Photos by Matty Flader / Photo Reporter 

By Donna Nadeem, Contributor

Cootes Paradise surrounds McMaster University’s campus, creating a warm, natural environment at Mac. At the Art Gallery of Hamilton (123 King St. West) and within the heart of the Jean and Ross Fischer Gallery, a collection of various works comes together to express the impact that Cootes has had on Hamilton — spanning the past, present and (hopefully) the future.

From paintings of the beautiful landscape contained in Cootes Paradise, to photographs of the life that resides within and maps documenting the area, “Cootes Paradise: A Place Above All Others” reveals the importance of this wetland. The works emphasize that if we don’t take care of Cootes, then we are going to lose it. 

The exhibition is a collaboration between the Royal Botanical Gardens, Dundas Museum and Archives, Hamilton Public Library and the Art Gallery of Hamilton. It celebrates the centennial of the Hamilton Naturalists Club, discusses sustainability within Cootes Paradise and reflects on stewardship of the land. There is a focus on the human connection to the land and biodiversity. 

Cootes Paradise has had a long past. Its usage claims were constantly debated in where a by developers and entrepreneurs. However, local bird watchers saw the threat looming. They began fundraising to preserve the wetlands as a natural habitat.

“Everyone had a different notion of what they wanted to do with this area, they wanted to live in it, hunt in it, they wanted to commercially develop it and this has been its fate,” said Tor Lukasik-Foss, director of programs and education at the Art Gallery of Hamilton.

Robert Ross is one of the artists who has contributed to this exhibition. Ross has been viewed has one of Hamilton’s most successful artists and considered a master of realism painting. The artist has focused much of his work on Cootes and Dundas Valley, detailing how the land has changed throughout time. This artwork, combined with maps and aerial photography provided by the Hamilton Public Library, effectively helps viewers understand how history has taken its toll on Cootes Paradise.

The Hamilton Naturalists Club asked its members to share their photos of the area, specifically of the birds that live and dwell within the trees. Reaching out to amateur photographers within their membership, they curated 40 photos of Cootes’ long-term residents. 

The Hamilton Naturalists Club have been at the forefront of annual bird counts and record-keeping for bird activity in the area since 1927. Thanks to this, they have the most complete record of bird activity anywhere in North America. 

“Even though we look at nature and think that this is a place where humans don’t reside, it's not really true, we are there whether nature wants us there or not, for the sake of its continuance we have to be there, so there’s this rich human culture that abounds beyond,” said Lukasik-Foss.

Naturally, as McMaster University overlooks the grounds of Cootes Paradise, a new course was created to explore the area. “Designing Paradise” will run during the Winter 2020 term. It will explore eco-concepts and re-define McMaster’s campus as an environmentally sustainable space. The course will be led by professors Judy Major-Giradin and Daniel Coleman. 

“I love that through this course we can engage with the historical and political elements that still reside in the Hamilton landscape, but also have the chance to artistically explore the natural environment and reimagine west campus as the diverse ecosystem that it once was,” said Mariana Quinn, a 3rd year Studio Arts student who is enrolled in the ART 3DP3 Designing Paradise course.

Both Major-Giradin and Coleman are focused on sustainability. Major-Girardin is a Studio Arts professor that actively seeks methods in her studio practice that can provide and offer more environmentally responsible approaches. Coleman is an English professor who recently published a book called Yardwork in 2017 that analyzes Hamilton through ecological, cultural and political stories as well as builds awareness for the sacred land where he resides.

“These spaces, they are not untouched by humans, they are massively touched by humans, in fact, the only way that they live now is because of human advocacy and human action, so they are as talked about and combed over as any other urban space in a lot of ways,” said Lukasik-Foss.

“Cootes Paradise: A Place Above All Others” is a tremendous effort by members of the city to teach it’s residents that even though we live in a densely populated city, we have beautifully vibrant natural spaces. With these spaces; however, comes environmental issues that we need to get behind in to preserve our nature.

