Packers fans might be more inclined to go shirtless at games soon.
Those chilling subzero temperatures that have helped the Green Bay Packers seal home-field advantage in the past might not be around for very long, according to one environmental organization.
Wisconsin Environment, a citizen-based advocacy group, published a report last week that said the November to January temperature in Green Bay rose 4.1 degrees Fahrenheit from 2001 to 2007 compared to 1971 to 2001.
All 13 cold weather National Football League teams included in the report saw increases in temperature in their home cities, with the Packers seeing the largest increase, according to the report. The Kansas City Chiefs and Chicago Bears saw the second-largest increases, each with a 2.9-degree rise in temperature.
The report also included the Denver Broncos, Washington Redskins, New England Patriots, Baltimore Ravens, New York Jets, New York Giants, Buffalo Bills, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns and Philadelphia Eagles.
According to the report, cold weather teams have won 65 percent of their games played at home after Oct. 31.
"Playing in cold weather is part of our culture," said Dan Kohler, state director of Wisconsin Environment. Wisconsin takes pride in its football team being able to brave the cold, he said.
Some might be skeptical that the report was released just a couple of weeks after the Giants beat the Packers at Lambeau Field in brutally cold temperatures.
Kohler said Wisconsin Environment wasn't trying to analyze football and only wanted to show that rising temperatures affect even the little things that no one would think about, he said.
"Nobody needs convincing this is a problem," Kohler said. "What's causing it here is what's causing it globally."
He said carbon emissions from fossil fuels and transportation are the major causes of global warming.
"We have to reduce emissions right now," he said.
Steven Meyer, a University of Wisconsin-Green Bay earth science professor, said natural causes also contribute to global warming and humans aren't the sole problem.
He said the United States needs to start cutting pollution some time, and the sooner, the better.
Carbon emissions increased 25 percent from 1994 to 2004, Kohler said. He said he believes these escalating temperatures will only get worse unless citizens and legislators act. Congress needs to mandate cut backs on carbon emissions between 15 and 20 percent by 2020, and 80 percent by 2050, he said.
A poll done by The Mellman Group, a national research agency with an office in Madison, in conjunction with Wisconsin Environment showed that more than 80 percent of Wisconsin citizens wanted the state legislature to curb carbon emissions, he said.
Wisconsin Environment has called on the state legislature to pass the Wisconsin Safe Climate Act.
The act seeks to establish an economy-wide gap on carbon emissions, promotes renewable energy, sets a moratorium on new coal fueled power plants and reduces transportation emissions.
"Global warming is one of the greatest threats to our well-being, and the federal government is failing to take action," said state Rep. Spencer Black (D-Madison), a co-author of the bill. He said Wisconsin needs to be a leader in energy reduction.
The bill is the first step in a long process, said John Anderson, a spokesman for Sen. Mark Miller (D-Monona), the other author of the bill. The bill seeks to return the amount of carbon emissions to 1990 levels, but he said more action is needed.