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While clumsily executed (or translated), this is a clear example of greenwashing. Hoping to win the games, China made promises to clean and green the host city despite its horrific pollution and the close proximity of the country's industrial heartland directly upwind.

 

As the opening ceremony approaches, it doesn't look like the country is even close to being ready, and China's attempts to spin good press from its blatant eco-propaganda could blow up in its face. While Chinese officials assure the rest of the world that they will have fixed the problem by next year, observers worry that dense air pollution will force marathon runners to compete with face masks. Athletes are already protesting the environmental conditions, and the U.S. Olympic team says it will be staying in South Korea, only flying in to compete and then flying back out. (Check out this excellent Wired story to see just how bad the problem still is.)

 

China should be worried. If things don't improve quickly, the country could be dealing with a global dose of bad publicity due to overreaching on environmental cleanup. This is a marketing mistake on a scale never before seen in Olympic history.

 

This article originally appeared in Plenty in August 2007.

 

Copyright Environ Press 2007