Editor's note: Maria Cardona is a Democratic strategist, a
principal at the Dewey Square Group, a former senior adviser to
Hillary Clinton and former communications director for the
Democratic National Committee (CNN) -- The Olympics are upon us.
Every four years people all over the world tune in to
breathlessly watch sports to which they would not otherwise give
a thought (hammer throw? Sculling?). They do this as a matter of
national pride. The same waxing and waning of our attention
applies to environmental sustainability. And this year there is
a direct connection between the Olympics and sustainability —
energy, water and climate issues. The 2012 London Games were
aiming to be the greenest Olympics ever, and while there is a
healthy debate in the UK about how well this turned out,
organizers undeniably set a bold goal. In a summer where this
country is suffering through heat waves and drought that might
have you wondering about the future of Winter Games, the push
for the first sustainable Olympics is no