mr.x
May 14, 2008, 4:12 AM
Vanoc faces eco-friendly Olympic torch issue
Jeff Lee, Vancouver Sun
Published: Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Can the Olympic flame burn bright in 2010 and still be environmentally friendly?
Winter Games organizers are grappling with that question as they test various fuels that will light the 12,000 torches for the 100-day cross-Canada torch relay, and the two cauldrons that will hold the flame in Vancouver and Whistler.
Jim Richards, Vanoc's director of torch relays, said the committee has been experimenting recently to find a happy medium, and has done a number of test burns with various fuels.
The problem Vanoc has encountered is that the most environmentally efficient fuels produce flames that are hardest to see.
On the other hand, the fuels that produce beautiful orange flames are the dirtiest.
"Everybody has to test burn with their torch, because you absolutely want the torch to be seen and shared with Canadians," he said.
"Let's say we're trying to balance what exists in terms of the flame component, because if you have more carbon it becomes more visible but is environmentally potentially less friendly than it could be. I guess what I'd say is that if you can't see the flame, what's the point in doing the torch relay?"
Richards, whose focus is the torch relay, said another division of Vanoc is working on a design for an environmentally friendly cauldron flame.
Most Olympic torches in recent years have been powered with butane or propane, but the design also depends upon temperature, altitude and the anticipated duration of the torch's burn.
For the 2006 Turin Winter Games relay, organizers used small butane cartridges that slipped into the base of each torch.
Torchbearers were given the option later to buy their torch once it had been disabled so that it could not be lit again.
Richards hinted that Vanoc has already designed working prototypes of its torch because it has to do tests with it to determine the look of the flame.
He said the tests began "relatively recently."
However, Vanoc won't make the torch design public until later this year, he said.
Vanoc also announced Monday that it has made a preliminary selection of 200 communities across Canada where the torch relay will stop for celebrations. Richards said the list won't be made public until this fall when Vanoc opens its "torchbearer contest" to applications for the 12,000 spots. It hopes to generate more than the 6.5 million applications the 1988 Calgary Games received.
In the meantime, Vanoc is negotiating with the 200 communities to see what kind of cultural events and facilities they can offer.
"We're starting to talk to the towns to understand if they are interested and excited about hosting a celebration and working with them to find out what that celebration would look like," Richards said.
The 35,000-kilometre relay will pass through about 1,000 communities in Canada's 10 provinces and three territories, and will be transported by a variety of modes, Richards said. Everything from ferries to aircraft to vehicles and trains will be used.
"We'll probably be travelling through 10 to 12 communities on any given day, and at lunchtime we will stop for a couple of hours where we will have a celebration in that community. In the evening where we stop to hang our hats is ultimately that evening celebration location."
Vanoc is also trying to avoid generating a public backlash like the one that dogged the 2008 Beijing torch relay during its international leg.
"We are learning from Beijing, and working as hard as ever at working to build trust and engage with our stakeholders to ensure that this is a relay that Canadians feel a sense of ownership about and delight in," Richards said.
"We consider ourselves distinct from every other relay."
Jeff Lee, Vancouver Sun
Published: Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Can the Olympic flame burn bright in 2010 and still be environmentally friendly?
Winter Games organizers are grappling with that question as they test various fuels that will light the 12,000 torches for the 100-day cross-Canada torch relay, and the two cauldrons that will hold the flame in Vancouver and Whistler.
Jim Richards, Vanoc's director of torch relays, said the committee has been experimenting recently to find a happy medium, and has done a number of test burns with various fuels.
The problem Vanoc has encountered is that the most environmentally efficient fuels produce flames that are hardest to see.
On the other hand, the fuels that produce beautiful orange flames are the dirtiest.
"Everybody has to test burn with their torch, because you absolutely want the torch to be seen and shared with Canadians," he said.
"Let's say we're trying to balance what exists in terms of the flame component, because if you have more carbon it becomes more visible but is environmentally potentially less friendly than it could be. I guess what I'd say is that if you can't see the flame, what's the point in doing the torch relay?"
Richards, whose focus is the torch relay, said another division of Vanoc is working on a design for an environmentally friendly cauldron flame.
Most Olympic torches in recent years have been powered with butane or propane, but the design also depends upon temperature, altitude and the anticipated duration of the torch's burn.
For the 2006 Turin Winter Games relay, organizers used small butane cartridges that slipped into the base of each torch.
Torchbearers were given the option later to buy their torch once it had been disabled so that it could not be lit again.
Richards hinted that Vanoc has already designed working prototypes of its torch because it has to do tests with it to determine the look of the flame.
He said the tests began "relatively recently."
However, Vanoc won't make the torch design public until later this year, he said.
Vanoc also announced Monday that it has made a preliminary selection of 200 communities across Canada where the torch relay will stop for celebrations. Richards said the list won't be made public until this fall when Vanoc opens its "torchbearer contest" to applications for the 12,000 spots. It hopes to generate more than the 6.5 million applications the 1988 Calgary Games received.
In the meantime, Vanoc is negotiating with the 200 communities to see what kind of cultural events and facilities they can offer.
"We're starting to talk to the towns to understand if they are interested and excited about hosting a celebration and working with them to find out what that celebration would look like," Richards said.
The 35,000-kilometre relay will pass through about 1,000 communities in Canada's 10 provinces and three territories, and will be transported by a variety of modes, Richards said. Everything from ferries to aircraft to vehicles and trains will be used.
"We'll probably be travelling through 10 to 12 communities on any given day, and at lunchtime we will stop for a couple of hours where we will have a celebration in that community. In the evening where we stop to hang our hats is ultimately that evening celebration location."
Vanoc is also trying to avoid generating a public backlash like the one that dogged the 2008 Beijing torch relay during its international leg.
"We are learning from Beijing, and working as hard as ever at working to build trust and engage with our stakeholders to ensure that this is a relay that Canadians feel a sense of ownership about and delight in," Richards said.
"We consider ourselves distinct from every other relay."