Conservation 101: the Compete to Conserve Blog

photo credit: Montrasio International

If provided with another chance, would China have wanted to host the Olympics this summer?  If China knew that hosting the Olympics in 2008 would actually have a detrimental impact on its economy while bringing to the international spotlight the country’s environmental and human rights practices, would we be watching Istanbul 2008?

The International Olympic Committee selected Beijing to host the 2008 Summer Olympics back in 2001.  In generating support for the Olympics in Beijing, China argued, in part, that 2008 would be the creation of the first “green” Olympics.  Cleaning up Beijing for the 2008 games, Chinese officials suggested, would be an inspiration to other Olympic venues.  Seven years later, air quality is still a major concern to the athletes.  And if air quality was not enough to keep China from “breathing easy”, in February the United States Olympic Committee announced it would bring its own food to the Olympics.  Perhaps inspired in part by the worldwide food contamination scare for U.S. domestic pets, the decision disappointed Beijing nonetheless.  Add to that the recent scrutiny of China’s human rights and political practices, is this really what China needs right now?

The United States only started to formally track the Chinese currency in July 2005, and the yuan debuted at around 8.11 to the dollar.  China has done well at telegraphing the yuan’s upward rise against the dollar, and this year alone the yuan has risen 7.1% against U.S. currency.  In 2008, foreign money pouring into China has translated into an increase in China’s reserves by about $1.6 billion a day.  By July, China’s reserves hit about $1.81 trillion, up 18% since January.  Interestingly, China’s trade surplus was down 12% from the previous year.  Critics of China’s booming economy are quick to note that the country’s success is not due to exporting cheap goods to other nations but rather investments.

Since winning the rights to the 2008 Olympics, China’s economy has increased at unprecedented levels.  Here are some examples:  In 2001, China’s GDP growth was 7.3%, compared with 10% in 2008.  In 2001, China’s global trade was approximately $500 billion, compared with 2007 exports at around $1.2 trillion, and 2007 imports near $900 billion.  With all of the controversy surrounding the Summer Olympics, who is the “winner”?

Rice Farmers:  Rice farmers perhaps, at least according to one study.  By adding sulphate, British scientists tried to mimic the effect of acid rain on laboratory rice paddies.  This apparently reduced methane emissions (the second largest human-made greenhouse gas after carbon dioxide) from flooded rice paddies by as much as 25%.

Trees and Plants:  The trees and plants that cover Beijing (about 6,300 square miles) grew from 41.9% in 2000 to 51.6% in 2008.  The Olympic Forest Park alone included 900 hectares of native plants.  China has received some criticism, however, of what, or who, this new “green” replaced.

Water in Beijing:  Beijing now treats 90 percent of its waste-water, an increase of 40 percent since 2001.  The Olympic Village, in fact, dispenses potable water, something not readily available outside the “Village”.

Non-smokers:  Beijing banned smoking in most indoor public places, and restaurants must have designated smoking and non-smoking areas.  Like the rest of the world adopting similar bans, this change prompted mixed opinions.

The Streets of Beijing:  To clean up its streets, Beijing banned spitting and littering (past common practices).  The City also rounded up stray cats, although the Human Society International is investigating what actually happened to these felines.

With each winner, unfortunately, there also appears to be less fortunate “contestants”.  From the list above, that would include that which the trees and plants replaced, restaurateurs, and kitties.  And while the Olympics stole the spotlight as of August 8, many last-minute changes to China’s economic infrastructure created more chaos than the barrage of anti-smog pellets launched into a Beijing sky.  Chinese industries, too, such as steel, pharmaceuticals and other goods have faced considerable disruptions due to the government-imposed restrictions intending to cut pollution.  As just one example, local businesses around Beijing endured a ban of trucks in the city, complicating the delivery process and limiting business (or making things much more expensive).  Chinese provinces around Beijing have also suffered from the diversion of water to accommodate the Olympics.  In order to meet the needs for the summer games, Olympic-sized water resources have been tapped and directed exclusively to Beijing proper.  For certain provinces, this has necessitated the closing of factories, the relocation of tens of thousands of people, and the elimination of precious water supplies.

Long after the Olympics end, scientists can argue if the color of the air around Beijing was heavy humidity or the concentration of PM10 dust.  But for the first time in Olympics history, there was a special room in the Olympic Village dedicated to raising green consciousness.  Whatever conclusions are ultimately drawn about the quality of the air in Beijing in August 2008 and the disruption it may have caused in and around Beijing and its provinces, this Chinese Olympic debacle has created a controversy that can only help global environmental awareness, but perhaps at a steep price to China’s economy, international public opinion, and others.  Summed up nicely in the August 2, 2008 issue of The Economist, “China’s rise is a cause for celebration – but despite the Beijing Olympics, not because of them.”  The same can probably be said about the resulting environmental awareness.

Additional resources discussing Chinese economic growth since 2001:

http://www.economist.com/finance/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10429271

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121794284321413355.html

http://www.epi.org/content.cfm/bp219

http://www.tradingeconomics.com/Economics/GDP-Growth.aspx?Symbol=CNY

http://www.indexmundi.com/g/g.aspx?c=ch&v=67

Additional resources relating to the 2008 Summer Olympics:

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/2008-02-21-104854104_x.htm

http://www.newscientist.com/blog/environment/2008/08/is-beijings-air-safe-to-breath.html

http://www.plentymag.com/features/2008/08/breaking_down_chinas_efforts_t.php

http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2053453/posts

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/mar/01/olympicgames2008.china1

Additional resources discussing the economic benefits from the 2008 Summer Olympics:

http://en.beijing2008.cn/news/olympiccities/beijing/n214544942.shtml

http://www.chinabusinessreview.com/public/0807/sands.html

Related Entries

1. Beijing Olympics Not Breathing Easy
2. Beijing’s Environmental Successes
3. Why Air Pollution Matters to Athletes