New York has managed to host the Olympics, not the Olympic Games but the Sewage Treatment Olympics.
Four teams competed to win the 19th Annual Sewage Olympics. They performed simulated drills that included; retrieving someone from a manhole, testing air quality in a makeshift sewer, fixing a broken sewer pipe and repairing a waste treatment pump.
The event was sponsored by the New York Water Environment Association and the Department of Environmental Protection.
The winners this year were the Bowery Bay Boys.
It is good to see an Olympic event that actually adds value.
Thursday, May 11, 2006
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
The Green Olympics
The authorities in Beijing are working hard to ensure that the 2008 Olympics will be seen to be green.
In July and August Beijing suffers from very high temperatures, and is short of flowers. That is not deterring the Beijing Municipal Gardening and Forestation Bureau, who are aiming to transform Beijing into a city "shrouded in green and wreathed with flowers".
The Bureau claim that they have developed ways to enable thousands of flowers, such as chrysanthemums, Chinese roses and other homegrown flowers, to prolong their fluorescence throughout summer.
They are also studying ways of transplanting green trees from forests in the suburbs to the downtown venues for the Olympic Games, including spraying powder to protect their roots and planting them in special containers.
The bureau is also taking to concept of green quite literally, by carrying out a "green roof" project; which involves planting green plants on the top of buildings, less than 12 storeys high, along the main roads of Beijing and beside the Olympic venues.
It is expected that 80,000 to 100,000 square metres of roofs will have plants by the end of this year; by 2008, it will be 300,000 square metres
In July and August Beijing suffers from very high temperatures, and is short of flowers. That is not deterring the Beijing Municipal Gardening and Forestation Bureau, who are aiming to transform Beijing into a city "shrouded in green and wreathed with flowers".
The Bureau claim that they have developed ways to enable thousands of flowers, such as chrysanthemums, Chinese roses and other homegrown flowers, to prolong their fluorescence throughout summer.
They are also studying ways of transplanting green trees from forests in the suburbs to the downtown venues for the Olympic Games, including spraying powder to protect their roots and planting them in special containers.
The bureau is also taking to concept of green quite literally, by carrying out a "green roof" project; which involves planting green plants on the top of buildings, less than 12 storeys high, along the main roads of Beijing and beside the Olympic venues.
It is expected that 80,000 to 100,000 square metres of roofs will have plants by the end of this year; by 2008, it will be 300,000 square metres
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
Future of Britain's Oldest Salmon Smokery Secured
The Olympics juggernaut, never one to respect the rights of individuals, has been prevented from claiming one more victim.
The future of Forman & Son, Britain's oldest salmon smokery, has been secured after its owner agreed to move to make way for the London Olympics.
Forman & Son supplies smoked fish and other seafood to some of the world's best restaurants and hotels, from its East End factory. It has agreed to move to a site, just outside the proposed Olympic Park, on Fish Island.
The deal comes at the last minute, as a public inquiry opens today into the clearance of 500 acres in the Lower Lea Valley near Stratford; the site of the London 2012 Olympics.
The deal was brokered at the last minute as a means of saving the embarrassment of Lord Coe (head of the London Olympics) from being publicly cross examined by Lance Forman (head of Formans) in the public enquiry which opens today.
Forman and Son is located on Marshgate Lane industrial estate, which is earmarked for the Olympic stadium.
The future of Forman & Son, Britain's oldest salmon smokery, has been secured after its owner agreed to move to make way for the London Olympics.
Forman & Son supplies smoked fish and other seafood to some of the world's best restaurants and hotels, from its East End factory. It has agreed to move to a site, just outside the proposed Olympic Park, on Fish Island.
The deal comes at the last minute, as a public inquiry opens today into the clearance of 500 acres in the Lower Lea Valley near Stratford; the site of the London 2012 Olympics.
The deal was brokered at the last minute as a means of saving the embarrassment of Lord Coe (head of the London Olympics) from being publicly cross examined by Lance Forman (head of Formans) in the public enquiry which opens today.
Forman and Son is located on Marshgate Lane industrial estate, which is earmarked for the Olympic stadium.
Monday, May 08, 2006
Imperial Tombs
Work on the construction of the shooting ranges for the Beijing 2008 Olympics has been suspended, following the discovery of some imperial tombs.
The tombs were found in mid April, are believed to date back five to six centuries to the Ming dynasty. It is speculated that they were for eunuchs serving at the imperial court.
Usually, during construction projects in Beijing, artifacts discovered are removed or destroyed before experts can examine them.
A spokeswoman for the Beijing Olympic organizers, Zhu Jing, said that she had no information on how the discovery would affect construction.
I wonder if the Olympic facilities now being constructed will last as long?
The tombs were found in mid April, are believed to date back five to six centuries to the Ming dynasty. It is speculated that they were for eunuchs serving at the imperial court.
Usually, during construction projects in Beijing, artifacts discovered are removed or destroyed before experts can examine them.
A spokeswoman for the Beijing Olympic organizers, Zhu Jing, said that she had no information on how the discovery would affect construction.
I wonder if the Olympic facilities now being constructed will last as long?
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