TURIN, Italy – The Olympic flame continued burning at full force Thursday as organizers ignored a request from environmentalists that it be turned down in honor of the first anniversary of a key global warming treaty.
The cauldron, which is nearly 200 feet high, consumes 1,500 cubic meters of natural gas per hour. Organizers said the flame could go out if they reduce the gas flow.
“If you reduce it too little then there's no visible change, if you reduce it too much you risk extinguishing it,” Giuseppe Gattino, spokesman for the Turin organizing committee, said. “It's not the same as using a burner at home.”
Gattino said the flame's gas consumption is already half what organizers originally expected.
Thursday marked the first anniversary of enforcement of the Kyoto Protocol on global warming, which requires participating nations to cut emissions of six greenhouse gases to 5 percent below 1990 levels by 2012.
The European Union has praised the eco-friendliness of the 16-day Turin Games, during which organizers are trying to offset carbon dioxide emissions and save water and energy use.
The main Olympic Village, housing 2,500 athletes, has a record amount of solar panels and low-energy light bulbs. In the mountains, special tracks around the luge run and ski jumping hill allow animals to pass through the area.
Gattino said turning down the flame would have little substantive effect.
“The concrete attitude toward the environment is more important then symbolic gestures,” he said.
Some Italian cities, including Turin, are observing the Kyoto anniversary by reducing illumination on public buildings and giving citizens tips on how to save energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Turin was to turn off the decorations on its Mole Antonelliana landmark for one hour Thursday evening.
Turin is already plagued by a smog problem that experts say is being exacerbated by the buses and other vehicles being used for the Winter Games.