7 February 2012. Cheshire, United Kingdom. One thing that New Year’s Eve 2011/2012 will be remembered for in London is for its spectacular fireworks display. Fireworks of all shapes, colours and sizes lit up London’s skyline heralding the start of the London 2012 Olympic Games year. You didn’t have to be in London to enjoy the remarkable display, as the show was broadcast live on BBC One. Asides creating all the ‘oohs’ and ‘wows’ a decent firework display is supposed to create, another sentiment was generated by this year’s New Year’s Eve firework display in London, which ran well beyond my household  – How much is this costing? And how much damage is it doing to the environment?

London never fails to put on award-winning firework displays on New Year’s Eve, but the capital obviously wanted to ‘pull out all the stops’ this year, with the London Mayor admitting the spectacular fireworks marked the start of a unique year for London. For me however, and having spoken to many fellow Britons about the subject I am certainly not alone in my thinking, the show-stopping display was both ironic and irresponsible proof that threatens London’s already uncertain ‘ aim to be the ‘greenest Olympics in history’. I mean just how much smoke and chemicals that are injurious to the environment were pumped out into the environment at midnight this New Year’s Eve as London somewhat childishly attempted to outshine Olympic host predecessors by beginning its Olympic year with a breath-taking display of fireworks – An act that provides critics with greater fuel that London is effectively ‘making a mockery’ out of the prospect of creating the “greenest Olympic Games in history?”   

In November 2007, London 2012 Chairman, Seb Coe, proudly announced:

“Sustainability was an important element of our bid and underpins our preparations and our vision for the legacy of London 2012.”

Coe’s ambitious comment was backed up by David Miliband, the then Secretary of State for DEFRA, when he stated:

“The Olympics and Paralympics must be a showcase for the British commitment to sustainability. This early declaration and commitment sets a benchmark for action.”

Despite promises that the London 2012 Olympics will be the “greenest Olympics in history”, the Olympic Committee has been under harsh criticism for failing to meet its green targets.

The original promise made by the Olympic Committee was to produce 20 percent of the Olympic Park’s post-Games energy from renewable sources. This figure was however quickly reduced to just nine percent, with a feeble excuse being made that the original target was made difficult when the Olympic Park wind turbines were decommissioned following an inability of suppliers to meet health and safety regulations. Instead, London’s comparatively less impressive nine percent target is going to be delivered by a range of other methods, including the installation of 50,000 square metres of solar panels on the Media Centre and around the Olympic Park, and by using boilers to burn waste wood. Does a few thousand square metres of solar panels and burning waste wood really preserve the Committee’s earlier promises of putting sustainability ‘at the heart of’ the London 2012 Olympic Games and that the Olympic Park will be a ‘blueprint for sustainable living.’

Talking about the dramatic decrease in the post-Games energy from renewable sources, Darren Johnson, a London Assembly Green Party member, commented:

“This is a miserable result. I know the organisers have had some difficulties but quite frankly this should never have been allowed to happen. It makes a mockery of the idea of green Olympics.”

With global warming rising at ‘unprecedented levels’, the drive for adopting more sustainable environmentally-friendly lifestyles has never been so imperative. Traditionally, huge events such as Olympic Games, due to the large demands in infrastructure construction to meet short-term demands, have rarely claimed to be environmentally friendly. In the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, ‘greening’ was selected as one of the strategies during the bidding.  Beijing is ranked as one of the world’s most polluted cities and one of the biggest challenges facing Beijing in the final run-up to the 2008 Olympic Games was how to deal with the city’s pollution problem. Despite the haze of smog that often grounds flights in Beijing, according to the United Nations Environment Programme, the 2008 Olympic Games set new records for eco-friendly mass spectator sporting events by ‘raising the bar’ on many of the high environmental standards set by Beijing itself.

In light of Beijing’s success in raising the standards in creating eco-friendly Olympic Games, London has had a lot to aspire to in its aim to be the “greenest Olympic Games in history”, despite the fact that with its profusion of leafy squares, numerable parks, walkways along the River Thames and the introduction of its notoriously divisive congestion charge for vehicles entering the city centre, London is considered one of the greenest capital cities in the world – Most definitely a more favourable ‘starting point’ in the race to produce the “greenest Olympic Games in history” than smog-ridden Beijing.

By using venues already existing in the UK wherever possible, by making permanent structures that will have a long-term use after the Games, and by only building temporary structures for everything else, London is in a sense eradicating the traditional notion that Olympic Games are far from environmentally-conscious, primarily because of the huge demands in infrastructure construction to meet short-term demands.

