Beijing set an Olympic Record for power consumption.  The Beijing power grid peaked at a consumption of 12.48 million KW at 11:24am…enough power to run a city of 17 million while they host an international sporting event attended by 200+ countries and 10’s of thousands of people. The previous record was 12.28 million KW. I think they were trying to finish all the building projects for the Green Village in one day for that peak.

It is estimated that the maximum demand will hit 14.6 million KW. The biggest demand is made by air conditioners, very much needed as the city is experiencing sweltering conditions - 35C (94F).

Despite the demand, Beijing Electric Power Co. is keeping up and the grid is stable. In the case of emergency, 50 power vehicles are standing by with a capacity of 26,890 KW and 201 repair teams are hanging out with their fans in hand. And…Africa is still being called the Dark Continent.

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 Qi Zhen When She Was Born

Anything born between 8/8/8 and the end of the Olympics in China will be dubbed “Olympic-whatever.” In fact, not a few parents scheduled to have their children on 8/8/8 come hell or high water.  Apparently Qi Zhen (Magic Treasure) couldn’t be fitted in on China’s most auspicious of days and had to wait till Sunday - 8/10. Still, her twin cubs are considered Olympic Pandas.  Huan Huan weighed in 98 grams and Bei Bei is still being protected by her mother.

Qi Zhen’s twin sister, Qi Yuan (Magic Luck) had twins earlier in the year. Giant Pandas are notoriously sexually inactive. That coupled with a shrinking habitat and the animals are among the world’s most endangered. There are only about 1,500 pandas living in the wild. There are 75 at the center in Chengdu Panda Breeding Research Center including these two newcomers.

I wonder…what if we just left them alone. What do you think would happen?

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Beijing continues to pull out all the stops, stop signs?, to make the usual transportation mess more Olympic friendly, greener, too.  There’s a plan:

1. Some 500 vehicles used for shuttling between the Olympic village and venues will be powered by electricity, mixed fuel, or batteries. 780 tons of gasoline and diesel fuel will be saved. C02 will be reduced by 2,510 tons. An Olympic record?

2.  34 Olympic bus lanes will be opened up during the Games.

3. 126 ‘intelligent road sensors’ have been installed in special traffic lanes. When an Olympic bus pulls up the traffic lights will automatically change. Hang on to those puppies once the Games are over!

4. Some public transport vehicles will get the sensors, too.

5. Starting next week, Beijing will start an 0dd-even number traffic control system

6. An accident detection system is in place to speed up response time by 3-5 minutes.

In the end, the hope is that the Games run smoothly and Beijing can keep the air clean. That way neither traffic nor the athletes will be choked.