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Climate Scholars, Homer-Dixon and Lomborg, Let you know what’s up with the Planet
the newspaper
November 22 2007 Vol. XXX No. XI
November 29 2007 Vol. XXX No. XIII
www.thenewspaper.ca
toronto’s student community paper
Students Lead Environmental Movement
Greenwashed Pogs Are OUT. Green is IN.
The Issue of Sustainability Marlena Rogowska, Ashley Taylor, Vig Krishnamurthy high atop the Earth Sciences Building. By Sean Liliani Many university students will join the chorus of complaints against Stephen Harper’s ineffectiveness as an environmental leader. But few actually realize the immense potential that individual students have to turn UofT into an environmental beacon. While the history of energy consumption at our school has been marked by impressive feats of ingenuity and innovation, these accomplishments have likely excited only the engineering types who religiously read HVAC journals. With the issue of climate change emerging as the worldly cause of our time, it seems likely that this innovation will now turn more heads than ever
before. When circumstances have called for action in the past, UofT has dedicated huge amounts of resources to reducing energy costs. In the wake of the 1973 OPEC embargo, the school responded to oil and gas shortages by becoming the first university to employ a dedicated energy staff. Within a few years electricity consumption was reduced by 17%. Frugal spending in times of scarcity may not be as noble a cause as environmental altruism, but UofT does boast a record of superior ingenuity nonetheless. “A lot of these low hanging fruit that a lot of schools are doing now and getting
student profile: Leah Stokes
a lot of recognition for we did a long time ago,” says Ashley Taylor of the Sustainability Office. For example, cogeneration is a technology that transforms wasted heat from energy processes into usable heat for buildings. While schools such as Queen’s have only taken on this technology in recent years, UofT’s Central Steam Plant on Russell St. has been using it to supply 25% of the school’s energy needs since 1993. The potential for UofT’s ingenuity to contribute to a serious environmental initiative really began to bud in 2004 with the creation of the Sustainability Office. In the years since its inception, the office has facilitated a strong rela-
See Sustainability cont. pg. 3
by Sean Liliani
Student Leaves Newspaper Business To Save The World A year and a half ago Leah Stokes was in the running for news editor at the newspaper but mysteriously dropped out of the race just days before the vote. Naturally, the first thing I did upon Leah’s arrival at our office was confront her with the crazy coincidence that she somehow neglected to mention when we set up the interview. With a half sarcastic voice she tells me, “yeah… I decided to save the world instead”. It is common for editors of UofT’s independent weekly to develop the ‘I’m the hottest shit on earth’ complex, but on that day my hugely inflated ego was pricked with the sharp sting of reality. Here I was emitting seventeen thousand weekly copies of undergraduate banter and half witty headlines while she was working to cut hundreds of tonnes of CO2 emissions by encouraging students to lead efficient lifestyles. Profile: - Leah became involved in the environ-
mental movement at UofT by joining the Trinity Environmental Club in her second year. This small group of students began monitoring electricity consumption and worked to reduce costs through incentive programs. - In her third year she began to do some research herself and helped to bring the program to UC. Within just a few months of working with students, the program achieved a 10% reduction in energy use at Whitney Hall Residence. - Funded by the Sustainability Office, the program –which took on the name Rewire– expanded into a movement that saw seven of the university’s residences adopt more sustainable lifestyles. - Being an integral member of UofT’s environmental community landed Leah a stint as president of the University of Toronto Environmental Resource Network (UTERN) in her final undergraduate year. With $30,000 to submit towards
environmental initiatives, UTERN helps to bankroll student groups who want to incorporate environmental action into their platform. - While Leah has recently taken to working with the NGO ‘Plan Canada’ –as well as starting her own environmental consulting company– she still works closely with the Sustainability Office and UofT’s environmental community.
the newspaper: Does green washing dilute the environmental movement or help to make it more accessible? Leah Stokes: I see things as a spectrum where groups like Greenpeace or the Sierra Club or Right-wing conservative environmentalism are all different ways of trying to advance a system that is unsustainable. Just because there are more
See Leah Stokes cont. pg. 4
By Nina Manasan Let me start off by saying that I love the environment and I’m perfectly willing to save it. One might think then, that the recent explosion of environmentally friendly campaigns and movements would have me jumping for joy. Instead, I find myself rolling my eyes and scoffing derisively. Why? Because it’s in my nature to be suspicious of anything resembling a trend and/ or fad. While I commend those who have always been genuinely concerned about our planet, I question those who seem to have so suddenly changed their ways. Let’s face it; green is in, and no one wants to be out. In recent months, everyone from politicians to celebrities have hopped onto the electricpowered bandwagon. It is called greenwashing; a phenomenon which involves an unfounded advocacy of positive environmental attitudes. It is often used to create an environmentally conscious public image or to sell products, rather than to actually encourage environmentalism. In other words, they’re all a bunch of posers. Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth had everyone this year swept up in a “save the earth” frenzy. According to one producer, February’s Oscars endeavored to “select supplies and services with sensitivity toward reducing the threats of global warming, species extinction, deforestation and toxic waste” - a mighty task which some celebrities fulfilled by opting to arrive in hybrid vehicles, rather than the usual gas-guzzling limousines. In July, thousands of musicians staged concerts worldwide as part of the massive music event, Live Earth - a plea to governments, corporations and global communities to combat the climate crisis. Yes, we get
it. Hollywood cares about the environment. You need not look farther than on campus to see this trend in effect. Almost every single backpack I’ve seen this year has had one or more of those “I heart Earth” buttons that you buy from that hippy store in Kensington Market. Okay, students care too. Like I said, I’m all for saving our planet, but when something you care about is transformed into a mindless trend, it somehow loses its appeal. Kind of like hearing your dad singing Akon’s “Smack That”.
Sears Sues Ryerson After Deciding Not to Uphold Their End of the Bargain, Ryerson May Have to Pay Up By Nina Manasan Situated in Toronto’s urban core, Ryerson University is surrounded by bright lights, towering billboards and just happens to share a block with the city’s most famous shopping mall, the Eaton Center. It makes perfect sense then, that some of the most generous contributors to the university are stores within the Eaton Center. In exchange for their generosity, companies ask for some small form of recognition. Naming a building after them usually does the trick. But
what happens when a big company like Sears gives a $10 million donation to Ryerson, only to be acknowledged by a small plaque on a pillar inside one of its buildings? A big fat lawsuit. Sears Canada Inc. is suing Ryerson for breeching a contract it signed with the university in 1991. The agreement was simple: Sears gave Ryerson $10 million under the impression that Ryerson would associate its name with an academic facility on campus.
See Ryerson cont. pg. 3