It cannot be ignored however that with just over six months left until the Games, London will fall short of its renewable energy targets, by a considerable amount, and by pumping out huge amounts of unnecessary carbon dioxide via fireworks into London’s air as a way of telling the world, “Look at us, this is going to be our year”, was perhaps not the wisest move London has made in its run up to this year’s Olympic Games.

Gabrielle Pickard is a freelance writer based in Cheshire, United Kingdom.

View the video SOPA Protests by MSNBC

Discussion Guide

Lesson Plan 1- SOPA Protest

Objective:  Students will research the SOPA protests and write a mock news article on the issue

Lesson Plan 2- Internet Laws

Objective:  Students will research and write a summary of a recently passed internet law of their choice

Lesson Plan 3- Ending Internet Piracy

Objective:  Students will work in groups to devise a plan of action to stop/prevent/reduce illegal internet activity

21^st Century Core Content
Government and Civics

21^st Century Themes
Global Awareness
Civic Literacy

21^st Century Skills
Think Creatively
Work Creatively With Others
Reason Effectively
Make Judgments and Decisions
Solve Problems
Communicate Clearly
Collaborate with Others
Work Independently
Be Self-directed Learners
Interact Effectively with Others
Work Effectively in Diverse Teams
Produce Results
Guide and Lead Others
Be Responsible to Others

Additional Resources:
SOPA, PIPA: What you need to know by CBS News
SOPA and PIPA Postponed Indefinitely after Protests by CNN
American Censorship.org
Internet Laws by Lawguru.com
Internet Laws by The National Academies

Additional Resources from Global Issues in Context:
Internet Control and Security Topic Page
Boycott Forces Go Daddy to Stop Supporting SOPA
In Turkey, Proposed Internet Filters Stir Protests
The Political Power of Social Media
FCC Set to Back Internet Traffic Rules
Who’s Tracking You Online?

2 February 2012. Seoul, South Korea. Sae-Chin, my six year old student, is awakened in the middle of the night.  Her family has been preparing for this day for months.  As the family piles in the car, she falls asleep for the four hour ride to the sea.  At dawn (still hours away) her family will view the much anticipated first rays of the New Year’s sun.  This begins the festivities of the Lunar New Year Celebration in South Korea.

“Solnal,” the Korean word for Lunar New Year, is the first day of the Lunar calendar.  This day is the second new moon after the winter solstice.  Lunar New Year (more commonly referred to as Chinese New Year) is a very special time in Korea. 

Sae-chin’s family is a traditional one.  Her family travels outside of Seoul on this holiday to visit her grandparents.  At her grandparents’ house, her family has a feast, prepared by her grandmother, mother and aunts.  The feast includes many things made from rice cakes.  Rice cake dumpling soup, jeolmi, and other rice cake sweets are among the spread.  After dinner, her grandparents sit on the floor on a mat, bought especially for this occasion.  The rest of her family proceeds to bow, each generation at a time.  Sae-chin and her siblings are the youngest in the family, therefore, they bow last.  After the bow, her grandparents give her and her cousins “lucky” money.  The lucky money is attributed to luck in the next year.  Sae-chin bragged that her grandparents gave her $150!  Of course this money is not to be spent by her; most of the time it goes straight into the bank to pay for her education. 

I asked each of my students what they would do for the holiday.  Many described plans similar to Sae-chin’s, which included a bowing ceremony, feast and folk games.  Other families, primarily Christian families, have steered away from the bowing and pray as a family instead.  As the South Korean culture continues to shift from Buddhism to Christianity, more and more families are discarding the traditional bows. 

We even prepared for this holiday at school.  Last week, the students wore their “hanbok,” traditional dress to school.  The Koreans typically wear this traditional dress 2-3 times each year.  They wear it during Lunar New Year, Chuseok (the equivalent to Thanksgiving) and for traditional weddings.  Girls wear A-line dress made of expensive satin and a jacket adorned with lucky charms and a brilliant array of colors.  Boys wear a similarly colorful shirt and what we would think of as bloomer pants.  The girls also wear matching headbands and carry money purses.

To celebrate the holiday last week, the students made their own snack, which is only eaten on this holiday.  The students were each given a roll of rice cake dough, which they cut into small pieces.  When cut, they rolled the rice cake in bean powder.  The name of this tasty snack is “Jeolmi.” 

The students had a special Lunar New Year assembly.  They learned the proper way to bow.  Surprisingly, bowing is a four step process!  The full bow finishes with the students’ forehead on the floor.  After they learned, I was ushered up on the stage (wearing the Korean hanbok) and my students proceeded to bow to me! 

