Hydrogen 1, wetlands 0

By definition, every “eco-friendly” choice is made between several options. Electric or hydrogen? Wind or solar? The options are daunting, but sometimes the choices we make only highlight the inherent frustration in trying to make any choice at all.

For Olympic organizers, as reported by the Globe and Mail, one of those choices has already reared its ugly head — between zero-emission transportation for Vancouver’s 2010 Olympic Games and the preservation of a “red listed” wetland.

Provided by BC Transit, the 20 buses will run on hydrogen fuel cells that require liquid hydrogen (which, the Globe and Mail article points out, has to be shipped in by diesel-powered trucks). But to build the fuelling station required for the Olympic Games’ so-called “hydrogen highway,” BC Transit is looking to a site on a protected wetland that is only able to be considered because, as a provincial crown corporation, BC Transit is exempt from environmental restrictions that would otherwise halt development.

Ironically, the controversy comes as the BC government is being pressured to adopt a “green constitution” that would ensure new homes built would be carbon neutral. Far from being carbon neutral, the fueling station’s emission-free fuel would come at the expense of releasing further CO2 from the developed wetland, given that research by the United Nations has already demonstrated the CO2 storage capacity of similar areas.

As any politician mired in the current controversy over biofuels and their relationship to food (a proposition that once seemed like a win-win situation) can attest, making the “right” green choice is rarely an easy one. And as BC ramps up to one of the highest profile events on the planet, it’s worth noting that they’ll soon be attracting attention for every choice they make.