A big green ring in the Olympics

February 23rd, 2009 at 08:02am Jennie Pollock

Chicago, in its quest to land the 2016 Summer Games, is promoting itself as the greenest choice over Madrid, Rio and Tokyo (because they, too, have eco-friendly plans).

“We’ve got a real opportunity to take the best aspects of our city, the parks, the lakefront and the environmentalism and bring a real asset to the table,” Chicago 2016 spokesman Patrick Sandusky said. “It’s certainly one of the great strengths of the city of Chicago that we have to offer.”

In Chicago’s official Olympic bid book, released earlier this month, organizers tout a low-carbon “blue-green” event, with most venues along Lake Michigan, which is lined with parks, and a focus on environmentalism.

Organizers say vehicles provided by the games would run on low-carbon fuels or electricity and event sites would be powered by renewable energy. Storm water would be collected for reuse; the venues would use recyclable or reusable products. And sites would adhere to green building standards and coexist with natural habitat.

Expect a decision by the end of the year. Of course, Rockford is hoping to benefit if our big neighbor to the east wins.

Entry Filed under: Olympics, In the news