Last year for the Lunar New Year holiday I went to a retreat center on Taebek Mountain.  I was able to watch the traditional bowing ceremony.  A young mother even laid her baby down to “bow” to the elders.  The Koreans allowed me to participate in their family’s games.  They didn’t seem to mind that I did not speak their language or look like them.  They invited me to play the game “Yut,” a game in which wooden sticks are thrown onto a mat and points are given depending on the way they land.  They laughed hysterically when I threw the sticks the wrong way and the sticks bounced off the mat!  As we played, the family cheered us on.  Any excitement in the game (such as my embarrassing moment as I bounced the sticks off the mat) resulted in the loud playing of traditional drums and an occasional strike of the gong.  Both are thought to scare off evil spirits of the previous year.

It is hard to believe it has been one year since the last Lunar New Year.  Most things close in the city on this day.  This year, instead of going to a retreat center and joining a family in their celebration, a friend and I went to an amusement park.  Though totally different venues, strangely the cultural aspect remained.  At the amusement park, even the dancing characters wore the traditional hanbok.  We were able to watch a cultural performance of a circus, in which a Chinese dragon circled its way around the crowd.  This was special this year because 2012 is the Year of the Dragon.

Whether spending Lunar New Year’s day like Sae-chin’s traditional family, joining a family’s games at a retreat center, or spending the day at an amusement park, I am honored that the Koreans let us foreigners participate in their cultural traditions. It is a great learning experience for me and a great teaching experience for them.

Sara Hornback is an English teacher and freelance writer based in Seoul, South Korea.

View the video Explain it to Me: Pardons by CNN

Discussion Guide

Lesson Plan 1-Haley Barbour’s Pardons

Objective:  Students will analyze the pardons given by Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour and determine whether these pardons were Constitutional or not

Lesson Plan 2- Pros and Cons of Executive Privilege

Objective:  Students will examine a variety of articles on Executive Privilege and work in groups to identify the pros and cons of the privilege

Handout Lesson Plan 2- Executive Privilege

 Lesson Plan 3- The President’s Veto

Objective:  Students will explore several online sources discussing the Presidential power to veto

Handout Lesson Plan 3- The Veto 

21^st Century Core Content
History
Government and Civics

21^st Century Themes
Civic Literacy

21^st Century Skills
Think Creatively
Work Creatively With Others
Reason Effectively
Make Judgments and Decisions
Communicate Clearly
Collaborate with Others
Be Flexible
Work Independently
Be Self-directed Learners
Interact Effectively with Others
Work Effectively in Diverse Teams
Produce Results
Guide and Lead Others
Be Responsible to Others

Additional Resources:
Haley Barbour Defends Pardons by ABC News
Pardons; Frequently Asked Questions
President Ford Pardons President Nixon
History Place; Ford Pardons Nixon
What is Executive Privilege, Anyway?  By NPR

Additional Resources from Global Issues in Context:
Kim Jong II Pardons Reporters During Clinton Visit
New Mexico Weighs Pardon of Billy the Kid
Amnesty and Pardons Topic Overview
Proclamation 4483
Pardoning Jim Morrison, 40 Years Later

29 January 2012. Barcelona, Spain. While a vegetarian traveling through the Iberian peninsula a few years ago might have grown somewhat tired of the staples of the road bocadillos de tortilla (an omelet sandwich), patatas bravas (fried potato wedges), gazpacho (a tomato-based soup) and found the falafel sandwiches in El Raval with a hungry sigh of relief, today Barcelona is embracing an increased awareness of international dietary trends and adapting its centuries-strong agriculture to accommodate old thoughts in new ways (though we still do love the falafel). Vegetarian restaurants are sprouting up and they are often markedly international. Catering to the city’s myriad visitors, the menus (like those of much of the city following the boom in tourism following the ‘92 Olympic games) often carry Catalan, Spanish, and English where they don’t others. In a vegan deli in the plaza of George Orwell international animal rights publications line the walls with additional handouts and newspapers waiting on the tables. In contrast, nearby, a kebab rotisserie grill is built into the outside corner of the restaurant where men stand cooking in the street. Further up and across (near a McDonalds and a KFC) the pedestrian thoroughfare Las Ramblas there is a 20 year old vegetarian buffet called Biocenter whose friendly staff deals with the large lunch crowd in whatever language at hand and maintains an inviting feel, offering, in addition to the buffet, a changing daily lineup of organic plates from paella to thai-inspired curries. Not far away the chain Orígens plays on the importance of the origins both of Catalan culture and cuisine as well as the produce offered and served in their four restaurants.

