Coke to step it up in Vancouver

By Rick MacDonnell

Question: How many hours of television can a person watch on the

amount of energy saved by recycling just one aluminum can?

This was just one of several dozens of questions included in Coke's "Green Jeopardy" game outside of its trailer in Vegreville, Alberta today, the second stop in the Olympic Torch run through the province. Kids competed for bragging rights, rather than prizes, and that was more than fine with them. Answers were shouted with a gusto usually reserved for race tracks.

"The concept of the games is to teach kids about green practices in a way that's fun and enjoyable," said Kristy Payne, Coke's public affairs manager, who will be carrying the torch in Edmonton tonight. "Kids need to know that living green isn't just about grand gestures; it's also about living an active lifestyle and doing small things to help the environment every day."

Coke, an Olympic sponsor for since 1928, is making great strides to decrease its environmental footprint, especially with the 2010 games in Vancouver.

"At Coke, we now have something called a 'plant bottle,' which is a bottle of Coke made from 30% natural plant materials," Payne said. "Every single coke bottle at the games will be a plant bottle."

Most staggering is Coke's plan to leave the Olympic games having created no waste whatsoever. "We're shooting for zero waste in Vancouver. By working closely with both WWF Canada and the David Suzuki Foundation, we've formulated a plan that should allow Coke to achieve 100% collection of all waste products, and we will recycle 99.9% of that."

At each of the Torch relay stops, as well as throughout the entire Olympic games, Coke employees will wear clothing completely manufactured through recycled Coke products. "Each employee you see is wearing approximately 234 recycled Coke products. Our jackets are 25, our ski pants are 20, our gloves are 3, and so on. The numbers are printed right on each piece of clothing, so it's a great way to generate awareness," Payne said.

They look great, too.

Oh, and the answer was three.

A lost art

By Rick MacDonnell

 

Often lost in the fanfare of the Olympic athletes are the hundreds of artists who make the Torch relay and Olympic games so beautiful. One such artist is Edmontonian Stephen Chung, who's been an ice sculptor for over 20 years. For the folks of Vegreville, Alberta -- the second stop in the Torch's current trek through the province -- Chung crafted two marvelous representations of the Canadian Olympic spirit: a figure skater and a hockey player.

"Each figure took about five hours to sculpt," Chung said. "Because they're so heavy, and we had to transport them here from another site, each sculpture was made in several block pieces. This morning we had to assemble them back together, which took about four hours total."

The combined 14 man-hours was well worth the effort, as Chung's sculptures generated loads of interest throughout the morning's proceedings. "We've received such great support from everybody here. It's interesting to see how into it people are. It's really exciting to see that my sculptures are making people happy."

Chung had to laugh at one of his own creations, though. "The figure skater couldn't be made too slim because there would be a danger of it breaking. That's why it looks so chunky. Like a skater in a snowsuit," Chung laughed.

If you're going to be in the Edmonton (Whyte Ave., evening -- Jan. 13) or Devon (morning -- Jan. 15) areas for the Torch relay, be sure to check out Chung's sculptures. He still has a few tricks up his sleeve.

"We're making an Inukshuk, a 2010 and the Olympic rings," Chung said. "We're thinking of a yeti for one of the events, too, but we're still not sure."

SnowSeekers Becomes Travel Alberta's Roving Reporters

SnowSeekers, bringing its audience the best of winter in Western Canada, is stoked to have become Travel Alberta's roving reporters for the Olympic Torch Relay through the province!

Watch for updates throughout Jan 12-21 where we will deliver you top notch video, photos, blog posts and www.twitter.com/doc_pow and updates via http://www.facebook.com/snow.seekers giving you a front row seat to the action.