Beijing Olympics

Fast History: Michael Phelps’ Eighth Gold Medal in Beijing, 2008

Clay Dillow — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 01:00:00 -0400

It’s been a rocky—we could even say stoney—year for Michael Phelps, America’s golden boy who last year left Beijing with the most gold medals ever awarded an Olympian in a single games. Riding high after being called the greatest swimmer of all time, Phelps found his way into a very public scandal when photos emerged of the swimmer holding a bong. But America is nothing if not forgiving, especially to its athletes. Not so many months later, the media has forgotten Phelps’ youthful follies and he’s back in the pool. His next big opponent: Shaquille O’Neal.

Are Beijing's Olympics Really Green?

Rachel King — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 11:00:12 -0400

Here's Beijing as it looks on a "blue sky" day, with the usual smog lifted from the city's skyline by a nice dry wind.

No, it's not a SARS epidemic--just a hazy day in Beijing, where a white mask is standard commuter wear.

The Beijing National Aquatic Center is the greenest site of the games, as well as the coolest looking. The outer surface and roof were designed to catch tens of thousands of tons of rainwater per year, not to fill the pool, but to clean the building and surrounding areas.

The Olympics: Green or Brown?

Rachel King — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 11:00:08 -0400

AIR POLLUTION

Green: Beijing authorities have claimed five straight years of air-quality improvement since 2002. Last year, Beijing's average daily Air Pollution Index was 100.69. Hoping to keep the reading below that Index for the duration of the games, Beijing has spent billions to close factories, stop construction and pull millions of cars off the roads each day in the last couple of weeks.

Don’t Get Lost in China Without This Number

Francisco Dao — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 01:16:43 -0400

China Storms Africa

Fast Company staff — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 14:00:00 -0400

By: Richard Behar Sun Jun 1, 2008 at 1:00 PM

Special Report: China Storms Africa

Richard Behar — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 13:00:00 -0400

The No. 2 killer in Africa by parasite, after malaria, is an organism called Entamoeba histolytica -- or "Eh" for short. It was discovered in 1873, the year it took the life of missionary-explorer David Livingstone, that great champion of British imperialism on what his countrymen called the Dark Continent. I know this because, when I returned home from reporting in the sub-Sahara, the same pathogen was drilling through the walls of my gut.