POOOiNTS to ponder

Polluted Olympics

I share this merely as a prompt to ponder various issues, from 'The Two E's - Economy vs. Environment' to enviROI, especially with things that may be billed as 'green', and even more so at a point in time that may not reflect the totality of impacts.

SIR – Your report (July 31) on the air quality around the Stratford Olympic site paints a stark picture of athletes breathing polluted air, but the residents are already doing so, and there is a solution – now.
The Rail Freight Group has calculated that 800,000 truck movements could be saved in the area if rail freight were used for deliveries of steel, precast concrete and prefabricated building elements, all of which were transported by rail for the construction of Heathrow Terminal 5. Rail could also be used for the removal of contaminated waste.
The rail facilities on the Olympic site are hardly used. The Olympic Delivery Authority could require contractors to use rail, but relies instead on the media swallowing their green hype rather than confronting the facts that, unless they take urgent action, this will be the most polluted Olympics in history.
Lord Berkeley
Chairman, Rail Freight Group
London WC1

Tricky one. There can be little doubt that in terms of emissions, the mere creation of and consequences of this event cannot in any way be viewed as making the world 'greener'.

I don't design the 2012 Mascot

London 2012 Olympic mascot: Calling all entries

Dear Sir,

I hadn't realised, by virtue of not reading 'the brief' until now (the point pre-deadline I'd logged in my PC), that this was a search for an agency.

And much as a showcase in the Guardian is attractive, exposing one's brainpower to a potentially profitable property without being more certain of the rewards is unattractive.

Not likely to be a problem bearing in mind the entity involved in the real deal is a committee of worthies from an 'interestingly relevant' set of backgrounds, who don't do bland and yet came up with the whatever it is.

Hence, and rather than submit any doodles, may I instead make a suggestion?

Whatever this 'thing' is, in light of the eco-stance that will form a major part of the games, and the likely frugal, waste-sparing nature of most visitors during this period, rather than piece of useless tat Made in China that serves no function, the brief requires that in addition to being all a mascot needs to be, it is designed to do more than sit on a desk or ending up in a drawer.

Now, having set such a brief, and knowing all the potential manifestations it will need to satisfy in 2 & 3D, in the time left I can't imagine how to fulfill it.

Sorry.

But I would suggest a good start is a hole. You can use it to hang onto things, or things from.

Let the designs begin!

Rgds,