“Cootes Paradise: A Place Above All Others” is on display until Dec. 1 at the Art Gallery of Hamilton (123 King St. West). The exhibition is free to all McMaster students with a valid student card.

 

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Photo by Hannah Walters-Vida / Editor-In-Chief

By Sam Marchetti, Contributor

On Sept. 27, I saw something wonderful. In the 10 minute drive from my house to the Oakville GO station on Friday, I saw a class walking the streets with their teachers holding signs up. I saw a group of four high school students at a bus shelter farther down the road, brandishing large signs with phrases like “don’t be a fossil fool” and “I’m skipping lessons so I can teach you one”.

That morning, I made my way down to Queen’s Park in Toronto. I, unfortunately, could not stay for the climate march. But I chanted and stood with those near Queen’s Park station for as long as I could. Anyone who knows me knows that I’ve been concerned about climate change for years. Those who know me best know that I’ve given up hope more than once. It was incredible to know that I was standing with just a small proportion of the millions of people marching around the world. There have been climate strikes and marches before, I have even attended a few of them. Eventually, though, I always ended up feeling defeated. For once, it felt like this time was different. 

So, to all of you reading, let this time be different. Our climate emergency is no longer a problem that can be solved by our actions as individuals. We need the governments of the world to stand with us and to implement policies that will curb greenhouse gas emissions on a global scale and at an unprecedented rate. This isn’t an easy task, and it’s one that we certainly will not accomplish through one day of marching and striking in the streets. There are two things we need to do if we want these strikes to mean something.

First and foremost, we need to keep marching. The next time you hear about a climate protest, march, rally or strike, go to it. Don’t second-guess it, just do it. It doesn’t matter if there are another 500,000 people there and it doesn’t matter if there are just five. Most importantly, it doesn’t matter who you are. Whether or not you have contributed so far to this cause, we need you. We need your activism. We need to see you in the streets, to hear you in the media and to help keep our politicians watching us. Keep the momentum going and scream as loud as you can. 

The second thing is equally as important: you need to vote. Marching, screaming and getting our politicians to see what we want is meaningless unless we can hold them to it. If we don’t vote, they don’t have to listen to us. It is imperative that we show them that we have the power and that we will not allow them to sit idly while the Earth burns. Register to vote, right now (I’ll even give you the link - www.elections.ca). In October, show up to the polls. Don’t just make your voice heard, make it count

The marches on Sept. 27, 2019 were incredible. This wasn’t the first time I’ve felt that kind of hope, but I think this time it might not fail me. 

This is my plea to you. Let this time be different.

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Photo taken at Montreal Climate Strike C/O Pascal Bernardon 

By Morgan Parcells, Contributor

Sixteen-year-old Greta Thunberg agrees: hot girl summer was way too hot. 

At the forefront of a global sustainability movement, Greta Thunberg seems to have lit a fire amongst younger generations. She inspired hundreds of thousands of individuals to take part in Fridays For Future, Greta’s very own climate strike, across the world on Sept. 27, 2019. 

On Aug. 20, 2018, Thunberg singlehandedly began the development of her global movement with the very first Fridays For Future protest outside of her local parliament. The following week, her fellow students joined her in taking a stand for the environment. After only a few weeks, Fridays For Future became a weekly occurrence.

Thunberg’s ideas quickly garnered attention from neighbouring countries and Fridays For Future began to spread internationally. By February 2019, more than 30 countries across the world were participating. In August 2019, Thunberg attended the United Nations’ Climate Summit in the United States, and students in over 165 countries took part in Fridays For Future.  

To some, the idea of climate activism is an entirely new idea. However, others may believe that an environmental political movement has been at play for a greater portion of history. The question stands: how long have we known about the climate crisis?

In 1896, the first scientific evidence of human-induced climate change was discovered: Swedish scientist Svente Arrhenius found that human carbon emissions have a direct contribution to the warming of the atmosphere.

