Racing green

An IOC inspection group has recently visited the 2014 Winter Olympic Games site in Sochi amid claims by environmentalists that event construction projects are damaging the local eco-system. Claims made include: trees having been cut down; riverbeds excavated; and roads built in protected national parks. The IOC were nevertheless convinced that Sochi's environmental record is an acceptable one, although the visit raises some interesting issues. After all, sport is both the victim of environmental problems (e.g. torrential rain can seriously undermine the commercial viability of an event or competition) and the source of environmental concerns (e.g. the use of land for stadia, golf courses etc; the excessive generation of litter by crowds; the pollution caused by motor racing events etc.) Can sport be a leader in addressing environmental problems? Is so, how, and on what basis? If not, why? Is sport not strong or powerful enough? Otherwise, is there any will in sport to make a difference? Could sport create a set of environmental standards for industry members to follow? If so, who would do this, and what might such standards focus on? If not, is the implication that sports organisations themselves and/or the market should regulate bad environmental practice? In which case, would anything ever change? Or could it be that the environmental problems, global warming, deforestation etc. are nothing to do with sport, and that sports organisations should 'stick to the knitting' i.e. concentrate on playing sport?