LONDON'S 2012 OLYMPIC FLAME TO BE PART OF CARBON CRACKDOWN?

The 2012 London Games could take place in the shadow of a low-carbon Olympic flame fuelled by rotting vegetation, amongst other renewal/low carbon energy options being considered by the game organisations, the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA).
"The Olympic flame is potentially quite an energy consumer," London 2012’s Environment Project Manager David Stubbs said. "We are looking at the type of fuel so we can reduce the carbon impact of that flame.”
London Olympic organisers released their sustainability plan for reducing the carbon footprint of the 2012 Games and making them the "greenest" ever. Natural gas normally fuels the flame, which is lit constantly during the Olympics and subsequent Paralympics and is most commonly fuelled by methane.
”It’s a greenhouse gas, more potent than carbon dioxide," EDF Energy spokesman Gareth Wynn said. "So were trying to find an alternative way which will produce the right sort of flame profile."
EDF Energy, the British subsidiary of French energy company EDF that is a sponsor of the games, is assigned with finding a "greener" flame.
”A really clean flame is very difficult to see," Wynn said. "One option is biogas, which is gas produced from breaking down of organic material, plants and so forth.”
Energy Australia reported the Olympic cauldron for the 2000 Sydney Games consumed more gas during the two-week event than the amount needed by nearly 600 average Sydney households for a whole year. The flame for the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics consumed 1,500m3 of natural gas per hour. London’s environmental plans promise that no waste produced during the Olympics will go to a landfill. Organisers also said they were trying to recycle as much as possible while preparing the Olympic Park site for construction to start next year. The project will be revised annually up to the games, and afterward to monitor long-term legacy plans.
”We define sustainability broadly, reaching across preparation, staging and legacy," London 2012 chairman Sebastian Coe said. "It’s an evolving discipline. This is not a luxurious add on, it’s now the bread and butter.”
London Olympic organisers hope to determine the Games' carbon footprint by mid-2008 - an unusual move for a large-scale public event. No international standards or guidance exist for determining a carbon footprint.