Upcoming Olympics: Green Vancouver, Greener London

With the Beijing 2008 Olympics well underway, we can only begin to imagine the measures Vancouver and London are taking as host cities for upcoming Olympics.

After a little bit of research, here’s what we’ve found out about the 2010 and 2012 Olympic Games.

While Vancouver doesn’t have quite the problem with smoggy skies that Beijing does, the environment is still an important issue. Among the eco-measures they’re taking are:

• Building LEED Gold and Platinum Certified venues.
• Establishing a ‘Green Fleet’ of Hydrogen Buses.
• Using landfill energy to heat the Games.
• Promotion of an Olympic Carbon Plan as an effort to track and offset carbon emissions.

Not a bad list considering there’s just two years until the upcoming Winter Olympic Games. London, which has four years of planning and preparation ahead has created an even more extensive to-do list:

• Reclaiming 90% of demolition material for recycling or reuse in new, LEED-certified construction.
• Recycling complete buildings to be re-assembled off site.
• Relocating wildlife and creating new habitats to maintain established biodiversity.
• Other measures to combat climate change, reduce waste, promote worldwide inclusion, and improve healthy living.

Though very impressive, London’s list comes at no surprise considering the leadership role the U.K. has taken on when it comes to worldwide greening.

We think it’s safe to say that the precedent has been set - the Olympics of the future are just going to get greener and greener by the looks of it, which is great for the planet, and it keeps tree-huggers like us happy too.