Green the Color of Choice for British Olympic Planners

Environmental Law & Civil Litigation AttorneyJuly 26, 2012

by Stephen T. Holzer

The British aren’t just eyeing the gold in the upcoming summer Olympic games, they’ve got their sights fastened on green.

That’s right, eco-friendly is the newest game in international competition, and the United Kingdom is a strong contender.

They’ve managed to convert an old industrial section of London by “washing” two million tons of soil, planting about 4,000 trees, and reclaiming hundreds of acres of soiled riverbanks and other lands in the process. Many of the Olympic competition venues like the Velodrome, will be relying primarily on natural ventilation and light.

Spectators better be strong contenders too, as few will be allowed to actually drive onto the game grounds. Visitors will all have to rely on public transit, do “Mind the Gap” please, and then hoof it to their seats.

At least they’ll be traveling in style, via high-speed Javelin trains. The Javelins will carry about 25,000 passengers per hour between central London and Olympic Park.

According to the United Kingdom’s Foreign & Commonwealth Office, the London 2012 Olympics will be the first Olympic Summer Games event with a pre-calculated carbon footprint. Of course, the website does NOT say how large that footprint actually is.

Further, what is included in the footprint measurement?

Keep in mind that over 180 countries are sending their athletes in by fuel-guzzling jetliners, even more of which will be bustling in tourists. Let’s not forget Europe’s greenhouse gas war on airlines, and what havoc that has already created in the international community.

Moreover, the Commission for a Sustainable London has roasted the Olympic torch makers for failure to be low-carbon despite the torch designers’ claim that they ran out of time to design such a low-carbon device. The head of the Commission  stated,

“The promise of a low-carbon torch was made in 2007 and so the excuse of ‘we ran out of time’ is not acceptable.”

Stephen T. Holzer is the Chair of the Environmental Practice Group at our Firm. Contact him via e-mail: sholzer@lewitthackman.com.

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