Olympic Sport 2010 - Bobwheeling - For The Warmer Winters

At today's unveiling of Olympic Rendezvous at Samsung (OR@S) Gerhard Heiberg of the International Olympic Committee stated with full confidence, "We chose the right place," when referring to Vancouver, B.C., in which to hold the Winter Games. Except maybe, for the weather, he quietly added. Ironically, the unusually mild 2010 winter that the city is experiencing gives the greenies a great backdrop to drill down on the point of global warming. 

"We were on Cloud 9 when we were awarded the games back in 2003," stated Premier Campbell at the Samsung WOW Rendezvous launch, attended by Super Athlete, Wayne Gretzky. Amazingly, as recent as 2003 there was still debate about the "real" or "imagined" existence of global warming.

Enter The Offsetters: Offsetting the Winter Games one ton at a time.

So while headlines point to the trucking in of snow for the Winter Games, these kids from Kelowna, Canada dreamed up a new Olympic sport for our ever-evolving Earth.  Of course, they did so tongue-in-cheek and in conjunction with OffSetters, a carbon offsetting company founded by two University of British Columbia professors. Offsetters is encouraging every Olympic attendee and guest to do their part in offsetting their impact on the globe during the games.Calculate your Impact Here.

The 2010 Winter Games’ footprint will be an estimated 118,000 tonnes of direct carbon emissions – all emissions that are directly attributable to the 2010 Winter Games like venue construction, facility heating, and athlete travel. Additionally, this event will produce 150,000 tonnes of ‘indirect’ emissions – emissions that are largely attributable to flights and accommodation for spectators, media, corporate sponsors and their partners.

Bobwheeling: The Newest Olympic Sport

Can't See The Video?  CLICK HERE for BOBWHEELING

As humorous as this is, the concern is real. Snow is being trucked in, flown in, bussed in to Cypress Mountain. Come Friday the Winter Olympic's first event, women's moguls, will need snow.  Below, VANOC CEO, John Furlong, is escorted off the tarmac in downtown Vancouver after a look-see flyover the Sea to Sky route which is the Whistler to Vancouver road. At Samsung's Rendezvous Furlong said, "When the torch arrives here tomorrow evening, life as we know it will change.  More than anything we here in Vancouver want to leave behind the positive legacy that the power of sports can change lives." Let the snow, er, games begin.

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Olympic Sport 2010 - Bobwheeling - For The Warmer Winters

Greening Vancouver: 2010 Olympics - Premier Gordon Swoops In To Take Green

Looking something akin to an Olympian Superhero, Premier Gordon Campbell kicked off this pre-Olympic Weekend by flying over Robson Square, not quite in a cape but certainly the next best thing...on the zip line at Robson Square.

"The harness was quite comfortable," he said afterwards.He and Olympian Charmaine Crooks were the first to ride the Zip Line and launched what will be free rides offered starting Feb. 12th, the first official day of the Winter Games.  The ride speeds revellers off a four-storey-high tower and along a 170 meter wire.

Photo Courtesy VanCityBuzz

“That was great. I was trying to do a somersault backwards and I didn't quite make it," yelled the super-fly Premier Campbell to reporters watching below. “This is going to be a fun place for people to come,” he said. “I want everyone to know it's there for them, it's free for them, it's their Olympics, so come down and have a good time.”

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Campbell was out and about promoting all things green that VANOC (Vancouver Olympic Committee) and the Province of B.C. has done to make these games green.

FACT: The 2010 Winter Games will produce only about a tenth of the carbon dioxide emissions generated by previous Winter Games. The games will be run primarily on clean renewable hydro electricity provided by BC Hydro.  For a complete rundown on how the timing devices and broadcasters et al will be powered by Clean Energy go to the Power Smart Village site.

The 2010 Winter Games will produce the lowest carbon dioxide emissions from power generation in the history of the modern Games, at only about a tenth of previous Winter Games.

Club Energy is one of the Fun things offered at the Power Smart Village.  The dance floor actually lights up as you dance, powered by your energy. And it's sustainable.  No bouncers, no cover charge.  They challenge you to prove you really can "Light up a room!"

For Sustaianability and the Winter Games, the Power Smart Village is Renewable Energy Central for the 2010 Winter Games. It thrives on people power. It’s a free, interactive gathering place in downtown Vancouver. It promises to "deliver fun and insight into living greener in B.C." And, well, why not the World!

On February 10th, they're hosting a So You Think You Can Dance session at 3pm and 6pm.

Contestants will have the choice between two to three songs to perform their best dance moves, concentrating both on creativity and movement. Judging will be based on number of steps taken within the allotted time, as well as audience preference.

