Attempting to surpass the sustainability efforts of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing has resulted in a major setback for the 2024 Paris Games.
The Paris 2024 organizing committee has pledged to host the most environmentally friendly Olympic Games ever, aiming for a carbon footprint half the size of the ones from London 2012 and Rio 2016. In addition, Paris 2024 committed to doubling the quantity of plant-based food offered compared to previous Olympics and to procure 80% of products domestically in France.
According to the BBC "In early 2024, numerous French farmers, frustrated by declining incomes and increasing bureaucracy, used their tractors to obstruct major highways. The message "Mangez Francais" (meaning "eat French") was displayed on parked trucks, and several demonstrators were detained after trying to surround a food market near the capital. Shortly after, a contrasting group of French food activists visited the Louvre Museum in the city. Two individuals from the climate action organization Riposte Alimentaire (Food Retaliation) entered the museum and sprayed pumpkin soup on the Mona Lisa. Their demands centered on advocating for the "right to access healthy and sustainable food" and raising awareness about the environmental impact of the food industry."
The protest targeted GMOs, not the meat industry, despite Olympic officials assuming otherwise because most food for athletes was vegan. Supporters of both movements often clash over reducing meat consumption and promoting animal products. The French government and the highest administrative court have disputed plant-based meat substitute terminology.
At the competitions themselves, the focus on sustainability is impossible to miss. There are the slogans: “One, two, tri” (the French word for recycling); “Veni, vidi, veggie”; and “Have a gourde day” (the French word for water bottle). These are the first pro sports venues I’ve ever entered where metal water bottles are permitted, and many people are bringing them. For thousands of years, bottle gourds have been cultivated for use the world over as drinking vessels, medicine bottles and even fishing bobs. A new study looks at how they got to the Americas from their native Africa by ocean currents!
Proper Green tech utilization has a long way to go according to Slate Magazine Writer Henry Grabar! "Other high-profile commitments have been made at the Olympic Village, where there is no food coming by plane; the beds are made of cardboard, and the mattresses from recycled materials. There was supposed to be no air conditioning, though that promise has been undercut by the national Olympic committees."
The Olympic carbon footprint is mainly from energy, construction, and transportation. France benefits from its eco-friendly power grid, mostly nuclear. Olympic facilities not connected to the grid use batteries and solar panels.
"The construction phase is fascinating, with most venues being temporary structures. The two new stadiums are environmental showcases: the Porte de la Chapelle arena, home to a Parisian basketball team, is made with low-carbon concrete and recycled aluminum, featuring air filtration from a nearby highway. The Aquatics Center has a unique dipping roof to reduce heating and cooling needs, with wooden elements prefabricated in Alsace and assembled on-site in Saint-Denis." A designer noted, "You can even smell the wood while swimming."
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