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• Certain Olympic favourites gave up when they realised that they had
lost any chance of winning a medal (the case for Marie-José PEREC).
• Gravina, a member of the Italian volleyball team, took off her medal
during the national anthem, unsatisfied at only having won the bronze.
Question 6: Were the Sydney Olympic Games a good way of increasing
environmental awareness all over the world?
The Sidney Olympic Games were a good way to increase the environmental
awareness all over the world. They taught us the importance of our environment,
in addition to providing a good example to the world that it is possible to work
with technology, which does not affect the environment.
Furthermore, Sydney received a great "C" from the Green Peace Organization,
which is widely regarded as the leader in environmental issues.
The successes included:
• A water recycling system and an environmentally friendly infrastructure
(e.g. railways and transport expansion linking many venues to the airport).
• The living conditions of local people have improved environmentally.
• Media coverage during the Games was very extensive (3.5 billion TV
viewers) and therefore made people aware of the environmental issues.
It is not only the responsibility of "Green Peace" to protect the environment but
a responsibility of all of us, and the Sydney Olympic Games were a perfect
example of this to the world.
The shortcomings included:
• PVC was extensively used in temporary venues.
• The organizers failed to provide vehicles during the Games, which
produce reduced emissions.
• Food & drink containers (e.g. ice cream wrappers) did not comply with
the waste management strategy.
• Ozone depleting air conditioners were mostly used in competitions
arenas.
• Generally, the Games did not improve Sidney's environmental problems
(air, water...) in the long-term and therefore, a strategy at future Games
needs to be maintained.
From the public's point of view, the Olympic Games did not have much effect
on the environment. However, the Olympic Games must have been inspiring for
the environmental organizations all over the world.
Question 7: Do you think that environmental aspect should be
reinforced in Olympic education and if so, how?
All groups agreed that Olympic Education provides great opportunities for
increasing awareness of environmental issues all over the globe. This could be
achieved in a variety of ways:
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