Environment+loses+out+in+Russia's+race+to+Sochi

Despite the fact that in preparation for building the new Olympic Park in Sochi studies were conducted to prepare for the change in the environment that building the new stadium would cause, the efforts to sustain the existing wildlife did not succeed. While it is thoughtful that the committee aimed to produce a "green" environment in harmony with nature, they did so by wrecking existing habitat and destroying wildlife populations.

The educational outcome that is called for in light of this event would be to understand that "replacing" habitat is not as easy of an exchange as it sounds; the existing habitat used by sixty-five species of birds was centuries in the making, and the biological diversity in the wetlands and forest of the area were all necessary elements vital to the birds' happiness and survival. The committee built a new habitat by planting threefold the amount of trees they destroyed, but covered up the wetlands. The new forest cannot properly shelter the bird species, and the wetlands were an important element that is now missing completely.

The unfortunate thing is the whole world is immersed in Olympic culture, one that brings economic boosts to hosting countries, entertainment and friendly competition to competing countries, and continues to cause sustainability problems every time a new park is built. Once the games are over, the parks become neglected, abandoned, and essentially useless. Is it worth destroying so much habitat for something that is so temporary? As an architecture student...naturally I would love the opportunity to build a big olympic park, but does seem a little excessive to do it all the time.

If we drew more attention to the negative impact of the olympic culture instead of to the positive side it would change the way people think about it. All olympic committees aim to be "green" but only to the extent that is convenient.

Antonova, Maria. "Environment Loses Out in Russia's Race to Sochi". //Environmental Health News.// Environmental Health Sciences, 04 Feb. 2014. Web. 04 Feb. 2014.