In 1938, British inventor and engineer Guy Stewart Callendar posited that a correlation exists between the warming land temperatures and human carbon emissions. Callendar’s research was largely ignored by the scientific community of his time.

In 1960, American scientist Charles David Keeling — known for the Keeling Curve — found that carbon dioxide emissions were rising.

Clearly, the science has been in our grasp for over a century, but only relatively recently have we begun paying significant attention. Many credit Thunberg as the sole pivotal voice in the conversation around global climate issues. While her impact is nearly unmatched in the social world, the voice of Thunberg is not a lonely one. For decades, there have been voices of colour proclaiming the same message as Thunberg. Although her message is undoubtedly an important one, it would be disappointing to look past the second message Thunberg is sending — that the world only listens when white activists decide to speak up. 

Despite doing the same work as Thunberg, climate change activists of colour are largely ignored. 

Autumn Peltier, 13-year-old water advocate, addresses UN: pic.twitter.com/KaJ1aW5610

— Arlan 👊🏾 Free Brittney Griner (@ArlanWasHere) September 28, 2019

Only 15 years old, Indigenous activist Autumn Peltier addressed the United Nations on the same day as Thunberg, urging the organization to protect the world’s universal right to clean water. She has been an advocate for these issues for the majority of her young life, having attended the Children’s Climate Conference in Sweden at only 11 years old and even personally addressing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau about his broken promises regarding Indigenous Canadian populations. At the age of 14, Autumn was named chief water commissioner by the Anishinabek Nation.

Eleven-year-old Ridhima Pandey calls Uttarakhand, India home and has been a climate change activist for the past few years. When she was only nine years old, Pandey filed a legal complaint against the Indian government for their failure to reduce and regulate the emission of greenhouse gases that heavily contribute to climate change. Her petition reached the National Green Tribunal.

Greta has done amazing work in calling for action on the #ClimateEmergency.
But don't forget Ridhima, Kaluki, Aditya, Nina, Autumn, Leah, or any of the other incredible young activists working for the future of this planet. https://t.co/CgheGTYtaR pic.twitter.com/DyuY1cWjh9

— Greenpeace (@Greenpeace) October 5, 2019

Beyond the two bright individuals detailed above, there exists a world of young climate leaders of colour who face global issues at a harsher level than most white communities will ever see.

The choice to champion Thunberg as the leader of the global climate advocacy movement holds a large amount of political weight behind it, exposing our tendency to champion those with lighter skin in place of coloured individuals who work just as hard, if not harder. 

It is not wrong of us to recognize Thunberg’s dedication, passion and undying mission to save the world. But it is most definitely wrong of us to fail to acknowledge and appreciate the voices of colour who have been pushing this conversation for decades.

 

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Last Friday’s climate strike brought the climate crisis to the forefront of public conversation. There is an ever-growing awareness of the dire reality of the climate emergency: if immediate, far-reaching action is not taken, there will be major harm to ecosystems and loss of life.

A 2018 report from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change found that, in order to keep global temperature rise below 1.5°C, carbon dioxide emissions would need to fall by about 45 per cent by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050. 

Research tells us that the climate emergency is an existential threat requiring immediate, far-reaching action. It is clear that our reliance on fossil fuels is unsustainable. 

In order to properly address the climate emergency, we need rapid and unprecedented changes in every facet of society. We need to move away from our extraction-based economy that prioritizes growth and resource extraction, towards a justice-centred approach.

Currently, the university employs measures to understand and address climate change, including the McMaster Centre for Climate Change and the SUSTAIN program. McMaster also tracks and reports on its sustainability measures every year.

However, McMaster is more than just a research institution: the University has considerable financial, social and political power that it needs to use to push for far-reaching change.

Piecemeal solutions like banning plastic bags and reducing buildings’ energy consumption are good steps in the right direction, but they are not nearly enough.

Despite claiming to support pro-environment movements, McMaster provides financial support to the fossil fuel industry.

