Well, at least the Ferraris and the Mclarens will be zooming down the Marina Bay district for the next 4 years, which will bolster the already magnificent landscape with the completion of the Integrated Resorts and the hotels.
Many, including me have forgotten about the environmental drawbacks of Formula 1 amidst the buzz of how much economic revenue Singapore will get to reap from this richest sporting event in the world. Though the economic advantage would certainly help Singapore to increase the National Income, Money reporter Jessica Yap have reminded us how much carbon emission a Formula 1 Grand Prix would generate.
Each of the F1 car consumes up to a litre of fuel per kilometre - and for every km, it spews 1.5 kg of carbon dioxide emissions - largely regarded as the culprit for global warming. So twenty cars at about 305 km each for the entire race, translates to about 9,150 kg of emissions.
On top of car emissions, each F1 team operates more than 30 tonnes of equipment which again consumes copious amounts of energy to transport to the site.
And let's not forget the lights that garnered so much praise for the Singapore Grand Prix organisers - with 108,423m of power cables, 240 steel pylons, approximately 1,600 light projectors, a staggering 3,180,000 watts is used.
If you consider the hundreds of thousands of tourists who flew in for the event, the total carbon footprint of the event is even more mind-boggling.
While there are chances that the future of the Formula 1 would be a more environmentally friendly event, it would not please some of the supremes in the racing teams. One of them actually said this,
"the millions of people watching F1 races on television are thus not using their cars while the race is under way"
Given the economic impact and uplift of the countries image F1 is able to bring, I suppose most pragmatic state would shelves the environmental concerns to of a lesser concerns. If Singapore do not host, there is still some other cities in the world vying for the exclusive spot. Isn't the same amout of carbon being emitted? More cities will be involve in the next 5 years most notable India and South Korea are the newest Asian host following Shanghai, Bahrain and Singapore.
The trend is clear, money makes the world go round.
Reference
Jessica Cheam, http://blogs.straitstimes.com/2008/9/29/can-a-green-f1-ever-exist
