Olympic Torch Lit By Solar Reflector
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 03.24.08
How silly is this. The Olympic torch is going to be carried from Greece to Beijing in a monster relay through Tibet, up and down Mt. Everest, through 21 cities outside China 113 cities in all 31 provinces within China, with who knows how many support vehicles and film crews chasing it, but because these are "green" Olympics they light it with a solar reflector. ::China News
UPDATE: I am informed that they have always lit it this way.
and think how much oil that torch is burning the entire time!!!
The torch is always lit this way. It is part of the history of the olympics games.
No greenwash, just tradition!
The torch is always lit using light from the sun.
"Apollo, god of the sun and the idea of light, send your rays and light the sacred torch for the hospitable city of Athens"
From 2004
I have long felt that the Olympics are a waste, both in terms of the environment, and in terms of time. Huge amounts of resources are used to hold games for which MOST people have little or no interest.
The olympic torch is always lit with solar power, and keeps burning not with oil but with natural gas. From 1948 to 1972 they used magnesium for the flame
'It was a "Jump to Conclusions" mat. You see, it would be this mat that you would put on the floor... and would have different CONCLUSIONS written on it that you could JUMP TO.'
I see the Olympics as they are intended to be, to build healthy comraderie between nations.
If you've ever had the good fortune to attend some Olympic events, you would see people from all nations laughing together and growing friendships.
I understand also the desire for activists to display Chinese government's human rights atrocities. I also understand that players from around the world whose opportunity to get out of dismal situations of their own country one shot for success and
I see the Olympics as they are intended to be, to build healthy comraderie between nations.
If you've ever had the good fortune to attend some Olympic events, you would see people from all nations laughing together and growing friendships.
I understand also the desire for activists to display Chinese government's human rights atrocities. I also understand that players from around the world whose opportunity to get out of dismal situations of their own country may rely upon this one Olympic shot for success. Support the players, not the government.
Beijing is going to shut down some highly-polluting factories for the Olympics. Even so, pollution levels will remain high. At least this will draw some attention on their horrible environmental practices.
Another informative, well-researched Lloyd Alter article, beginning with the impartial statement "How silly is this". Quality.
Diamond Diggity Dave has a lot more tact than I.
LA: I acknowledged my mistake, but left the post up because of the comments, which are almost always welcome.
Holy Office Space Reference, Batman! I tip my hat to Diamond Diggity Dave.
With so many pro atheletes with their roots in the Olympics revealing their feet of clay with performance enhancing drugs (cough - Marion Jones... COUGH - Floyd Landis), how the buggery bollocks are we supposed to take competitive sports seriously?
Yes, you are right Lloyd. This is a pretty silly thing, but realistically the whole concept of the Olympics is supposed to bring cultures together in the name of good sportsmanship and put aside their differences for a while. Obviously China's position in Tibet and its involvement in Darfur is casting quite a considerable shadow on the Olympic games, but given that this is an environmentally conscious website, why not draw attention to China's egregious crimes against the environment instead of something that has been in practice for ages?
If you're trying to make the point that the Olympics are anachronistic and rather irrelevant, why not say as much outright?