As of last year, $35.96 million, or 4.3 per cent, of McMaster’s endowment fund was invested in fossil fuel companies. By investing in the fossil fuel industry, the university provides not only financial support, but also social license to the very industries that are harming the planet. By continuing to fund the fossil fuel industry, McMaster helps to uphold a system that is completely unsustainable.

According to the Carbon Majors Database, 71 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions since 1988 can be traced back to just 100 fossil fuel companies. Furthermore, pipelines and other dangerous projects  have violated Indigenous land rights in order to extract fossil fuels.

Moving away from this economic system is a much larger discussion, but one tangible step that McMaster can take is to pull investments from the university’s divestment fund out of fossil fuel companies.

Divestment is not an end goal, but is a tactic that aims to “name and shame” the fossil fuel industry. It is morally reprehensible to profit off of the destruction of the planet, and pulling investments out of fossil fuel companies sends a clear message of condemnation.

In 2015, students, staff and faculty members issued petitions urging the university to divest from fossil fuel companies. Former president Patrick Deane struck an advisory committee, which came back with 12 recommendations for McMaster to pursue instead of full divestment.

More recently, MacGreenInvest, a McMaster faculty organization, issued a petition calling on McMaster to divest fossil fuel investments from McMaster’s endowment fund, and reinvest the funds in green renewable energy companies. As of Wednesday afternoon, the petition had over 1,000 signatures on Change.org.

McMaster prides itself on being a leader in sustainable development. It is unconscionable that they pay for this work by investing into companies that profit off of harming the environment.

Photos by Matty Flader / Photo Reporter

Last August, The Pale Blue Dot (240 James St. North) ran their first clothing swap. It turned into a huge success, with a lineup out their door. On Oct. 7, they will be running another one, this time at Grain & Grit brewery (11 Ewen Road). The Pale Blue Dot is a sustainable, eco-conscious store named after the 1990 photograph of the Earth taken from space. Mary Luciani, the owner of The Pale Blue Dot, emphasizes how important it is to be mindful of where and how we get our clothes.

“The reason we wanted to start it was because we wanted people to realize that there’s a different way to go about consuming clothing,” said Luciani. 

The Pale Blue Dot strives to provide support for people trying to live an environmentally friendly lifestyle.

“I really wanted the space to be a community hub as well, that was one of my major goals, to make the Pale Blue Dot a place where people could come and ask their questions, learn about new ways that they could live a low waste lifestyle or a lifestyle with a low impact. More than just a little general store of earth friendly goods, I wanted to have different workshops and events going on in the space that showed people how they could make a difference,” said Luciani.

The clothing swaps initially began as the brainchild of Luciani and her friends Kayla Whitney, Pam Huffman, Monika Benkovich and Liz Enriquez. Together, they created Good Habit Events, a collective that organizes affordable and eco-conscious events and workshops. 

“Through Good Habits, we reach out to different missions, different services, different locations in the city. We chat with them to see who’s in need,” said Luciani. 

All clothing that is not swapped is donated to those who need it. Admission to the event is $5, and the money raised will go towards environmental initiatives in the community.

“We want to make sure those funds get allocated into projects that will benefit the city, and benefit the environment at the same time,” said Luciani.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B3FHjM5nVrl/

This year the clothing swap will feature curated Halloween sections, with different costumes set up. There will also be regular clothes available, depending on what clothing is donated.

Participants can bring in their clothing to either Grain & Grit or The Pale Blue Dot from Oct. 1 to 6 ahead of the swap on Oct. 7 at Grain & Grit. Each item of clothing is worth one ticket, and one ticket can then be redeemed for a different item of clothing at the event. The full list of rules is available on the event page and on both of the brand’s websites.

The textile industry is a huge contributor to pollution. Environmental sustainability has become a major topic of discussion among Hamiltonians and the greater community. Those who are looking to combat climate change and help protect our pale blue dot can count on this event to be a first step towards building a better future. 

 

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Photos by Hannah Walters-Vida / Editor-In-Chief

On Sept. 27, hundreds of Hamiltonians gathered in Gore park to raise the alarm bell on climate change and urge leaders to take action.

