Global warming, climate change, ocean pollution, and an ever increasing number of endangered species, just to name a few; we all know the problems our world faces. There are various ways that humanity can address these issues, but generally these solutions are applied only one or two at a time. When the Paris Olympic committee started planning for this year’s Summer Olympics, they decided to tackle several all at once. The goal was made clear, they wanted this to be the most eco-friendly Olympics ever held. Even before the games got started though, some problems were already being talked about.

One of the biggest was of course, the Seine river. Long considered to be too poluted with raw sewage for swimming, it was was now going to be the location of multiple swimming competitions. However, even as the games play on, those competitions are being pushed back due to higher than acceptable bacteria levels.

Then there’s the complaints about the hard cardboard beds, the too few bottle water refill stations, and the list goes on.

While no one can deny that France’s environmental goals were well intended, the way they were executed apparently leaves much to be desired.

So, this leaves me wondering, in a world that desperately needs to take action to save itself, did the good intentions of the Paris games actually do more harm to the cause, than good?