like all the things we do is part of that. I'm not trying to better the world either but I think with a little notion of responsibility there are plenty ways to at least make a beginning. Or in any case not make it worse by for example hosting a night race. From the perspective of research this particular survey is just a begin to see what the values and beliefs of people are. At least this is what I'm attempting to do within the framework of my possibilities.



But now the occasion arrises to ask it in a different way.. What do you guys think MotoGP should/could do to be/become more responsible in relation to the environment?



@barrymachine: I'm sad to hear it didn't work! I will contact the website why because it's a shame. Thanks anyway for your effort!



Hopefully this comment provided a better understanding and a bit of nuance. Thank you for the contributions made and still to come!
 
Tim, why are you trying to ruin MotoGP?
<
Just kidding.



Geo, great post, but I think this kid is a student trying to fulfill some research paper requirement. Now if this guy worked already for a marketing firm, then I'd be more cynical.



Tim, some of your questions are confusing and answering them 1-10 would be as confusing. I think you know this so I imagine your are looking for some pattern to a highly subjective and allusive "feeling" of people. So I answered, but my own system of protesting for their confusion was to vote a 5, that is a neutral.



About the relevance of the population here on this forum, I suspect it’s a double edge sword. On one had some may perceive Lex's response as protectionism of the sport, but I also know he belongs to a political leaning that has ignored the science of human environmental impact because his tribalism of political party affiliation has deemed "climate change" as a hoax. So this may add to the complexity of your project (assuming its very complex).



Motodude, I almost gave up myself, as I thought the questions were forcing me to make a statement about GP that was incorrect or misleading. Think of 5 as a protest vote.



Curvy, hahaha, ah man. I actually remember doing that a few times in my youth.
 
You are not interested in the reality as much as you are interested in the perception of reality. The perception is that MotoGP burns fossil fuels and that it is harmful to people. The reality is that motorsports entertainment is one of the most efficient uses of petrol and that it is overwhelmingly good for people and our material advancement. It's also good for our psychological well-being. When we burn gasoline, we produce "tree oxygen". We are feeding trees so what's the problem? The earth is getting warmer which history suggests is good for crops while global cooling is extremely dangerous for the food supply. What's the problem? The world has been getting better for us since the ice age. What's the problem?



We don't know of any negative consequences associated with global warming (not any real ones). If anything, statistics say that global warming has made us richer since the 1860s.
<
We are afraid of the unknown. The people who love green (you'd be surprised to learn that I like green energy) are really just interested in the material progression of mankind by creating more efficient products with fewer negative externalities. Good for us. Let's not sacrifice one version of material progression (efficient use of fossil fuel for entertainment) for another green version of material progression.



What should MotoGP do to be more sustainable/green? I don't even know how to answer the question. MotoGP is one of the most economically efficient uses of fossil fuel on the planet earth. In the grand scheme it barely pollutes at all. It hasn't done anything wrong, it has done something right over the years.



You are trying to marry MotoGP and green energy. Great. Here's how you do it.



First thing is to raise fuel capacity b/c a sport with no viewers is useless. The fuel capacity of the bikes is meaningless to global pollution. Second, get MotoGP into major markets like China and India (much easier said than done). Once that happens, green companies can enter as sponsors just like everyone else. Companies can supply trucks to the teams that run on renewable biofuel or hydrogen. Companies can supply solar panels to team headquarters and workshops. When the air transport company repowers its aircraft with quieter more fuel efficient engines, MotoGP can make a big deal about it. Everytime Dorna usa a train, not a plane, to transport cargo, they can make a big production out of it. Use a hybrid Porsche as the pace car. Maybe renewable energy companies can work with MotoGP in Moto2 to create an ethanol formula, or natural gas or hydrogen or biofuels or whatever.



What should MotoGP do? Nothing. What can green energy to do improve MotoGP without trampling the sporting excellence and the entertainment value? The sky is the limit.



Taxes on MotoGP tickets? Depends. Are you trying to fail or are you trying to be hated?
 
Tim said:
@barrymachine: I'm sad to hear it didn't work! I will contact the website why because it's a shame. Thanks anyway for your effort!
Click to expand...



I got it done finally, for some reason it would not procede when I ran the browser window at full screen ( which I allways browse at ). Got it done by running the screen restore down. I thnk its a Windows 7 problem cos I also have hassles with the autohide of the taskbar when in full screen restore and at certain screens.



The only comments I have on the survey is that it did not go into the social benefits of engine development ( making more efficient engines ) or electric developments, which I firmly believe are the way of the forseable future.
 

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