Because it’s Friday, I’m going to get a little crazy and bring you the green sports news in reverse chronological order. Brace yourselves.
London has released a sustainable development strategy for its 2012 Olympics hosting, and it’s being billed as the greenest games in modern times. “The prize for hosting the 2012 Games will be to transform one of the most derelict and disadvantaged parts of Europe into a revitalized, sustainable, new urban quarter fit for the 21st century,” says London Mayor Ken Livingstone, never afraid to tell it like it is.
Smoggy Beijing is making progress as it hustles to prepare for the 2008 Olympics: It is confident of meeting clean-water targets and is gaining ground on cleaner skies. In 2006, there were 241 “blue sky” days with acceptable levels of pollution, as compared to just 100 in 1998. Pollution levels have dropped thanks to crackdowns on old taxis and buses, closure of a chemical factory, relocation of a steel plant, treated emissions from five large power plants, and upgraded industrial boilers. Yet “Beijing’s air quality is still not within the requirements of the green Olympic Games,” says the director of the Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau. Having not succeeded, it’s probably a safe bet that they will try, try again.
Beijing also has to worry about uncivilized residents, according to the city’s mayor. Reuters reports this news under the subhead: Spitting, Shouting, Pushing. And there you have it.
And speaking of uncivilized behavior, first we had a chap from the English Premier League go all eco on us, and now we’re getting earth-saving exhortation from the NHL? How are we supposed to maintain the stereotype that male sports players are brainless lugs if they keep getting all climate-conscious on us?
And for all of you who participated in the hullaballoo over the green (?) Super Bowl, see here:
The National Football League is hoping to tackle the game’s heat-trapping gas emissions by planting 3,000 mangroves and other trees native to Florida, but the plan could be more of an incomplete pass than a touchdown when it comes to global warming, experts said.
“It’s probably a nice thing to do, but planting trees is not a quantitative solution to the real problem,” said Ken Caldeira, a climate scientist at the Carnegie Institution at Stanford University.
It’s all summed up there; I didn’t even have to write that post. But I’m glad I did, because it spurred thoughtful analysis of man-hugging.
Also, it’s totally worth mentioning that police will be patrolling the Super Bowl on Segways. Hee hee hee. I hope Prince comes rolling out to his halftime show on a Segway. That would beat wardrobe malfunction hands down.
