Olympics organizers have had their hearts in the right place by restoring what had been an industrial site, building energy-efficient facilities that have low-flow toilets and green roofs, constructing a monorail at the airport, and even designing a green torch. But all the green tech in the word can't change the weather (at least not right now, although there are people working on it).
Last month organizers began using straw bales under scarce snow to make runs for events. Recent rain has caused even more problems, forcing organizers to airlift snow to Cypress Mountain. Even that didn't work and ski training had to be canceled. The rain is threatening to delay competition this weekend, too. "It's a bit of a wake-up call," Paul Lingl, an environmental campaigner with the David Suzuki Foundation told Reuters. CNET's Ina Fried reports that organizers could end up using a chemical fertilizer to harden ice, but that doesn't sound very green.
While I'm sure there are some people in Washington, DC, who wish that Olympics organizers would airlift their snow away, this isn't a sustainable solution. Don't get me wrong--I love the Winter Olympics and even built a "luge" track in the backyard as a kid one winter. In the near future the international community will just have to rethink the way it holds these games. Indoor Winter Olympics anyone?Photo: Where is the snow? Torchbearer Stacey Rotheisler carries the Olympic flame in Peachland, British Columbia. Credit: Vancouver2010.com.
Tags: Energy Efficiency, Green Building, Green Tech, Olympics
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