You may remember from a previous article last week or there abouts that I wrote on the super bowl, that I am kind of a sports nut when it comes to the olympics. I think they are pretty much the pinnacle of sportsdom. Well, because they are... Literally. For a few weeks every 2 years, hundreds of countries from across the globe put aside their differences, so that the best athletes on this planet can partake in a little friendly competition. That way in a brief armistice, countries that might otherwise be relieving their pent up aggression in the form of say... bombs, can instead more peacefully battle it out on the soccer field, or in this case, the ice rink.
But, there are many other benefits to the olympics, besides a little friendly international athletic cooperation. (Sorry, that was a quite failed Harry Potter reference on my part.) Such as:
- construction contracts
- massive influx of business
- influx of tourists
- lasting infrastructure
- world prominence
- world wide tourism campaign
- lots of new jobs
But, of course there are also some environmental repercussions to such a massive gathering of people. Literally thousands of people fly and drive from every corner of the Earth to see the games. All of the transportation alone just to get to the olympics emits massive amounts of greenhouse gases into the environment. Not to mention that for the olympics, millions of dollars are spent building fantastical arenas and stages, for the sole purpose of the games. Now, generally these buildings are 'recycled' in a sense and used for further sporting events, but for the most part this excess of building is just that, excess. And whenever you build something, there are emissions involved. In the transportation of people and materials, in powering machines to build, in heating and maintaing the building once it is completed, etc.
In the past, the olympic games and their host countries have not been overly environmentally conscious when it came to building new venues and hosting thousands of tourists. But this year, Vancouver is taking a few steps in the right direction. In the words of, David Suzuki:
"Vancouver Olympic organizers have also tried to reduce the environmental impact of the 2010 Games. For example, venues and infrastructure have been built using energy-efficient technologies, clean-energy sources will be used for many aspects of the Games, and carbon offsets will balance out a significant portion of the emissions from the Games. As a result of these and other initiatives, the 2010 Olympics are expected to produce fewer greenhouse gas emissions than previous Winter Olympics."
Well, that's all for now. And I hope you are enjoying the Olympics.
- Amber
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