The climate strike came as part of a week of mass climate actions from Sept. 20-27.   Hamilton’s climate strike was one of many general strikes around the world, in which people walked out of school, work and their homes to raise the alarm on the climate crisis.

According to Global Climate Strike, an organization helping to coordinate the strikes, 7.6 million people around the world took part in actions around the world.

Since March, students from schools across Hamilton have been holding regular demonstrations at City Hall to bring attention to the climate emergency. They have been working alongside the Fridays for Future movement, in which students from around the world walk out of their classes to showcase the severity of the climate emergency. By missing out on classes and thereby making sacrifices to their education, they aim to demonstrate how deeply the climate crisis will affect their futures.

A 2018 report from the United Nations International Panel on Climate Change highlighted the severity of the climate emergency. According to the report, it is of critical importance to reduce carbon dioxide emissions to 45 per cent in the next 11 years. The report found that failure to do so will result in ecological degradation and major loss of life.

Climate Strike Canada, an organization coordinating climate strikes across Canada, provides a list of demands for protestors across the country. The list includes a just transition to a renewable economy, the legal entrenchment of the right to a healthy environment, biodiversity conservation, rejection of all new fossil fuel extraction or transportation projects and the elimination of fossil fuel subsidies. 

Makasa Looking Horse, a youth leader from Six Nations spoke at Hamilton’s climate strike. She described how Indigenous people are disproportionately affected by environmental issues, noting that only nine per cent of the community has access to a water treatment plant.

https://twitter.com/iancborsuk/status/1177622768600436736

“In Six Nations – only 30 minutes away from here – we’re having a water crisis . . . And that should not be happening when we’re surrounded by Toronto and Hamilton. Everybody else has simple rights to electricity, to clean water, those are all human rights that we should have,” Looking Horse said.

Speakers at Hamilton’s strike presented different perspectives about the best ways to address the climate emergency. 

Lily Mae Peters, a student at Westdale secondary school and one of the strike’s organizers, urged people to change their consumption patterns and make sustainable lifestyle changes. 

Lane O’Hara Cooke, co-founder of Fridays for Future Hamilton, urged people to look beyond individual solutions to the climate crisis. She noted that the climate crisis is a systemic issue that requires systemic solutions.

“It is the one percent, it is the fossil fuel industry, that is doing the most damage. We need to stop giving tax cuts to these fossil fuel corporations, we can’t do it anymore,” she said.

Peters stated that the purpose of the climate strike was to raise awareness of the climate crisis and educate the public. According to Peters, the organizers of the strike wanted protestors to remain in the park. 

“Fridays for future needs to be a peaceful movement, we need to bring people to an understanding about how climate change is, rather than blocking roads and creating inconvenience,” she stated.

However, many activists believe that in order to make change, it is necessary to disrupt public life. By shutting down traffic, protestors disrupt the status quo, thus giving people no choice but to pay attention.

Acting against the orders of police, hundreds of protestors marched down James Street south to Jackson Street west, eventually arriving at City Hall. A student-led group then marched into City Hall and demanded to speak to the mayor about how the city of Hamilton is going to combat the climate crisis.

The group occupied the building for approximately 20 minutes. Initially, police officers asked for a few representatives from the group to speak to the mayor. However, people were wary of “divide and conquer” techniques and wanted him to address everybody at once.

Eventually, protestors left the building and Mayor Fred Eisenberger addressed the crowd on the steps of City Hall. He thanked the protestors for pushing the city to make changes and urged them to keep pushing for change.

After a brief address, police officers escorted Eisenberger back inside. He did not answer questions from the crowd.

A group of approximately 20 protestors stayed after Eisenberger’s address and tried to enter City Hall, but were blocked by police officers.

While protestors had different ideas about tactics, their message was clear: Hamilton’s youth are demanding action on the climate emergency, and they are dedicated to holding leaders accountable to secure their futures.

