Goal For The Green

Special Thanks for this post goes to, Nerissa Barry, author of this special news.  It is of particular interest to me, not only because, I look forward to, and love to watch the Olympics, but my favorite event has always been Gymnastics.

Yes, I’m sure you may be thinking, well who doesn’t love the Olympics, and  the gymnastics events?  For me, what makes it even more special, is my grand- daughter, will be competing Nationally, at age 13.  She has been planning, since the age of 7, to go to the Olympics.  She, is only 10 now, but I fully believe she will be there, in 2016 and 2022, as well, competing in Gymnastics.

Pushing to Make 2022 Olympics More Green

The United States Olympic Committee (USOC) is hoping to capture the bid to not only further athletic accomplishments, but make sustainable environmental changes to the Winter Games. This began with naming Andrew Liveris and Dow Chemical the worldwide partner in the Olympics for the next decade.
If the United States wins the bid, there is much talk of athletic victories (the last winter Olympics in Vancouver the United States won the most metals, nine gold, fifteen silver, and thirteen bronze) as well as environmental ones. With areas like Denver and Reno-Tahoe looking to host, the USOC is looking to make process with the International Olympic Committee in hopes of bring great changes to this world celebration.

You may ask, why are these changes such a big deal? As fantastic and unifying as the Olympics are, it’s quite a carbon-rich event. It has been estimated that over 2/3 of the carbon emissions from the event is a result of some of the 1.5+ million attendees traveling (mostly via airplane) to and from the event.

While the Summer Games of 2008, held in Beijing, made great efforts to showcase conservation practices and sustainable energy sources, CEO Andrew Liveris and USOC members are looking to do more by basing off of the services used in Beijing. Exactly what environmentally friendly services did the Olympic facilities feature?

• Solar power – Used to light lawns, courtyards and streets at several venues, including the Olympic Village. A 130 KW photovoltaic system illuminated The National Stadium, where events such as athletics and football were held.

• Water Conservation – Waste water collected from the Qinghe sewage treatment plant was filtered and used for the various heating and cooling needs throughout the Olympics site, yielding a 60% savings in electricity. Rainwater was collected from around the grounds, collecting over 75,000 gallons by using water permeable bricks, pipes and wells installed on roofs, roads and green areas.

• Natural Light – Remember the famous ‘Water Cube’ where the aquatic events were held? The walls of the National Aquatics Centre provided natural light, and for the interior of the building, specially designed ‘beam-pipes’ funneled sunlight into corridors, toilets and car parks at venues, including the Olympic Green.

• Recycling – The 2008 Olympic hosts aimed for a 50 per cent recycling of waste including paper, metals and plastics at venues. A modest expectation, considering that a test run carried out during the 11th World Softball Championships held in 2007, achieved a nearly 90 per cent recycling rate.
While the Olympics in 2008 had great new ways of filtration and insulation for the events. That vision has progressed to include dozens of other products which will help reduce waste and promote conservation. You can expect these products to appear at the coming events over the next decade and be a part of the USOC recommendations.

Co-written by Nerissa Barry and Daniel Fielding

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