Olympics Olympics Olympics! We love the good, the bad, the ugly and everything in between when it comes to the 2008 Beijing Olympics here at TakePart.  It’s reason enough not to miss our Top 10 Stories about the Olympic Games, which we’ve been reporting on in the months leading up to now. Catch the best in TakePart Olympic news below:

1) 2008 Olympic Torch Relay Will Create 11 Million Pounds of CO2 by Nicole Hughes

The 2008 Olympic torch relay hasn’t galvanized a lot of warm fuzzy feelings and hand holding this year. Opposition to China’s treatment of Tibet has inspired international protests, with some dissenters even managing to snuff out the torch and delay the tour… [click here for the full story]

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President George W. Bush, the first president to attend the Olympic Games on foreign soil, has reported that he hopes to tame the biking trails of Beijing while in China this month. Three years ago the President got a taste for the Games by going on an hour-long bike tour with hopefuls from China’s Olympic Mountain biking team on their Olympic mountain course. Bush joked with the Associated Press that he was planning to enter one of the Olympic bike events, but First Lady Laura Bush reminded him that “they don’t give medals for last place.”

I don’t know how it works at the Olympics, but I for sure know they don’t give medals out for scoring last place on the G-8 climate scorecard, which is just what the U.S. did according to a study last month via the Huffington Post. I’m glad George is promoting the joys of biking in one of the most polluted cities on the planet, but how about a little help from the GOP on the climate change front back at home?

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Everything I learned about pollution in Beijing, I learned on YouTube…sort of. Sure I’ve read about it - but it’s one thing to peruse an article and it’s another to see rivers of toxic waste streaming out of a factory and killing all vegetation within a two-foot radius. Sadly, many people in China are forced to use this untreated toxic water for drinking and watering crops, and pollution has made cancer the number one cause of death in the country.

Government does little if anything to regulate factory emissions and waste, and in fact, Chinese environmental advocates live under constant fear of arrest. The video below is a startling first hand depiction of the social effects of pollution in China:

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The TakePart Top 10 Weekly Roundup is a compilation of the week’s most notable stories from our entertainment-meets-social-action blogging network. Check out some of our most popular stories of the week, as well as a few TakePart blogger favorites!

TakePart Gang:

35 Million Tons of Toxic Stew by Wendy Cohen

“Waterboard Thrill Ride” Opens At Coney Island by Blair Golson

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Nicole Hughes:

Green Summer Music Tours Not To Be Missed

Eat Your Veggies: Quit Composting in the Fridge

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Andy Kondrat:

Almost Half of Earth’s Primates In Danger of Extinction

Beijing’s Pollution Not Gone, Just Moved Outside of Town

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Jon Popham:

GOP: Drill More Oil Or We’ll Shut Down the Government

Global Warming’s “Sausage Fest” Effect

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Gina Telaroli:

Olympic Flag Bearer for the US: A Champion of  Darfur

Time to Act: Sexual Assault and Women in the Military

Tonight marks the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, a celebration of the competition and camaraderie that will define the coming days.

When you’re watching keep an eye out for the US flag bearer Lomong Lopez. Lopez has a pretty amazing story, he was one of:

the so-called Lost Boys of Sudan, not only was rescued from his Kenyan refugee camp by a U.N. program that sent him to live with a family in upstate New York at age 16, but also qualified for the U.S. team in the 1,500 meters and inspired his Olympic teammates to elect him their flag bearer. [LATIMES]

One issue facing Lomong is his personal connection to Sudan and thus Darfur and China’s perceived human rights violations in that area. He is a member of Team Darfur and wants to bring attention to his former homeland. When his fellow activist Joey Cheek was denied access to China earlier this week, Lomong expressed his disappointment but also his Olympic pride:

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The potential effect of China’s pollution on the 2008 Summer Olympic Games is becoming more and more obvious, as the world record holder in the men’s marathon stated a few months back he will not compete due to pollution, and now the woman’s world record holder says that the pollution could force her to wear a mask when not competing.  Yesterday, Paula Radcliffe stated that the use of a mask while in Beijing may be necessary to help keep her asthma in check.  In an interview with BBC Radio, she said,

“I think the biggest factor is going to be runny eyes, runny nose and sore throat after the event - and if things go according to plan in the race, I don’t particularly care. The biggest thing for me is to make sure my asthma is under control - which it is - and minimise the effects of pollution in the lead-up to the race.” [news.scotsman.com]

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The 2008 Olympic torch relay hasn’t galvanized a lot of warm fuzzy feelings and hand holding this year. Opposition to China’s treatment of Tibet has inspired international protests, with some dissenters even managing to snuff out the torch and delay the tour. Friends of the environment have also taken issue with the unprecedented amount of CO2 the torch relay is leaving in its wake.

By the time the Olympic torch will have successfully reached all 23 international cities on its 85,000 mile global tour, it will have produced 11 million pounds of carbon emissions. Kind of ironic considering China claims to be hosting a “green” Olympics this year.

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China’s plans to build a highway to the top of Mount Everest as part of their overall preparation for the 2008 Beijing Olympics have raised an overflow of environmental concerns. The highway, which will consist of a tarmac route complete with guardrails, will extend from the base camp to the top of the mountain (approx 17,000 ft) and will cost the Chinese government a reported 20 million dollars.

The purpose of the highway is to create easier access to the top of Mount Everest for the ceremonial lighting of the Olympic torch, as well as to pave the way for increased tourism to the remote location:

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