Olympics 2012: green games or greenwash?

Tony Blair says the London 2012 Olympics will be the 'greenest games of the modern era.' But given his recent record, you won't be too surprised to learn it'd take a world-beating long jumper to leap the gap between sound bite and reality.

Energy
The 'greenest games' will feature an 'energy self-sufficient' athlete's village. That's what London promised in its bid to host the games. Wrong.The Olympic Development Authority's 'sustainable development strategy' promises only 20 per cent of the site's power will be from renewables.

Despite this, somehow the games will set 'new standards for the sustainable design and construction of major sports venues and infrastructure.' That's a long way from the original promise. An ODA spokesperson said: 'We are providing flexibility so the village can be energy self-sufficient in the future.' What that means is that when whichever consortium ends up owning the village decides to stump up a lot more money, then the site could become energy self-sufficient. But by that time, it seems hell will have frozen over and the ice caps will have turned into flying pigs.

Darren Johnson, London Assembly Green Party member, says the sustainable development strategy 'falls well short of the Mayor's own 'preferred' sustainable construction standards.'

Nature
An ODA spokesperson says: 'The Lower Lea Valley has been neglected for decades but will be completely regenerated and tens of thousands more trees, shrubs and plants will exist in 2013 than do in 2007.'

That regeneration is, according to campaigners, set to see: common land redefined as 'brownfield' land ripe for redevelopment, a traveller site relocated on top of a tree nursery and 100-year old allotments concreted over. That is, if the regeneration even happens. The 'legacy' plans for what happens after the games are still missing in action. And many campaigners are worried they'll be scaled back conveniently immediately after the games have run.

Transport
You'd expect the 'greenest games' to feature sustainable transport. Good news: 100 per cent of spectators will arrive via 'public transport, walking and cycling.' Bad news: of that 100 per cent, 10 per cent of arrivals will drive to London before park-and-riding. Quite how that counts as 'public transport' beats me. Only four per cent of journeys are actually planned to be via bicycle or foot. And what of the Olympic family of officials, athletes, media, IT support, corporate sponsors? Nearly 5,500 cars and coaches will move this lot round London and the site.

Another dome?
The 'greenest games'? It's enough to make one turn beet red. And there's much more.

There's an argument brewing over whether digging up radioactive waste on the site will turn people still living in the area, and athletes and spectators later, luminescent green. There's huge housing blocks set to dominate Stratford (several over 40 storeys tall) and turn the Lea Valley from green lung to concrete canyon. And there's McDonalds as a key sponsor – promoting locally-grown burgers, no doubt.

Want to get a handle on how the Olympic games are set to transform London for the better? Look to the Millennium Dome. And shudder.