Care2.com blogged about recent reports from The Telegraph that “South Africa is trying to ‘green’ the 2010 FIFA World Cup, but local efforts are struggling to balance out the enormous carbon emissions caused by holding the tournament at the tip of the continent.”
Efforts to ensure large, global sports events are green, often fail, and according to The Telegraph, although some of the cities that will host 2010 FIFA World Cup matches “have constructed stadiums that feature natural ventilation; rain water capture; and increased energy efficiency.”
“The ‘carbon footprint’ for this year’s tournament is estimated at 2.75-million tons of carbon dioxide, nine times higher than the World Cup in Germany in 2006 and more than twice as high as the Beijing Olympics,” reports The Telegraph. One of the main reasons for the high number of emissions is because “fans will have to fly between the host cities and because the nation uses coal for most of its electricity.”
Appealing if those white clouds turned a permanent grey?
While some host cities are making efforts to offset emissions, (with Durban planning to produce electricity from hydraulic turbines or biogas emitted by landfills, and Johannesburg and Cape Town planting thousands of trees to capture carbon dioxide), these carbon credit projects will take about two and a half years to offset the emissions caused by hosting the tournament.
It seems the old adage of ‘we left it till the 11th hour’ is ringing not only true, but loud enough for us to no longer ignore it. The increased hissing of those planes over our yards in the next few months will certainly send a shudder through my soul, and make me wonder if it will ever be possible for anyone to ever have clean lungs again. The reality seems to be hitting pretty close as we hear the daily count downs. We can’t forget that South Africa is pretty close to that dangerous hole in the ozone layer, and that we’re a water dry country. The combination of these factors and increased emissions will have negative impacts for the country. Not only that, but the impacts will be felt by the poorest of the poor. Haven’t we left them out in the cold one too many times now?
