Greenest Games Ever

Hosting the Olympic games in Canada, we have the opportunity to show the world how environmentally friendly Canadians are. Vancouver has taken considerable steps in ensuring these Olympic games will be the greenest yet. But there is one goal in particular that is falling very short of the proposed target. The Vancouver Organizing Committee (VANOC) has slated the Olympic games to be a carbon neutral event, meaning that greenhouse gas emissions from one project would be used to offset emissions from another project.

VANOC commissioned a report from the David Suzuki Organization to help ensure that they would be carbon neutral. Originally they had planned to offset 328,000 tons of direct carbon emissions (mostly spectator transportation), but are falling very short of that goal. In fact, it's about 300,000 tons short. It's now estimated that VANOC will only offset 118,000 tons of direct carbon emissions.

The David Suzuki Organization says the reason for this is that only about five per cent of travelers will participate in carbon offset programs, despite the growing public support for action against climate change.

So despite VANOC's attempt at being environmentally friendly, it looks like these Olympic games might not be that green. And it's a responsibility that's weighing on everyone's shoulders, from event organizers to spectators. But, VANOC did managed to redeem their ailing carbon neutral program with a fun analogy. Saying that it's like setting out to cover the airline cost of a wedding party, but not taking into account the cost of all the unexpected guests that show up.