 

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Photo c/o Elizabeth Svyatnenko 

Monday night, a group of McMaster students issued a petition urging McMaster administration to cancel classes and assessments on the afternoon of Sept. 27 so that students, staff and faculty can participate in a climate strike this Friday.

The students organizing the petition are a part of McMaster Students for Climate Change Advocacy (MSCCA), a McMaster-based climate advocacy organization.

The planned climate strike will come as part of a week of mass climate actions from Sept. 20-27, culminating in a global general strike to raise the alarm on the climate crisis.

Climate activists are planning a mass disruption, calling on people from all facets of society to walk out of school and work, thus disrupting business as usual and forcing leaders to pay attention.

“Together, we will sound the alarm and show our politicians that business as usual is no longer an option. The climate crisis won’t wait, so neither will we,” says a statement from Global Climate Strike, an environmental organization coordinating the protests.

While organizers hope that this will be Hamilton’s largest climate strike, it is not the first. Since March, young people from schools across Hamilton have been organizing regular protests to bring attention to the climate crisis. In collaboration with Fridays for future, young people from around the world have been walking out of classes on Fridays to demand immediate, far-reaching action on the climate emergency.

By making sacrifices to their education in order to attend the climate strikes, the activists are demonstrating that the climate crisis is an immediate priority.

“You’re really going to show that these people are in it for the long haul and especially if you’re missing work [or] you’re missing school. You are taking consequences and showing the fact that . . . if you don’t take care of this now, you won’t have a job, you won’t have school,” said Kirsten Connelly, MSCCA founder and co-president.

The urgency of the climate crisis was highlighted in a 2018 report from the United Nations International Panel on Climate Change. According to the report, it is of critical importance to limit global warming to 1.5°C within the next decade. It is very likely that failure to do so will result in catastrophic changes including mass extinction, floods, wildfires and the spread of infectious diseases.

Earth Strike Canada, the organization coordinating the Canadian climate strikes, asserts that the climate crisis is a result of an economic system that relies on indefinite growth, requiring unsustainable resource use and thus diminishing future quality of life. Earth Strike Canada’s demands include investments into green technological advancement, resource management reform and economic reform.

MSCCA’s role has been to encourage McMaster students to participate in the climate strike. To accomplish this, they are urging the university to cancel classes and evaluations on Friday afternoon so that students, staff and faculty can participate without penalty.

“Students shouldn’t have to choose between global citizenship and McMaster citizenship,” stated Connelly.

On Sept. 13, Concordia University announced that they would be cancelling classes the afternoon of Sept. 27 to allow students to attend the climate strike. McMaster students are urging the university to follow suit.

Last week, McMaster issued a statement saying that the university would stay open on Sept. 27 so that academic and research activities can continue as scheduled.

However, MSCCA members are still hopeful. As of Wednesday afternoon, the petition had over 2,100 signatures on Change.org, and the numbers are growing.

Organizers are pushing for a mass climate strike around the world. Hamilton’s climate strike will be held on Sept. 27 at 12:00 in Gore Park.

 

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Photo by Cindy Cui / Photo Editor

By Kayla Freeman, Contributor

Since 2019, metal straws have taken over. Every day, I see at least 50 metal straws in peoples’ beverages. That should be a good thing, right? To some extent it is, but people aren’t choosing sustainability for the right reasons. Using a metal straw is currently a trend, but are metal straws even the right answer to saving our oceans and marine life?

Of course not. Imagine if saving the environment was that easy. Every day, 500 million disposable plastic straws are used and will likely end up in our waterways. This statistic can scare many people into thinking that the solution lies in replacing plastic straws with their metal counterparts. However, many people fail to realize what materials and emissions go into making a metal straw. 

The energy used to create one metal straw is roughly equivalent to creating 90 plastic straws, and also produces carbon emissions equivalent to 150 plastic straws. This may not seem like a lot, but in order to offset the environmental impact of creating a metal straw, it must be used over 150 times. 

