As global advocates, athletes grab baton from flagging governments

At the international luge competition in Winterberg, Germany, this month, some of the sport’s top athletes starred in a role outside their sleek, signature sleds.

Appearing in a video shot on a snowy slope and shown to thousands of attendees, athletes from the International Luge Federation aired their concerns about climate change.

“We’re the first generation of athletes affected by climate change,” they told viewers, “and the last generation able to do anything about it.”

In the video, the athletes offered testimonies of the individual steps they are taking to reduce their carbon footprints and suggested ways for luge fans to help combat the accelerating threat to the sport they love.

More than just a cry of alarm, the video’s key message to winter sports fans generally is, “Don’t be of the mindset that little things don’t matter,”

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