The Olympics open in China in four months, and almost all journalists -- including business and environment editors -- are directing at least some quota of their attention to the 2008 Summer Olympic Games.

Each Modern Olympiad brings an issue to the fore, whether we like it or not. As did many in the cleantech field, I hoped the 2008 Olympics would give climate issues top billing in the global political dialogue. And when sustainability intersected a major world event, it rose to the front page. Almost anyone can cite statistics about China's coal power plant construction and efforts to curb their carbon emissions, thanks to constant media attention throughout 2007.

Green has lost its media limelight to a stronger, more organized team. Since the beginning of March we've seen China in the news, but it is not their climate behavior that put them there. In the media's bright lights, standing head and shoulders above the environment, is President Hu Jintao's human-rights imbroglio.

Silver: Human rights issues

When Tibet and Lhasa erupted in violence last month it was the crack of the starting gun. And the Human Rights Torch Relay was likely just the beginning of more civil activities that will fan the flames of dissent in the Summer Olympics' host country.

This won't be another short-lived Tiananmen Square (1989) or anti-Japan riot (2005). We can expect well-orchestrated diplomatic alignments and demonstrations against China in the months to come, inside and outside its borders.

China will not grant independence or autonomy to Tibet because of the fear of a domino effect. And China's rhetoric has put the government in a straight jacket from which it cannot now negotiate with the Dalai Lama and still save face.

The U.S. is powerless in this matter, just as it is in world climate policy. In fact the European Union is once again in the driver's seat, a role in which the EU is ever more comfortable and confident.

So, before a world audience of one billion people, human rights will clench a silver medal in media awareness through the end of the Beijing Games. Hopefully, the attention to these issues will last beyond the closing ceremony.

Green not out of the running

Issues of sustainability are not completely off the podium. Thanks to the buzz about the upcoming games, climate issues have gained enough awareness to take bronze.

Both of these issues, and the coverage they garner this summer, will have a lasting effect on Asia. Every host country has learned that the Olympics are an unparalleled opportunity on the global stage.

Former Governor Michael Leavitt of Utah, host of the 2002 Winter Games, observed that when a region gets the opportunity to host the Olympics, it puts them in a position to make strides on any issue they choose. If China chooses to improve its human rights record this year, everyone wins.

The 2010 Winter Olympic Games will be another opportunity for environment issues to expand awareness among world leaders. John Furlong, head of the 2010 Organizing Committee, has made sustainability a major focus. His organization today released the second of four sustainability reports for the 2010 games.

Games are about an ideal

As serious as the human-rights abuses are in China, I am optimistic that the political remonstration will not take the form of boycotts of the games, for then we all lose. My greatest hope is that, in the 2008 and 2010 Olympic battles for the limelight, the spirit of sporting competition still takes the gold.