The Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver this year are the greenest and most eco-friendly ever, thanks in part to increased awareness and some very specific efforts of the Vancouver Olympic Committee (VANOC) to offset all the additional carbon emissions generated by all the people, equipment, and activity of the games.
VANOC has focused on reducing carbon emissions at the source in several key ways:
- Venues in Vancouver and Whistler were specifically designed as compact clusters to reduce energy use and the need for transportation.
- Excess heat put off by the ice refrigeration system at the Whistler Sliding Center is being used to heat other buildings in the area.
- The Richmond Olympic Oval has a roof that collects rainwater, some of which helps flush toilets in the building and some of which irrigates nearby trees.
- Instead of using generators to provide all the extra power needed, VANOC made arrangements for clean, hydro-electric power instead.
- All unavoidable direct emissions (i.e. those caused by transportation and construction of new buildings) are being offset via the carbon management company Offsetters.
The efforts of Canada and the Vancouver Olympic Committee to make this year’s Winter Games eco-friendly not only make this the greenest Olympics to date but also marks the first time that an Olympic Games has made an effort to offset carbon emissions all the way from beginning to end.
(Photo courtesy of Vancouver2010.com)
I did enjoy the olympics game of bobsledding and skiing i think both of them are really cool i wish i was a really good athlete so i can join in with all of those really good athlete i wish i was one of them i wish i was in bobsledding even my favorite one is really really really really is so much is skiing even i always imagen that i went snow boarding with my favorite dad in the whole wide world even my whole big family even my favorite uncle in the whole wide world is john he always take me to a different places to buy clothes even he always imagen that he can be a athlete even when the show was on of the 2010 olympics game it was really fun we did enjoy the olympics games was really cool all those athlete was really great at skiing
Great post, Rigel! Vancouver has certainly stepped up to the challenge of keeping the Games green.
We think you might enjoy this collection of videos showcasing a few of Canada’s many eco-friendly tourist destinations: http://ow.ly/1bjLv