Eco-Medal for Olympics

We were watching the 2006 Olympic Games opening ceremonies on Friday night--popcorn, hot chocolate, and tiny American flags in hand--when we got to wondering whether the organizers went to the same lengths to keep it green as the NFL did with the Super Bowl. Mind you, 2,400 trees were planted in Detroit this year to offset the estimated 260 tons of carbon emissions expected to be generated by the Big Game. That covers stadium lighting, the fuel burned by folks driving hundreds of miles to get to the event, the hot air emitted by the announcers...

Turns out someone's done the math, and the Games in Italy are expected to generate "just over 100,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide with the main sources of emissions coming from transport and the operation of the Olympic venues," according to the United Nations Environment Programme. The good news is that the International Olympics Committee worked with the EU's Eco Management and Audit Scheme to employ ways to offset the CO2-producing activities.

Here are some of the ways they're doing it (largely thanks to an investment of three million Euros into energy-efficiency projects, which are expected to generate an estimated 300,000 tons of carbon credits):

• The original plan to construct 20 new reservoirs to supply snowmaking equipment was reduced to 9 reservoirs when organizers identified water-saving and other measures.
• A waste-materials plan was developed that combines recycling with an efficient system of energy retrieval. The goal is to send zero waste to landfills.
• Olympic Village buildings are eco-friendly and were built using pollution-free materials.
• Organizers devised an extensive sustainable transport plan for athletes and spectators.
• Hey! State-of-the-art soda pop machines at the event are using carbon dioxide as a refrigerant instead of ozone-damaging substances.

And this is cool: On Wednesday there will be a "green dinner" focusing on climate change to celebrate the first anniversary of the entry into force of the Kyoto Protocol the following day.

Sigh. We know the United States won't be winning any gold medals in that event.