WWF Scores Athens Olympics a Failure
by Joe?Pulcinella
Oh, puh-lease! It's bad enough the Olympics are failing on their own. But the World Wildlife Foundation has to get in their two cents.
On a scale of 0–4, it rates the environmental component of the Athens Olympics at a very disappointing score of 0.77. The lowest scores were given to areas such as environmental planning and evaluation, protection of fragile natural and cultural areas, waste management and water conservation, and the use of environmentally-friendly construction technologies. The highest scores went to the fields of public transport, the improvement of existing infrastructure, and the promotion of environmental awareness. WWF is concerned that these wins may disappear when the Olympic Games come to a close.?
WWF should be equally happy that the environmental hazards caused by the games will also disappear. And why does "public transport" score so high? Meanwhile, the last paragraph leads me to wonder just where they get their funding. No one has this much spare time to devote to such nonsense.
NOTE: Every score refers to the performance (environmental footprint) of the seven-year period that has lapsed since Athens won the 2004 Olympics bid. The scoring procedure was based on a variety of criteria, mainly the existence concrete and measurable commitments, the achievement of an integrated approach to particular issues and an assessment of the heritage to Athens. The experience of previous Olympic Games, mainly those of Sydney and Barcelona, which in contrast to Atlanta achieved significant environmental victories, was also considered.
