I did not go and see
the Olympic torch that was run through Machynlleth (where I live ) on it's way North. Don't get me wrong, I like the idea of the Olympics, internationalism and coming together as a 'globe' to celebrate events. I wish I could have stood on the streets of Machynlleth with my friends, cheering the torch along and feeling part of a global
community. It's just that I feel totally conned by the whole Olympic
shambles.Despite promises of being the greenest Olympics ever, it is not. BP, Rio Tinto and Dow are sponsoring the 'sustainability' side of things. Greenwash Gold is a campaign that set up around the Olympics to highlight the hypocrisy of the 3 of the world's dirtiest companies sponsoring the Greenest Olympics. BP are “devastating the gulf of Mexico and digging up the dirty oil in the tar sands.” Rio Tinto are providing metal for the medals- from the Gobi desert, where the mines produce deadly air pollution and endanger scarce water sources. Dow merged with Union Carbide in 2001, a company that had been charged with culpable homicide due to the death of 25,000 people in the world's worst industrial disaster. There is a horrific irony in Dow sponsoring the para Olympics whilst families in Bhopal are still forced to drink poisoned water every day and children are still born with health problems.
