The 2008 Olympic Legacy. Blackouts and $5 Gas

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]

Environmental Graffiti is up for four bloggers’ choice awards. You can vote for us for best entertainment blog, best blog of all time, best geek blog and best animal blogger.

If you want to find out all the latest news on the environment, why not subscribe to our RSS feed? We’ll even throw in a free album.

Comments