More Things to do at Power Smart Village: Tour an energy-efficient Home of the Future, or join the cheering as Games events are broadcast live on a 65-inch energy-efficient TV. Get creative with their digital Expression Wall. Create electricity – literally – on their sustainable dance floor.

AT 333 Dunsmuir Street, Downtown Vancouver

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More Places to check out:

House of Switzerland opening today, Casa Italia opening tomorrow. We got a sneak peek inside Irish House and sees the castle being built for a DJ. Check back regularly as new info is being added daily leading up to and during the Games.

• Abbotsford Live Site

• Alberta House

• Atlantic Canada House

• BC Hydro PowerSmart Village

• BC Pavilion (Vancouver Art Gallery)

• Bell Ice Cube

• Bombardier Streetcar

• Canada Line (to YVR)

• Canada Pavilion

• Canada's Northern House

• Casa Italia

• CentrePlace Manitoba

• Coca Cola Pavilion (LiveCity Yaletown)

• Edgewater Casino Celebration Village

• Four Host First Nations Pavilion

• GE Plaza (Robson Square)

• German Saxony House

• Haida Gwaii House

• Heineken House (Holland)

• House of Switzerland

• Irish House

• Korea House

• Laser Waterworks Show

• LiveCity Downtown

• LiveCity Yaletown

• New Westminster

• Nightly Medal Award Ceremony

• O Zone Richmond

• Ontario Pavilion

• PRIDE House Vancouver

• Pan Pacific Pavilion

• Park Royal Winter Carnival

• Place de la Francophonie 2010

• PoCo Zone

• Quebec House (Maison du Quebec)

• Royal Canadian Mint Pavilion

• Russian Tall Ship

• Saskatchewan Pavilion

• Scandinavia House

• Sochi House (Russia)

• Surrey 2010 Celebration Zone

• USA House

• Ukraine House

• ValleyFest

• Vancouver "Streets to Watch"

• Vancouver City Hall

• Vancouver House (LiveCity Yaletown)

• Vectorial Elevation (English Bay)

• West Vancouver Spirit Square

• Whistler Round-up

• WinterFest at Lonsdale

• Ziptrek Vancouver (Robson Square)

 

 

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Greening Vancouver: 2010 Olympics - Premier Gordon Swoops In To Take Green

Greening Copenhagen: A Climactic Fairytale

by Paige Donner

When Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger addressed the leaders attending the Global Climate Conference in Copenhagen earlier this week, he noted Copenhagen's Little Mermaid, its famous statue in the city center that is drawn from a Hans Christian Andersen fairytale. He also noted that his favorite fairytale as a child was "The Ugly Duckling" because of its theme of transformation.

The California Governor is lobbying hard to maintain our focus on the fact that "this conference is automatically and already a success."

In these final hours of the historical summit, much focus is being placed on a global agreement being signed by all the world's leaders, the developing nations and the developed nations; And in particular whether China and the U.S. can come to an agreement about emissions reduction inspections and national sovereignty. Much focus is also being placed on which leaders B.O. is including in his pack and which ones he is snubbing.

Schwarzenegger's emphasis continues to focus our attention on the integral role that subnational governments and leaders - and individuals and entrepreneurs - play in this transformation of our environmental practices and some of the industries upon which we base our global economy.

Governor Schwarzenegger:

"...the world's governments alone cannot make progress, the kind of progress that is needed on global climate change. They alone cannot do it. They need everyone coming together, everyone working together. They need the cities, they need the states, they need the provinces and the regions. They need the corporations, the activists, the scientists and the universities. They need the individuals whose vision and determination create movements. They need everybody out there.

So ladies and gentlemen, let us regain our momentum, let us regain our purpose, let us regain our hope by liberating the transformative power beneath the national level.

That can be the great contribution of Copenhagen -- that could be the great contribution of Copenhagen.

Some examples he gave of industry and entrepreneurs leading the way: A German company in Texas building and operating the world's largest wind farm; a renewable energy company in China stating that they feel that renewables are "good business, not a burden." Solazyme, the firm that derives its renewable energy from algae and its recent U.S. Department of Defense contract is more evidence of successful private-public partnerships.

He also spoke about his late Mother-in-law's pioneering efforts to create the Special Olympics. This was an effort of individuals and people. This was not an effort set forth by governments.  He pointed out that it is people, friends and family, who are there at the finishing line to give the athletes participating in the Special Olympics a big hug, not governments.  The Special Olympics is now in 180-plus countries.

Without the dedication of individuals, activists, entrepreneurs, there would be no environmental movement.   "Movements began with the people, not with governments," concluded Schwarzenegger.

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Greening Copenhagen: A Climactic Fairytale