Bocabio, a specialty organic food store.

The nascent organic movement in Spain had its roots in Catalunya around the end of Franco’s dictatorship. The 2007 report “Organic Farming in Spain” from the Sociedad Española de Agricultura Ecológica explains that it began with “small farms linked to small organic consumer groups in the cities, and it was basically promoted by young people coming from the cities.” Organic production has continued to increase; however, a large amount of that produced is exported to Northern European countries. Walking through the city it is apparent that where up until quite recently one might receive blank stares from waitstaff, many are now more understanding (if still unable to do anything about it) and restaurants are becoming better equipped to provide for different diets with menus specifically noting vegetarian, lactose-free or gluten-free options. There are also an increasing number of organic grocery stores and larger super market chains are keen to display organic certifications and denominations of origin.

Exterior of the Santa Catarina market.

In Spain, if the table reigns supreme, the market entertains and feeds the throne. There are 46 markets in Barcelona which contain nearly 9,000 stalls. The Santa Catarina market, which looks like a colorful amphitheater with its mosaic tiled roof hoisted up and moored upon what looks like an old sandy dock on the Mediterranean, really epitomizes the color, energy, and excitement of food in Barcelona. Designed by the Catalan architectural team Enric Miralles and Benedetta Tagliabue, it was completed in 2005. Construction uncovered the foundations of a Dominican monastery, a Gothic church, and Roman ruins which were then worked into the design and are now exhibited behind glass as a fundamental part of the daily bustle of the market.

When, four years ago, a friend and I went in search of the greatest orange in the world we knew where to go: the orchards surrounding Valencia (we went too late in the season, it was a learning experience). The denomination of origin is a very important aspect of a country composed of many distinct communities. The wine is referred to not by its vine, but the soil it was grown on. The strong and distinct regional agricultural and political histories of Spain have fed into this decentralized forum of the market, where what is on display is largely local and dictated by the seasons. Still, Barcelona is an international city; when asking a vendor at my neighborhood market where her asparagus came from, we were both surprised to see that the sticker read Peru.

During a TED conference in February 2010, chef Dan Barber enthusiastically described a fish farm he visited in the south of Spain, which had been drained until 1982 to use the land as a cattle farm. He notes that it is today one of the most important private bird sanctuaries in Europe. At the bottom of this seeming contradiction (having a bird sanctuary feed off a fish farm), he reveals the radical depth of a system that is based in sustainable agriculture whose examples are based in nature, not industry; as well as feeding itself bountifully, the farm actually works as a water purification plant.

In an earlier talk at a Taste3 conference, Barber examines one Spanish farmer’s method of cultivating foie gras in Extremadura without the gavage (force-feeding) of the geese. Eduardo de Sousa’s grandfather noticed that to prepare for winter the geese binged, naturally engorging their livers. Barber describes the farm as “a system that is incredibly complex and then, like everything beautiful in nature, is utterly simple.” Although these farms are far from each other within Spain, they very much fit with current food trends within the city (and throughout the world), showing that something seeped in tradition can have both remarkable profundity and relevance.

As an introduction to the 2011 Guide of Vegetarian Restaurants of Barcelona, Mayor Xavier Trias wrote:

With this guide, the Barcelona Council wants to help to promote a choice that has been consolidated within the gastronomic scene of our city and which has a wide impact and an increasing demand. Vegetarian cookery combines culture, health and environment. Therefore, it is closely bound to one of the main objectives of our Council: improving the quality of life for the citizens of Barcelona. Barcelona stands out for being a pioneer in adopting respectful measures with the environment and the animals; and so, it identifies with a culinary tradition which aims to gastronomic excellence and which lightens the burden that our environmental resources support. The growth of the vegetarian option, not only as a gastronomic option but also as a way of life, is an unequivocal sign of the open-minded and respectful character of our city, with the added value of contributing to the economic dynamization of Barcelona and our international positioning in favour of environmental values. That is the reason why we wanted to give full support to the publication of this Guide of Vegetarian Restaurants of Barcelona contributing to the dissemination of the vegetarian cuisine in our city.

The guide only highlights 42 vegetarian or vegetarian-friendly restaurants but responds to a refocused sense of attention to what we eat with open arms (or mouths). In the town of Gaudí, where people flock to see something so new that one hundred years on it still feels new (and is still being constructed), near the home of El Bulli, where Ferran Adrià attempted to redefine food and how it is prepared, the city’s food culture demonstrates a remarkable ability for giving something tried and true a new try.

Alex Polzin is a graduate student and freelance writer in Barcelona, Spain.