Russia plans enormous sports complex near pristine national park

You Can't Always Nyet What You Want

Hoping to strengthen its bid for the 2014 Winter Olympics, the Russian government has approved an $11.3 billion project to turn areas of Sochi National Park into a ginormous winter-sports complex. The park is home to 300 endemic plant species and a variety of endangered flora and fauna; over a quarter of its nearly 470,000 acres are earmarked for ski resorts, a high-speed rail system, a hydropower plant, and an Olympic Village. "The construction would cause significant damage to the area," says Mikhail Kreindlin of Greenpeace Russia, which is suing to stop the project. "The government is aware of all this but is under too much pressure from powerful real-estate developers and big corporations." In response to the lawsuit, the Sochi 2014 bid committee announced that it would "ensure that all our plans meet and comply with the highest environmental standards of the Olympics and ecological communities." Da, right.

straight to the source: The Independent, Andrew Osborn, 13 Sep 2006

straight to the source: International Herald Tribune, Associated Press, 13 Sep 2006

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Comments: (4 comments)

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Polluting the atm to counter polluting the atm?

I guess it might work, but have we really evolved to such a point of insanity that we are ready to cut off our nose to spite our face?

Wouldn't it make more sense to curb CO2 pollution?

What difference would 50 years make? Does anyone think we would suddenly become responsible stewards of the land then if we are unable to now?

If we can't stop our bad habits with a little common sense, then perhaps it would be best to just let nature run it's course.

by bdemello at 7:32 AM on 16 Sep 2006

Good Idea

There are a number of ideas floating around to actively cool the Earth (http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/27/science/earth/27cool.html?ex=1309060800&en=516dc103cf6b4861&am p;ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss).
There is a danger that these ideas will give the false impression that we can simply build our way out of the problem. Every scientist I've heard comment about the ideas is careful to point out that active cooling is not a magic bullet. They all say that this must go hand in hand with reducing CO2 consumption.

It would be nice if we could solve the problem by just reducing our emissions, but this is very unlikely to happen. Despite the fact that we've known about this problem for years ("After the Warming" came out in 1989) we have done very little. None of the protocols currently being discussed (let alone adopted) would solve the problem. This is not a problem caused by the consumption of an obscure set of particulates (like the destruction of the ozone layer) but rather a set of materials that often define an individuals standard of living. Taking the bus, driving a Prius, living in a small apartment and eating local vegan food might help, but it will not be enough. The lifestyle change required would have to be immediate and drastic; I doubt most people would accept it until it became too late.

Even if the developed countries convinced people to change their habits and be extremely more efficient, we would have to somehow convince the poor people of the world to do the same. This could be even more difficult, as we would have to allow them to leap frog our route to economic progress. Again, it would be great if this would happen, but I seriously doubt it will.

Generally speaking, I am an optimist. I believe that the people of the world are progressing (although the last five years may represent a "two step backwards" period before another "three steps forward"). However, I can't realistically see how global warming will be slowed or stopped in time with reductions alone. Nor can I accept the loss of the natural world that will occur because of such warming. The only way I believe the people of the world can solve this problem is with a combination of emission reduction and active cooling.

by RossBleakney at 9:49 AM on 16 Sep 2006

Institutional Change

Most of the time, we seem to be discussing only the personal changes people need to make (and I am not picking on anyone person here, but responding to a general tone in Gristmill postings).

This is dangerous.

We need to realize that insitutions can have a major impact (AND MUST!) by making changes.

For instance, requiring corporate, military and government fleets to use hydrogen powered cars would have an enormous impact.

We need to get away from putting all the onus on individuals.

patrick

by bookerly at 8:15 PM on 16 Sep 2006

SO2 is no solution

I know SO2, SO2 makes acid when mixed with water, that is no friend to the environment nor animal or plant life, it is not even good for minerals. So that is not a good idea. I say try again.

i am not ready to say we can not build our way out of this problem but I think in order to build our way out we are going to have to build wind energy, photovoltaic, geothermal, and tidal power along with the associated transmission, demand control and storage systems. I think that SO2 solutions are so silly as to not be funny.

by ffletcher at 1:08 AM on 17 Sep 2006

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