The 2008 Olympic Legacy. Blackouts and $5 Gas

Mon, May 12, 2008

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Image from Fuseman

There’s been “much ado” about China this year: the Beijing torch has been met with protests nearly everywhere it toured, and politicians have toyed with the idea of treating the games as a referendum on the human rights violations within the emerging superpower.

Despite all of this, along with protests, censorship, and high drama that is certainly yet to come, there may be a greater legacy still: the Olympic Games are going to dramatically increase the power demands of a nation that’s already the world’s leading consumer of oil.

China, is about to see an exponential demand for jet fuel, gasoline and fuel oil, as millions of people pour over their borders for two weeks in August. To some extent preparations have already begun: the record setting crude prices last week were propelled by Chinese stockpiling, but they may yet be insufficient.

The Chinese, are of course desperate to avoid the embarrassment of literally running out of power during the Olympic Games, especially in such times as now, where they will be hosting more free press than they have in their entire history. It’s this fear that was responsible for last week’s buying spree, and which may lead to an array of similar occurences as the games approach.

[AFP]

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blackouts, China, human rights, social

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This post was written by:

Ben - who has written 216 posts on Environmental Graffiti.

I'm a freelance writer working in Louisville and Lexington, USA, home of fast horses, big trucks, and lots of people that deny global warming. I graduated from a small liberal arts college, and started a career in sales before thinking that it was awful, and quitting to become a writer. Get your popcorn ready...

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Samantha Says:
May 12th, 2008 at 8:46 pm
The Olympic games may also have an effect on the demand for renewable energy, because, though China is a huge consumer of oil, it is also a huge consumer of renewables, such as solar and wind.

To learn more about the market for renewable energy, you should check out the Renewable Energy Finance Forum-Wall Street (http://www.REFFWallStreet.com), held June 18-19 in New York City. REFF will feature more than 40 high profile speakers, discussing topics such as solar power, wind energy, biofuels, carbon finance, and the economic and policy factors fueling the industry.

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