Despite the angst over the money spent on the Olympic village and other facilities, overall, Vancouver had many of the venues already set up, such as GM Place and Pacific Coliseum.  True, the controversy over expanding the road to Whistler riled some locals, but overall, the city could withstand the onslaught of visitors and building of venues that are necessary for a momentous two week extravaganza.

 

Summer Olympiads generally are held in national capitals or large cities of global importance (with the exception of Atlanta in 1996, a decision that still is odd to me!).  Winter Olympics, however, generally have been held in small venues, in romantic places like Chamonix, Albertville, and Grenoble, France; St. Moritz, Switzerland; and Squaw Valley, California, which before 1960 had one ski lift.  The past twenty years, larger cities such as Calgary, Salt Lake City, and Torino, Italy, have hosted the Winter Games, and that's a welcome trend.

Why?  Awarding the Olympics to small cities means construction projects that are often overwhelmed by cost overruns, facilities that will hardly be used (or taken down after the games), and environmental damage that cannot be repaired for decades.  True, past Olympiads in Lillehammer, Norway, and Nagano, Japan, have had a relatively modest environmental impact.  And while emotionally, I think South Korea deserves the 2018 games, the thought of all the construction in PyeongChang worries me.  The Korean organizers may say these will be a "Green" Olympics, but bulldozing forests and building huge hotels, roads, and athletic facilities is hardly "environmental," no matter how many solar panels or "sustainably harvested" building materials are used for these projects.  Perhaps some facilities and hotels could be in Sokcho, a charming city on Korea's eastern coast that is a pleasant town full of friendly locals?

 

Let's take a look at Sochi, Russia, the host of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games.  This subtropical town is already established as a resort (thanks to Stalin), but the preparations for the games already look disastrous.  Roads and rail lines are going through national parks and other areas hosting wildlife.  Environmentalists, activists, journalists, and anyone opening their mouths are being harassed by Vladimir Putin's cronies.  Thousands have been forced out of their homes, allegedly forced to sell for less than market value.  Then you have all the corruption allegations that are plaguing the construction around Sochi . . . one highway being built is costing about US$130 million a kilometer!  Never mind the fact that Sochi is one of the few places in Russia that does not see snow--most events will be held in the nearby mountains, while ice skating and hockey will be held among the town's palm trees.  You would think that there are other cities in Russia that have the population and infrastructure in place to hold the games, but my guess is that Putin saw the potential in skimming off millions from construction projects . . . and in fairness, Russia did get the short end of the baton when Jimmy Carter (foolishly) boycotted the 1980 Summer Games in Moscow because of the USSR's invasion of Afghanistan.

 

Unfortunately, the International Olympic Committee's decisions are fueled by politics, a trend accelerated by Juan Antonio Samaranch, a social-climbing Francisco Franco insider who insisted on being called "His Excellency" and who transformed the Olympics from an amateur competition to one that has become a mega-corporate indulgent lovefest.  Sadly, cities and countries will drive themselves into debt to host these games . . . and are often left with a long post-Olympic hangover, as in the case of Montreal and Athens.  But at least these are cities where you already have development.  There are already plenty of cities around the world that have the stadia, hotels, and roads that can support the Olympics.  So instead of turning a small resort into a destructive construction zone, let's be "green" by hosting such events in places such as Vienna, Helskini, Santiago, or Quebec City than can sustain them.

 

 

 

Korea has changed immensely since I first arrived there in 1995.  I paid about US$50 a month just for text-based email; now many consider the country to be the most wired country on Earth.  Skiing and other winter sports in 1990s Korea were more of a decadent hobby for Korea's nouveax riche, who saw winter as another fashion and photo opportunity; Korea currently holds its own in global winter sports competitions.  Finally, Korea was a surging export driven economy that had no regard for anything smacking of sustainability during the nineties; "green" is now the theme has proposed by its current president, Lee Myung-bak, who as Seoul's mayor expanded the city's green space and now insists on Korea becoming a green technology hub.  Korea should be concerned about its energy future:  95 to 97 percent of its energy is imported, so President Lee is encouraging the expansion of everything from home weatherization to expanding its strength in solar and wind energy technologies.

 

Which leads us to the 2018 Winter Olympics.  PyeongChang, east of Seoul in Gangwon Province, came within a whisker of hosting the 2010 and 2014 Games, which it lost Vancouver and Sochi, Russia.  This small town is only competing against Munich and Annecy, France, for the 2018 bid, and has a good shot at finally gaining the right to host the third winter Olympiad in Asia.  The challenges, however, are many:  the highway connecting Seoul to the coast is a traffic nightmare on weekends, and while there are plenty of small airports nearby, the thought of this tiny county, home to 45,000 people, is a chilling one.

