Green Olympics

Something great is happening in China for the upcoming Olympic games.

The central government has put its best foot forward in making the Olympics games as green as possible. As we see to the left, (picture from this article) the new athlete housing facility for the coaches, athletes and support team is green from penthouse to pavement. With solar panels and energy efficient features, it is an international role model on how apartments for athletes should be built.

In preparation for the Olympics, thousands of cars have been taken off of the road to ease both congestion and pollution. Large trucks are banned in certain areas due to their higher levels of emissions than cars. Leading up to the game, efforts such as this are in overdrive. China is certainly making an all out effort to lead by example in holding its world class Chinese edition of the Olympic games. These environmental measures can be found at all levels. In a souvenir store, I sighted an Olympic commemorative torch for sale which was made of the left-over metal from the Bird's Nest stadium. Bids will also be taken on items in the athlete's housing complex after the games. One of the items up for sale is Yao Ming's extra long bed! You can always count on China to take innovation to the next level! I certainly hope that the Vancouver 2010 Olympics can live up to these standards of going green.