Aussies Being Green

By Melissa August, Val Castronovo, Matthew Cooper, Daren Fonda, Belinda Luscombe, Ellin Martens, Benjamin Nugent, Eric Roston, Susanna Schrobsdorff, Josh Tyrangiel

The Sydney games were designed to be the most environmentally friendly ever, as a nonenvironmentally friendly number of printed brochures were quick to point out. Mother Nature, however, was not always so considerate.

The original site for the Tennis Centre was a brick pit that turned out to be the breeding ground for the rare GREEN AND GOLDEN BELL FROG. Half a million dollars was then spent to create a lush new habitat for the frogs in the pit, but many of the creatures declined to use their new digs. The Centre was built elsewhere.

Distracted from southward migration by the porch lights at Olympic Stadium, clouds of BOGONG MOTHS clustered around every light source, including the Eternal Flame. Consequently, at midnight, the torch was dimmed and stadium lights were turned off. Visitors were assured that the moths are harmless if ingested--tasting "somewhere between a pecan and a walnut."

And at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, soccer players endured unforeseen conditions for Summer Olympians--Antarctic winds and waves of screeching SEAGULLS that strafed the athletes and occasionally landed on the field during play.