by Jan Lazor

Created on: November 22, 2009

Throughout modern history, controversy has surrounded the Olympic Games. The 2010 winter games in Vancouver, Canadaare no exception. Protesters have raised concerns about human rights, environmental issues and financial cost overruns that will burden Canadian taxpayers for years to come.

Vancouver's Downtown Eastside neighborhood was home to many of the city's low income residents and the homeless. Families who could least afford to move, were forced out of their homes. They moved out and wrecking crews moved in to demolish buildings to make way for hotels and sports venues. City leaders then campaigned to shoo the homeless from the Eastside. They removed dumpsters and installed additional security cameras to deter the homeless from loitering in the newly revamped neighborhood.

The demolition riled many Canadians and reminded them of similar scenes from Beijing, China before the 2008 summer games. China, like Vancouver, displaced thousands of low income residents and leveled whole neighborhoods to make way for new buildings to accommodate the Olympics and improve the city's appearance.

Expansion of the Sea to Sky Highway roused environmental groups to act. The construction project threatened the habitats of the Red-legged frog and the Alligator lizard, environmentalists said. Olympic organizers say the freeway expansion is necessary to improve transportation between sporting venues in Vancouver and Whistler, British Columbia, about a 2.5 hour drive north of the host city where Alpine skiing events will be held.

Northern Spotted Owls, which some biologists already fear will be extinct by 2010, live in the mountains around Whistler. Olympic organizers have not taken sufficient measures to protect the endangered birds, protesters say.

Snowfall, or the possible lack of it, has environmentalists concerned. If there is not enough snow to hold the skiing events, organizers may have to make snow. Millions of gallons of water will be needed to make enough snow to hold the events. Another option calls for stockpiling snow away from the skiing venues and trucking it to the sites to make sure there is enough snow for the games.

Environmentalists worry that using so much water to make snow will impact the mountain's fragile eco-system. But the pollution from trucks hauling snow will pollute the air and contribute to greenhouse warming, they say. When the International Olympic Committee selected Vancouver as the site of the 2010 Games, it promised to stage

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