While going green with your workout routine might seem like a dead end battle, especially if you are constantly noticing other people not following your lead, it might help to know that major sporting events are now getting involved with this process.  In fact, the 2010 Winter Olympic Games will be the most environmentally friendly Olympics in history, despite the fact that it caused the Organizing Committee to go well over budget.  This is a very important step in the history of the Olympics because you have to believe that every Olympic committee from here on out will attempt to make their Games even more environmentally friendly than Vancouver’s, which will help spread this message to the world.

The main things that the Vancouver Organizing Committee will do are reduce the amount of water and energy that are being consumed, as well as track all of the excess carbon dioxide that is being released into the city as a result of the Games.  The Committee also hired nothing but companies from within the country to handle their Games based contracts, which allowed them to keep a closer eye on these companies and their environmental practices.  One of the main things that the Committee will be looking at as they evaluate the Games will , environmental stewardship and a reduction of the impact that the Games will have on the environment, so you can see that they are truly serious about making this eco-friendly Olympic Games work out.

Throughout the construction phase of the Olympic venues, all companies had to adhere to environmental regulations, as well as the Olympic Committee’s ethical framework.  The reduction of greenhouse gases was also high on the list, with one of the main attributes being the fact that public transportation will be so ready available.  Anyone who is attending Olympic events in Vancouver will have to take public transportation because there will not be parking in any of these locations.  Events at Whistler will only be accessible by shuttle bus and the city’s LRT system will provide access to the other venues.  All ticket holders will also have free access to these modes of public transportation on the day of their event, which will make it much easier for everyone to get around the city during the games.

While it remains to be seen how successful the final product will be in Vancouver, it is well worth noting that the city has made a serious attempt at reducing the environmental impact that these Games will have.  Making public transportation free for ticket holders is a unique step and enforcing all environmental policies during the building phase should also be recognized.  If this becomes the norm in the Olympic world, Vancouver will have definitely done its job in the entire process and will have made the Olympic Games a more environmentally friendly venture from here on out.

The Vancouver Olympic Committee is definitely trying to do its part to make the world a better place, but it should be noted that there is only a Summer or Winter Olympics every two years, so the impact that these Games can have is minimal in the grand scheme of things.  Because of this, it is vital that sports equipment manufacturers get involved with the entire process, as their products are used by people every day.  What many sporting goods companies are starting to do is incorporate renewable-based chemicals into their products, which makes them much more environmentally friendly.

Brooks Sports, for example, is attempting to incorporate sustainable materials into their footwear and has been successful thus far, as they have found that these renewable-chemicals can actually work better than the chemicals that are usually utilized.  They have now released the first ever high performance green running shoe, which is called Green Silence, and it uses entirely recycled material, in addition to ink that is soy based and water based glue.  These shoes are also relatively affordable, but it remains to be seen if this type of shoe will ever take off from a consumer standpoint.