{"id":307440,"date":"2010-02-11T12:23:38","date_gmt":"2010-02-11T17:23:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.greenrightnow.com\/?p=8913"},"modified":"2010-02-11T12:23:38","modified_gmt":"2010-02-11T17:23:38","slug":"vancouver-will-showcase-a-sustainable-olympics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/307440","title":{"rendered":"Vancouver will showcase a sustainable Olympics"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Harriet Blake<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Snowboarding, skiing and skating will be front and center when the 2010 Winter Olympics<\/a> open in Vancouver this week. But not far behind is another S-word: Sustainability. Sustainability has generated a lot of momentum, so much so that the Olympic website devotes numerous links to various aspects of the subject.<\/p>\n

\"Pulse\u2019s<\/p>\n

Pulse\u2019s mobile dashboard will update every 15 minutes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

There we find out that hydrogen-fueled buses will transport people at some of the venues, several of the buildings are LEED-certified and many of the medals are made from recycled electronics. And, energy provider British Columbia Hydro <\/a>has teamed with a local software company, Pulse Energy<\/a>, to monitor energy usage at the games.<\/p>\n

John Furlong, CEO of the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee, says these games will establish a blueprint for Olympics of the future; a benchmark for others to follow.<\/p>\n

The objective, he says. is to manage the environmental and economic impact of the Games
\nto create “lasting benefits, locally and globally.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson has noted that these Olympics will have the greenest venues of any previous games and despite some criticism for the price of the new structures, he believes it has been a good investment.<\/p>\n

Helping the Olympic committee track energy consumption at the games is the aforementioned Pulse Energy, a software company that has partnered with utilities company, BC Hydro. Their joint venture, the Venue Energy Tracker Project, will monitor energy and energy management of nine Olympic venues: the Richmond Olympic Oval, UBC Thunderbird Arena, GM Place, Southeast False Creek Community Centre, the Vancouver Olympic\/Paralympic Centre, the Athletes Villages in Vancouver and Whistler, the Whistler Blackcomb Roundhouse Lodge and Snowmaking Facilities.<\/p>\n

Pulse co-founder and CEO David Helliwell says the company has installed their energy management technology in each venue, then built a micro site<\/a> to communicate the project\u2019s objectives, features and results. The project\u2019s mission is to showcase the green features of the Olympic venues and be the first Olympic Games to track its energy, communicating real-time consumption data.<\/p>\n

Olympic visitors will be able to view the games\u2019 energy consumption in real time on screens located in several different pavilions as well as at the media centers.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt Pulse, we\u2019ve developed software to keep track of energy and see where energy is wasted,\u201d says Helliwell. The company has created user-friendly energy intelligence that allows buildings to save up to 25 percent on their energy costs, ranging from light bulbs to heating and cooling systems. Pulse measures a building\u2019s performance and works with a variety of customers including engineering firms and utility companies, such as BP Hydro.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt seemed like a natural step when the Olympics came to us and asked to help them be more energy efficient,\u201d he says. Based in Vancouver, Pulse employs 40-plus workers. Their work with the Olympic Committee started in full force last September.<\/p>\n

Helliwell points out that over the years, the Olympics have made some progress in sustainability, but the Vancouver Olympics will be the first time it\u2019s been measured. And looking to the future, he says, \u201cThe 2012 London Olympics may be the biggest one yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another demonstration of sustainability at work will be the hydrogen fuel cell\u00a0buses that will transport spectators at the Whistler venue. Developed by the Vancouver company, Ballard<\/a>, the buses have around since 1991 and are operated by British Columbia Transit.<\/p>\n

Fuel cells,\u00a0says Ballard’s vice president of operations Paul\u00a0Cass,\u00a0have no emissions except water vapor because they\u00a0make electricity by\u00a0combining hydrogen and oxygen without combustion.<\/p>\n

“These buses,” Cass said in a recent interview, “tie-in to the sustainability theme of the Games, . . . this is a real, live demonstration of green technology at work.”<\/p>\n

The traditional gold, silver and bronze medals will also have a “green” component. The Canadian mining company, Teck Resources<\/a>, has discovered a way to retrieve the gold, silver, and bronze from the circuit boards of old computers. They then have it melted down and recast into new Olympic medals.<\/p>\n

The Vancouver Olympic Committee has a number of sustainability stories detailed on their website.\u00a0One features\u00a0an\u00a0out-of-work man living at the Salvation Army who was trained in the CORE (Construction Orientation to Retain Employment) program and eventually became one of the many carpenters who helped build some of the Olympic structures.\u00a0Another story\u00a0chronicles\u00a0an outreach program that partnered with the Aborigines of Canada to establish an official licensed merchandising program to showcase Aboriginal arts, culture and enterprise.<\/p>\n

\n

\"Basketball<\/p>\n

Basketball court at the LEED-built Richmond Olympic Oval<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The Olympic Committee also recognizes their \u201csustainability stars\u201d on the website. The 62 organizations or structures include:<\/p>\n