Dispatches from the Youth Climate Movement
Written for Alumni News, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia
I feel helpless when asked to describe Antarctica. It is the command centre of our world’s ecosystems, yet the slightest mention of the word ‘Antarctica’ renders your mind to a place seemingly farther and more foreign to humankind than the moon. Only through poetry could anyone even begin to do it justice. A summary of the experience is just the tip of the ice berg, but I have a feeling might be worth it.
What started as an innocent day at the Museum of Pre-Colombian Art, turned into roaming the solar technology exhibitions as part of a huge trade show in Cuzco, Peru.
We met with engineering students from Lima and chatted and asked the questions that official trade show participants would ask… The push for solar technology in isolated communities is admirable. I wish I could even begin to sufficiently describe the places we have seen solar technology being put to use. Continue reading ‘Crashing a Solar Technology Trade Show in Peru’
I saunter into my favourite cafe in La Paz, Bolivia: La Terraza - where I know I can get a salad fit for a giant that is delicious, clean and cheap. I’m relieved that no one is smoking and I take a seat in the corner, yet quickly move to a window seat, “Much better for people watching!” I joke with the couple at the neighbouring table.
We begin to chat. “We’ve been coming here for 14 years,” the couple explains, as they tell stories of their lovely family and their experiences throughout a decade of changes in La Paz. “Wow, that’s incredible,” I gush in awe. “What a place to be.” They offer travel advice of beautiful Incan ruins and luscious gardens, and then, “Have you been to Chacaltaya?” they ask me. “Yes - actually! I’ve written about that glacier. You must have seen major changes in the last 14 years of coming here…” as my tone drops and I subconsciously shake my head a little. “Chacaltaya?” the woman asks, as if we might not be talking about the same glacier. “The glacier just nearby - it’s beautiful.”
“When was the last time you were there?” I ask. “Must have been 12 years ago now,” the woman mumbles. “Its ice and snow have melted over 80 percent in the last 20 years - there’s almost nothing left of it…” I sound like a broken climate change record. “But it’s the highest ski hill in the world - a stunning place where the birds fly beneath you,” the woman reminisces. I continue, “…They say it will be entirely gone in the next year or two. You should go see it while you’re here.” The tone in my voice and the looks on their faces made me feel like I was telling them they had to go visit a dying friend before she passed away, and this was the first they ‘d heard she was ill. Continue reading ‘Saying Goodbye to a New Friend’
A part of me wants to apologize to all of you. I haven´t been on the conference calls. I haven´t been logging hours in the office. I didn´t make it to the wonderful and amazing Power Shift conference. And I haven´t even been writing on here regularly.
But the other part of me wants to share a story, a few stories, with all of you. I´m heading south (really far south) with my good friend and colleague Lilith Wyatt. We are on our way to Antarctica for an environmental educational program called Students on Ice. They have accepted us as participants in leadership roles as volunteer student-to-student Chaperones.
The personal touch: to get down there mostly over land, and to learn as much about the people and culture as it relates to their natural environment and climate change as possible on our way down. Continue reading ‘That time I tried to get to Antarctica’
Alternatives Journal 33:5 (2007)
Extra Curriculars
By Erin Elliott
The university experience can mean long hours in the lecture hall, but this doesn’t have to come at the expense of getting involved. Even those awkward two-hour breaks between classes provide enough time to explore environmental groups and activities. For those who long to make their mark, a smart place to start is right on campus.
In fact, a passion for the planet can lead to a world of opportunity, according to Justin Trudeau, Anjali Helferty, Thomas Roussin, Jamie Biggar and Zoë Caron. Although these inspiring young Canadians work in diverse areas, they speak in one voice when giving advice to environmental studies students: The classroom should be the first stop on campus, but definitely not the last. Continue reading ‘Emerging Leaders Unearth Their Passions, Inside and Outside the Classroom’
Saturday night brought snow flurries amounting to over 20 cm by Sunday morning, stalling the regular duties of the Easter Bunny in his east-coast route.
The head bunny is on strike because of unworkable conditions, claiming climate change has made its work close to impossible. Bunny says it will not return to egg hiding in Canada until it sees more effort from both the government and Canadians to help tackle climate change.
“This really is a climate crisis,” said Bunny early Sunday morning. “Climate change is making the weather up here in Canada more and more unpredictable.”
“It’s clear we need to act on solutions, and that starts with reaching the Kyoto Protocol – and that means all of us – kids walking to school, parents carpooling, conserving energy, and major reductions of greenhouse gas emissions by big industry.”
Continue reading ‘Snow Stalls East-Coast Easter: Head Bunny on Strike’
This story is part of an ongoing series: Vanity Fair: The Untold Stories
Apparently a picture says a thousand words; I beg to differ.
In the latest edition of Vanity Fair (the May “Green Issue”) staff members from the Campus Climate Challenge (CCC) were profiled in a 2-page colour spread. What is more exciting, however, is the mountain of stories that lies behind each of those 35 faces in the picture. Every CCC staff member works with almost a dozen campuses in their respective region. And, as one of the many staff members, I have the pleasure of working with my very own handful of campuses - and what fabulous campuses they are!
Major highlights of the year:
- Memorial hires full-time Sustainability Coordinator
- Mount Allison runs successful inter-residence energy challenge
- Moncton publishes first Energy, Waste, and Food audits
- Regional Paper Cut campaign to use more sustainable sources of paper is launched
- Campuses host “An Inconvenient Truth” screenings and panel discussions
- Dalhousie votes on $2 levy to implement Sustainability Office
- King’s hosts 2nd Annual Atlantic Sustainable Campuses Conference
- UPEI hosts 8th Annual National Sustainable Campuses Conference
Continue reading ‘Atlantic Leading in Canadian Campus Wins*’
Anyone remember the petition that was emailed around frantically a few weeks ago? It may have side-swiped your inbox or landed in your Facebook account… Either way, I know I signed it!
I sign a lot of petitions but I generally advocate for writing letters - I usually feel like petitions are ineffective, but I sign them anyways. This week, the petition I signed made a difference.
Continue reading ‘“It’s Just a Petition…” - Not according to the G8!’
This Thursday, the environment ministers from the G8, the world’s biggest contributors to climate change, will be meeting in Germany. The outcome of this meeting is crucial to world’s response to global warming.
Avaaz.org has been invited to attend this meeting to present our climate change petition. A strong voice for action could help set the agenda for the G8. To help seize this opportunity, click below:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/climate_action_germany
Continue reading ‘Your Signature Needed for G8 work on Climate Change’
Two of our very own colleagues were recognized by the World Conservation Union for their perservering work on climate change today, International Women’s Day. 
Rosa Kouri, National Director of the Sierra Youth Coalition and Virginie Lavallée-Picard, Organizer with SustainUS are among the prestigious slew of women recognized today. The recognition is extended to 23 women around the world who are working on the pressing issue of climate change.
Continue reading ‘International Women making International Change’
Zoë is currently writing ''Global Warming for Dummies" with co-author Elizabeth May to be published in the summer of 2008. Zoë holds a BSc from Dalhousie University in International Development and Environmental Science. She has worked for the Sierra Youth Coalition's Sustainable Campuses project and lead sustainability initiatives on her own campus. Zoë is a founding member of the Canadian Youth Climate Coalition and past delegate to UN Climate Change Conferences. She has just returned from the Students On Ice International Polar Year Expedition to Antarctica. [Photo credit: Daniel Abriel]
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