 

PyeongChang's organizers, however, are optimistic that they can host a "green" mega-event.  Here are its main points:

 

So there's a lot of room for growth here.  To be fair, this event is 8 years away, and the final winner will not be announced until next year.  Plus geopolitics are often behind who wins and does not win the coveted games.  Nevertheless, the 2018 Olympics will not only be an opportunity for Korea to showcase its heritage and instill even more national pride, but could also be an enormous opportunity to display its advances in greener and cleaner technologies.

 

If anyone is involved with the 2018 bid in Korea, we want to hear your perspective.

 

 

What amazed me is that anything got delivered at all:  Korea has the most illogical address system, a matruska-like mess where you go from large (as in country, then province), to small (the block number or building name on the street).  I always loved going into the local restaurants and looking at the local precinct maps.  Block number 2 on my street may have been next to number 3, or 31, with number 77 following.  I got dizzy trying to figure out the madness.  When Korea co-hosted the World Cup in 2002, logistics slightly improved as streets were given name, but that U2 song still reminds me of Korea.

 

Delivery also had its unattractive side.  Obviously there was the occasional near-decapitation by a motorbike rear-view mirror--a friend of mine was saved only because a motorcycle handlebar did not impale her, but only smacked the wood souvenir she had bought in a weekend trip to the countryside.  Sometimes the sidewalks were indistinguishable from the streets.  The noise certainly is discombobulating.  But the worst effect of all these scooters were the emissions.  Despite Seoul's--and Korea's--impressive public transport system, air pollution in Korea's cities is brutal.

 

This will change.  Seoul's city government is spending billions of won(about US$14 million) on electric vehicles, from shuttle buses to electric motorcycles.  By 2020, 7000 vehicle recharges should be found in public areas and parking lots, if the city's plan succeeds.  The city is also taking a global leadership role, as it is working with Sao Paulo, Toronto and Sydney in creating a "C40 Electric Vehicle Network" that will expand the reach of electric vehicle recharging stations, give consumers and businesses incentives to purchase electric vehicles, and increase their presence in municipal fleets.

 

Korea's investment and leadership in electric vehicle technology will result in seeing even more Korean products in your homes and cars this decade.  Kia plans on releasing a new electric car by 2012, and at Detroit's Motor Show next week, Hyundai will introduce its Blue-Will model, which incorporates a parallel hybrid system that allows the car to function as a Prius-like gas hybrid, or a pure plug-in electric car.  If Hyundai can scale this model, I see this technology catching on:  it gives customers the choice they like to see while helping to reduce dependence on those pesky imported fossil fuels.

 

I mentioned last week that this may be the Brazilian decade.  The Koreans aren't far behind, and may even be a leader in the clean tech race.

 

Discussions around climate change, renewable energy, and environmental issues often whirl around automobiles.  It's understandable:  a good portion of emissions going into our atmosphere come from cars.  And let's just face it:  cars are status symbol and offer strong imagery in our popular culture--and by "our" I mean the world . . . as wealth increases, people want to buy those dream cars.

Nevertheless, there are other human actions that drive energy consumption, pollution, and waste:  our houses amongst them.  Some data suggest that homes and offices actually contribute to emissions more than cars:  a disappointing truth, I believe, because we really don't want to believe that our happy home could have such a nefarious effect.

 

So back to Korea.  Kogas' move makes sense and could be profitable.  Most Korean homes have that uniform two-burner stove (I imagine more have upgraded to a four-burner since I left in 1998), and that stove runs all day . . . the Korean diet does not see much variation between breakfast, lunch and dinner, and chances are there's a huge kettle of hot po-ri-cha (barley water).  And a curious note:  yes, Koreans eat rice thrice a day, but for whatever reason, they cook it stove-top, and then transfer it to a rice cooker to keep it warm (don't ask why, that's they way it is!).  So those burners are rarely turned off.  It's a perfect opportunity for an alternative fuel provider.  Logistics are a natural, too, due to Korea's population density . . . I remember that whether I needed a new tank of heating oil or service for my gas or electricity, the doorbell rang almost immediately.  Kogas can rely on its distribution network already in place.

 

I meet scores of well-meaning folks who have ideas and products that can provide energy efficiency and can climate change.  The problem, unfortunately, is that they are often ideas.  As with any new product, you need the right price point, a market, suppliers, and distribution.  Kogas has all of these . . . and although this is only a baby step for improving Korea's dire energy situation (the company imports 97% of its energy needs), at least Koreans will squeeze more fuel out of the sources they've got.

 

It's a win-win situation.  Bi-bim-bap and those hearty stews will certainly cause less guilt while consumed!

Seoul’s city government is providing US$2 million for researching this system; stay tuned!