How much fuel does the Olympic Torch use?

The Carbon Olympics
Keeping track of the Olympic torch's carbon footprint—one leg at a time.
By Chadwick Matlin
April 11, 2008

www.slate.com...

The 2008 Olympic torch relay has not exactly inspired warm feelings of international cooperation, its journey across the world (and back again) is [also] leaving a historic trail of CO2 emissions. [O]our calculations estimate that the entire trip will unfold over 50,000 miles in 20 countries.
[]
270,000 gallons of jet fuel
[]
6,447,600 pounds of CO2.
[]
The flame's 50,000-mile journey has an annual carbon footprint equivalent to 624 Chinese citizens'. (Keep in mind that China claims it's offering a green Olympics.)
[]
We can't calculate the carbon footprint of the torch while it's being paraded around by Olympic heroes because neither the company that designed the torches nor the Beijing Olympic Committee answered our questions about how much propane was burned every hour.

Personally I'd like to see them toting a torch burning pine sapwood and sailing it around the world on wooden ships. But I'm a cave man.

reporting,

Sri Oracle


[edit on 11-4-2008 by Sri Oracle]

Use a high voltage ether torch from Tesla.

Ask the FBI for one.

Or Illuminati... whatever.

They didn't look very hard for facts about what the torch uses...

torchrelay.beijing2008.cn...

More than enough facts there to work out how much fuel is used.

I'm not sure what facts you speak of; the only information I found on fuel consumption from your source was:

A torch can usually keep burning for approximately 15 minutes in conditions where the flame is 25 to 30 centimetres high in a windless environment. The torch has been produced to withstand winds of up to 65 kilometres per hour and to stay alight in rain up to 50mm an hour. The flame can be identified and photographed in sunshine and areas of extreme brightness.
[]
The fuel is propane which is in accordance with environmental guidelines.

I find that last statement most interesting...

"in accordance with environmental guidelines"

propane is environmentally friendly because we say so...
water boarding is not torture because we say so...

The disparity between legal and lawful grows with each "official" statement.

Under the concept of a Green Olympics, environmental protection was a key element listed in the invitation documents to the design companies, by BOCOG. The fuel of the torch is propane, which is a common fuel which also comes with a low price. It is composed of carbon and hydrogen. No material, except carbon dioxide and water remain after the burning, eliminating any risk of pollution.

would someone care to take a stab at that bit of disinformation?

how about you begin here:

www.scorecard.org...

Chemical: PROPANE
CAS Number: 74-98-6

The U.S. EPA conducted a comprehensive review of publicly available chemical testing data in 1997 to examine whether the basic information needed to identify chemical hazards is available for high production volume chemicals.
[]
The following basic tests to identify chemical hazards have either not been conducted or are not publicly available:

* Carcinogenicity
* Chronic toxicity
* Ecotoxicity
[]
The substance can be absorbed into the body by inhalation.
[]
The substance may cause effects on the central nervous system

www.scorecard.org...

Exposure to lower levels of propane can cause damage to the central nervous system, lung congestion, fluid in the lungs, fatigue, decreased night vision, tunnel vision, hallucinations, dizziness, light-headedness, nausea, vomiting, headache, euphoria, numbness and tingling of arms and legs, hyperventilation, rapid heartbeat, poor judgement, confusion, memory loss, anorexia, nosebleeds, conjunctivitis, weight loss, and skin irritation and discolouration.

toxtown.nlm.nih.gov...

And note... propane come from CRUDE OIL,

previous source

It is produced as a by-product of natural gas processing and petroleum refining.

so there is no using propane without ALSO using gasoline, diesel, asphalt, plastic and all of the other environmentally nasty things that must also be dug up from 4000 feet beneath the surface to get the propane in the first place.

what of the environmental impact of drilling?
what of the environmental impact of cracking and fractional distillation?
what of the environmental impact of chemical conversion?
what about the ground plume left over when the refinery closes?

what of the heavy metal ridden residuals left over when the process is done that are paved in front of my home as hot asphalt? What of that smell the children breath when they wait at the bus stop?

"No material, except carbon dioxide and water remain after the burning"

I'd like to take the person that made that statement and chain them spread eagle, face down on an asphalt parking lot.... some place where the oil rainbows form... and then ask them if they notice any "material" left behind; any environmental hazard.

Propane

Eliminating the REAL risk of environmental pollution with each stroke of my pen...

beeswax, wood, biomass.

deny ignorance,

Sri Oracle






[edit on 14-4-2008 by Sri Oracle]

[edit on 14-4-2008 by Sri Oracle]

LOL now work out how much oil/plastic/fuel you just spent making that post on your plastic/metal computer to send it over a bunch of copper and glass fibers over multiple switches and routers held in data centers around the world all run by electricity made by a power station...

Originally posted by freakyclown
LOL now work out how much oil/plastic/fuel you just spent making that post

Sick isn't it.... all headed to the pacific gyre in less than a century. I'm going back to driving nails and cutting boards now...

hemp plastic?

carpenter by day,

Sri Oracle

[edit on 14-4-2008 by Sri Oracle]