A Greener Games? Tokyo's Environmental Impact
Voice of America
TOKYO - Olympics organizers have pledged to prioritize sustainability at the Tokyo Games in an attempt to demonstrate how countries such as Japan -- a top carbon emitter -- can work toward a greener future.
Their initiatives include furnishing the Olympic Village with recyclable cardboard beds, using electricity from renewable sources and minimizing waste at competitions. But like all big global events, the Games will leave an inevitable imprint on the planet. Here are some key points to know about its environmental impact: 2.73 million tonnes of CO2FILE - Part of the temples of Baalbek, a UNESCO world heritage site in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley, illuminated in blue light, Oct. 24, 2015. FILE - This picture shows closed shops on an empty street in the eastern Lebanese city of Baalbek on Oct. 19, 2024. FILE - People walk near the Roman ruins of Baalbek, Lebanon, Jan. 5, 2024. FILE - A man sits amidst the rubble at a site damaged in the aftermath of an Israeli strike on the town of Al-Ain in the Baalbek region, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, in Lebanon, Nov. 6, 2024.
Dr. Jaafar al Jotheri, shown here Nov. 10, 2024, holds satellite images and explores the site of the Battle of al-Qadisiyah, which was fought in Mesopotamia -- present-day Iraq -- in the 630s AD. A desert area with scattered plots of agricultural land with features that closely matched the description of the al-Qadisiyah battle site described in historic texts, Nov. 10, 2024.