We also need to consider the harsh reality of nickel mining that is necessary in order to create these trendy accessories. The Philippines is a predominant nickel supplier. Much of the soil in Palawan, a major nickel supplier in the Philippines, has been reduced to a wasteland. 

Metal straws are not the only items that are made out of nickel, meaning that they are not the sole contributors to the destruction of soil in Palawan. However, they are trendy accessories and are produced excessively. This is evidenced through the variety of designs metal straws are offered in. Our materialist society  does not hesitate to contribute to this “fast fashion” accessory, with celebrities such as Jeffree Star capitalizing on the movement by coming out with their own packs of metal straws. The excessive production of metal straws contradicts the environmentalist intentions that they are meant to fulfill.

If you’re purchasing a metal straw, you would assume that it would be made out of metal, right? Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Many of these items are not labelled due to their “eco-friendly” branding strategy as they are not required to list any ingredients since the straw is not being consumed. Safe metal straws should be made with food-grade stainless steel as any other materials may corrode over time. Safe metal straws should be made with food-grade stainless steel as any other materials may corrode over time. 

Additionally, painted or coloured straws also pose a risk of either contaminating the drink or containing unsafe chemicals such as Bisphenol A (BPA), which  is known to cause an array of health risks. Metal straws might not be the only alternative to disposable plastic straws, but they are very popular because of their durability and cost-effectiveness. 

Make no mistake, I think that we should try to be as eco-friendly as possible. But if you are going to opt for a reusable straw, try to purchase locally and support Canadian businesses, such as Glass Sipper. It’s important to keep in mind that when you are trying to be sustainable to be aware of what goes into the production of “eco-friendly alternatives” because sometimes the good intent gets lost in the action.

 

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Photo by Cindy Cui /  Photo Editor

By Ember, Contributor

Recently, there’s been a lot of push for individual initiatives to combat climate change. This can be considered admirable and noble – but they hardly scratch the surface of the problem. These initiatives tend to overlook industries as the largest contributors to climate change, the Global North’s role in plastic pollution and they place misdirected blame on disabled people.

In a scientific paper that outlines that the Pacific Ocean is rapidly accumulating plastic, Laurent Lebreton et al. states the following findings.

“Over three-quarters of the [Great Pacific Garbage Patch] mass was carried by debris larger than five cm and at least 46 per cent was comprised of fishing nets. Microplastics accounted for eight per cent of the total mass but 94 per cent of the estimated 1.8 (1.1–3.6) trillion pieces floating in the area,” they say.

Almost half of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch’s mass is abandoned gear from industry fishing. Another 20 per cent of the mass is thought to be remnants from the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami in Japan. In comparison, Seth Borenstein, a journalist, noted the extremely small proportion of plastic waste made up of plastic straws.

“Straws on average weigh so little – about one sixty-seventh of an ounce or .42 grams – that all those billions of straws add up to only about 2,000 tons of the nearly nine million tons of plastic waste that yearly hits the waters,” Borenstein said. 

Banning plastic straws seems pretty asinine when you consider a few different factors. It’s interesting how alternatives like the new Starbucks lids were created to replace the use of plastic straws, but they have been found to contain an equivalent amount or more plastic than what a plastic straw contains. Christian Britschgi, an associate editor at Reason, described the miniscule impact of the Starbucks nitro lids.  

“Right now, Starbucks patrons are topping most of their cold drinks with either 3.23 grams or 3.55 grams of plastic product, depending on whether they pair their lid with a small or large straw. The new nitro lids meanwhile weigh either 3.55 or 4.11 grams, depending again on lid size,” said Britschgi.

Point blank, this “solution” is performative – it is a cheap tactic spearheaded by a corporation to make the common folk feel like they’re making a difference in regards to climate change when it really amounts to nothing. 

Then why not use paper straws or reusable straws? Well, because these options are awful. Often times, banning plastic straws does not take into account how alternative straw materials can be detrimental to disabled people. 

