Friday, August 08, 2008 Peña: Let the Games Be Green By Rox Peña E-ssue
TODAY, August 8, 2008, is the opening day of the Beijing Olympics. The choice of date is obvious: Chinese regard the number 8 as a sign of good luck. So what could be luckier than a day with three 8's (8-8-08). Make that five 8's because the time of opening was set at exactly 8:08 p.m.
The road to the Beijing Olympics was not easy. And for that China needed all the luck it can get. There were threats of boycotts from some countries due to human rights issues. Then there's the urgent environmental concern: the air quality in the city. Beijing is reportedly one of the most polluted cities in the world largely due to vehicle emissions.
Up to the last minute, Beijing was doing everything it can to clear the "sauna" haze blanketing the city. It imposed radical measures such as introducing a traffic "odd-even" scheme for two months beginning July 20, which target to take 45 percent of the city's 3.3 million cars off the road (natuto kay Bayani Fernando?). Taxis, buses and Olympic vehicles are exempted from the ban.
A more drastic move is the closure of heavily polluting factories around Beijing and nearby provinces. Most building work has also been halted and almost all earth and cement works have been closed. Some of those closed factories are more than 100 kilometers away. They have additional contingency measures if conditions will not improve.
A week before the opening day, luck indeed fell. Showers and a breeze last August 1 cleared the haze. The overnight rains also cooled temperatures and swept away much of the fumes and dust. But it's probably not enough. In fact, a group of American cyclists caused a stir after arriving in Beijing wearing facemasks. They later apologized to Olympic organizers.
And the cost of environmental clean-up? A mind-boggling 120 billion Yuan or 765 billion pesos. That's almost 64% of the Philippine's 2008 budget. With this amount spent for pollution control alone, I think our country is many years away from hosting the Olympic Games.
Long before the air clean-up, Beijing has been doing many environmental projects to green the Olympics. The city planted trees, made programs on protecting water sources, water recycling and water-saving in newly-built Olympic venues. And like what was done in previous Olympic games, Beijing has pledge to recycle 50% of the estimated 14,000 tons of trash that will be generated from the 31 Olympic venues.
According to a story posted on the UNEP website written by Olav Myrholt, a member of the IOC Sport and Environment Commission, the greening of the Olympics started in Lillehammer, Norway, when it hosted the 17th Olympic Winter Games in 1994. The little town firmly placed environment on the sporting world's agenda, a move, which was quickly recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The IOC had in the past been pestered by bad publicity over environmental damage caused by the Olympics to pristine sites and fragile mountain slopes. Several remain in a state of ruin.
Key members of the IOC showed keen interest and endorsed the inclusion of an active environment agenda. It became a factor in selecting Sydney as the host city for the first Olympiad of the third millennium. In August 1995, the Congress of the 100-year Celebrations of the Olympic Movement in Paris recommended amendments to the Olympic Charter to accommodate environment as the third dimension to the Games. Environment was henceforth to be seen as a third pillar, part of the very foundations of the Olympic Movement.
The IOC is now addressing the need for environmental protection and stewardship in the selection of the Olympic host cities, and using stringent procedures to find the best facilities for the world's best athletes in environment-friendly venues.
