Olympic cyclists

[cyclinnewbie]

What I don't get is that they have known for what, 4 years or so that the Olympics would be held in their uber-polluted city, and have done next to nothing to rectify the situation, and THAT has been done too late to make a difference. Doesn't the IOC take environment into account? Just seems really stupid to me. And I've read a couple of reports the past couple of weeks about athletes boycotting because of the air quality. Such a shame.

[Grog]

I agree that "cold hard cash" has a lot to do with this and I'm not too impressed with the IOC, but then, the IOC has never really impressed me in the past...

This being said, I would be curious to see some hard data about this pollution thing. Los Angeles and Athens are not especially "clean air" cities either, and lots of athletes were sick in Athens (I'm a bit too young to remember much about LA). Any data, anyone?

[shootingstar]

At the time, Beijing won the Olympic bid to host the event, I truly wondered the sanity ..given the air quality.

I haven't been to Asia...yet. But I should have gone and nearly did, before Tienamen Square massacre event occurred.

Air quality was better then in Beijing. Now I worry with my partner's higher sensitivity to air pollution due to his allergies..

Most people that I know who lived for several years in the major Asian cities Bangkok, Beijing, Manila....marvel at the "clearer" air of Canada where they are now.

Beijing's pollution might be made more complex and dangerous because of China's coal-burning industries in nearby regions.. and other toxic particulate where it might be more heavily regulated for emissions in Canada and the U.S.