 “Biodegradable [straw] options often fall apart too quickly or are easy for people with limited jaw control to bite through. Silicone straws are often not flexible – one of the most important features for people with mobility challenges. Reusable straws need to be washed, which not all people with disabilities can do easily. And metal straws, which conduct heat and cold in addition to being hard and inflexible, can pose a safety risk,” said Godoy.

Another thing to keep in mind is that biodegradable straws can also be made of soy – a common allergen – and because it isn’t food, corporations aren’t required to disclose ingredients on the packaging. 

Putting the responsibility on disabled people to survive in public without plastic straws because you don’t believe stores should offer straws is venomous. 

It’s not that disabled people don’t care about the environment – we absolutely do. But instead of demonizing us for existing, shouldn’t able-bodied people help create an accessible, environmentally friendly alternative to plastic straws? 

Currently, I am a student studying earth and environmental science, and I’m aiming to get a minor in sustainability. I am also disabled and I realize that climate change is larger than any one of us. 

However, it’s important to note that often disabled people are the ones being accused of holding the environmental movement back, while corporations are conveniently cropped out of the frame. The big picture of climate change and environmental collapse is large enough for all of us to fit inside – so please don’t forget that industries play a large part, too.

 

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Photo c/o the Associated Press 

By Nicholas Marshall, Contributor

Grits. Reds. Libs. We need to talk. Let us consider Justin Trudeau’s domination in the 2015 federal elections. Here, Trudeau, the son of the heavenly father of our Constitution, descended from the lofty peaks of Canadian society to liberate our wretched souls from the clutches of Harper’s conservative austerity. I take it you were feeling pretty confident this time around. Trudeau was a media darling, beloved on the world stage and, in contrast with our neighbors to the south, a head of government that was hoping to unite our diverse population with Canada’s virtues of multiculturalism and equality. 

But then, the scandals started rolling in. They began as relatively innocuous misdemeanours; his trip to India donning garb of another culture may have seemed like a substantial embarrassment, but it was only foreshadowing whats to come.

Things started to get more serious when the Liberal government approved the expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline. The Trans Mountain pipeline is poised to carve a path straight through the Liberal rhetoric on climate change, and undermine every word that spilled out of Trudeau’s mouth about protecting future generations.

Nothing could have prepared us for the big fish: the SNC-Lavalin scandal was a disaster for public confidence in our prime minister. A private corporation lobbying the government to change the law in their favour so that they could escape conviction was and is an international scandal. But to also pressure and demote your attorney general and then lead a coverup inside your own cabinet demonstrates a profound lack of respect for the political process and the rule of law. In fact, according to the ethics commissioner, the sitting prime minister had broken the law. At least things couldn’t get any worse, right? 

We soon learned that the prime minister was “two-faced” in more ways than one.

So, where do we go from here? Justin Trudeau has been involved in scandal after scandal, while Andrew Scheer, the Conservative party leader, is climbing in the polls. Scheer, the leader who pinky promises that his personal opinions about gay people won’t inform his policy decisions.

So what do we do?

The truth is, most people like how the Liberals brand themselves, but in practice they don’t like watching their feminist darling sell war machines to Saudi Arabia. So, perhaps it’s time to wake up to the fact that Liberals campaign themselves as New Democrats and govern themselves as Conservatives, especially when they know no one is looking. 

This election, it’s time we build our image of the Liberal party based on actions and not on words. We should recognise that the policies the Liberals win on are the actual policies of the NDPs and the policies they sneak in behind our backs are Conservative. 

And, we must keep in mind that when Canadians don’t have the appetite for a scandal-ridden Liberal, voting Conservative is a counterproductive exercise in masochism (see Doug Ford). When your sheep start to bite, you don’t start shearing wolves. 

This election has only just begun, so now is the time to get to know your candidates and evaluate them based on what they offer you as a citizen. Take nothing at face value, and remember that these people may not be exactly what you expected. But if you give it time, I’m sure they will all reveal their true colours to you.

 

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