They’ve always been with us. Those who think anyone enjoying themselves must be doing something wrong. Those who couldn’t get a date or were picked on in school and never got over it. Those who know better than you and are ever vigilant to make sure you do what is best for you. Those who see impending danger everywhere and so must regulate it to “protect you”. And they are better than you for it. They are more responsible, more caring and “right”. They are the sanctimonious and never before have they had a cause that makes them feel so righteous as protecting mother earth from the ravages of man.
A glaring example of this psychosis is the criticism of the Olympic Torch where The Australian reports attempts to create the world’s first low-carbon “green” Olympic flame have failed.
The relay will begin at Land’s End on May 19 and the torch will be carried to every corner of Britain, including the Channel Islands, Northern Ireland and the Outer Hebrides.
However, the failure of designers Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby to produce a low-carbon torch was criticised. “We tried really hard to do that. We were very close, but we just ran out of time,” Mr Barber said.
The Commission for a Sustainable London 2012 said that was a poor excuse. “The promise of a low-carbon torch was made in 2007 and so the excuse of ‘we ran out of time’ is not acceptable,” chairman Shaun McCarthy said.
Related articles
- 2012 Olympic torch ignites row over Games’ green credentials (guardian.co.uk)
- London 2012 Olympics: golden torch revealed (telegraph.co.uk)
