Sustainability Comparisons Between Rio 2016, the Sochi Winter Olympics and the Brazilian World Cup in 2014

The Rio Summer Olympics do not compare favorably to the Sochi Winter Olympics and the Brazilian World Cup in 2014. This is a damning indictment given that Russia's Sochi games were colossally corrupt. Sochi clearly illustrated that Putin's promise of green games was little more than a farce and an Olympic sized example of greenwashing.

There have been protests against the Rio games across Brazil but they are much smaller than the protests against the World Cup in 2014. At that time there was a popular outcry against an expensive sporting event while the country struggled with widespread poverty and inequality. The same criticisms are warranted in the case of the Rio games.

Sustainability at the Rio Olympics: More Green Promises More Green Lies

Olympic games are becoming increasingly environmentally sustainable, at least on paper. Once again this year's Olympic games are touted as being the greenest games ever. In fairness, making such a massive event environmentally sustainable is a truly herculean undertaking.

Over the last twenty years there have been a number of efforts designed to make the games more green. In 1996, the Olympic Charter was amended to recognize the environment as the third pillar of Olympism. This was followed by clearly defined policies associated in the IOC's Olympic Movement's Agenda 21.

Brazil's Corruption, Socioeconomic Woes and Political Intrigue Overshadow the Olympics

The scourge of corruption has embroiled Brazil in a morass of complex political intrigue. Brazil's economy has contracted by 3 percent this year and although the country is in a deep recession, it is still the world's fifth largest economy. Brazil's difficulties extend far beyond serious fiscal hardships, the nation is also rife with sexism, racism and human rights abuses.

In May of this year Brazil's President was suspended after holding office for less than six years. Despite pulling millions of people out of poverty, a majority of Brazilian senators voted to launch an impeachment trial against President Dilma Rousseff. She is the country's first female President and her government swore in 15 female ministers. Rousseff is a 68-year-old economist and she was removed amid allegations that she broke budget rules and manipulated economic data.

Olympic Sized Greenwashing at the 2014 Sochi Olympics

The XXII Olympic Winter Games offically open today in Sochi, Russia, however rather than being the greenest games ever, they will likely be remembered as being rife with greenwash.

In 2007, the Olympic Committee selected the Russian Federation to host the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, a resort on the Black Sea.

These games will host 88 countries and have an estimated carbon footprint of around 400,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions. By comparison the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympic Games’ generated 311,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent.