With a year to go to the next Olympics, news stories frequently cover the progress in stadium and other infrastructure construction. Recall that in Athens in 2004, workers were tightening the bolts on buildings as the stadium torch was being lit. But with a year to go for the 2008 games in Beijing, the screws are tightening on China's ability to clean up its air quality. China fought to win the games in order to use it as a platform to highlight its arrival on the modern world stage. But another result of its modernity - severe pollution - threatens to dampen Brand China.
Wired magazine's August issue featured the story of China's herculean effort to reduce pollution in Beijing. The negatives are starting to pile up as China continues its torrid growth pace and citizens of the world are increasingly concerned about global warming and the environment overall. Beijing has 15 million people and 2 million cars - and both numbers are growing rapidly. August is the hottest month and has the least air-clearing wind. The result: growing fear of health issues. Some teams will likely stay in South Korea and fly into Beijing at the last minute to avoid as much bad air as possible. Others will wear face masks.
But China's government continues to use the Olympics as a change driver for Beijing and the surrounding countryside. It has installed the latest generation of clean-coal plant technology, and shut down the worst factories and power plants.
Such efforts would be unthinkable during the Cold War years - as Wired reporter Spencer Reiss writes:
"Once upon a time, staging the Olympics in Beijing would have been much easier: Build some big stadiums, fill them with loyal party members, keep the foreign guests well fed, and declare victory. But successful cleanups in other developed cities have raised expectations. China wants to take its place as a world leader, not just the new heavyweight champ of carbon emissions. Scenes of marathoners in gas masks, beamed around the world, would be a PR disaster that no amount of glossy Bird's Nest blimp shots could offset."
By committing to the national stage of the Olympics, China has assumed a massive challenge. The good news is that even a year before the event, this challenge is driving some short and long-term improvement in China's environment.
Who would have thought in 1896 or 776 BC that the Olympics would not only offer a challenge for individual athletes, but for national governments as well.
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