Over the last few months, there has been a push by organizations, countries, cities and companies globally to crack down on plastic straws, products that studies show are contributing to the nearly nine million tons of plastic that infect the oceans annually.
With anti-straw advocacy afoot, Canadian restaurants including Harvey’s and Swiss Chalet have announced plans to axe or restrict single-use plastic straws. Ontario universities such as the University of Guelph and Western University are eagerly ridding their campuses of the utensils.
While corporations and organizations have largely been in favour of abandoning plastic straws, disability advocates have pushed back against these efforts, citing the importance of plastic straws for people with physical limitations.
There are also groups challenging the movement on environmental grounds, arguing that paper straws, which are being embraced as plastic straws vanish, are accelerating deforestation, the second leading cause of climate change.
When asked about McMaster’s stance on the plastic straw debate, Chris Roberts, director of McMaster Hospitality Services, said the university is also considering a plastic straw ban. However, MHS will not commit until it engages in nuanced discussions about the effects of a plastic straw ban on stakeholders including students who need them for accessibility reasons.
“It is important for us to take a strategic approach through the understanding of impacts to all stakeholders as opposed to making a reactive decision,” said Roberts.
In a statement on the MHS website, Roberts outlines limitations to a plastic straw ban and stresses the importance of consultations with the McMaster Students Union and Equity and Inclusion Office.
“We need to take into consideration all of the stakeholders in the customer base, including those who rely on straws as a result of physical limitations. We need to fully understand the broader systemic sustainability issue and how a more holistic approach may have a greater impact for our customers, community and environment,” reads part of the statement.
Stephanie Bertolo, MSU vice president (Education), says the union appreciates Robert’s commitment to considering the needs of marginalized students on campus.
"The MSU supports the university's efforts to become more environmentally sustainable but asks them to do the proper consultation to ensure their initiatives do not interfere with the accessibility of our campus,” she said.
The EIO’s stance on the issue is notably similar to the MSU’s.
“We are pleased to see that Hospitality Services is expressing mindfulness and consideration of the implications on multiple stakeholders and that there is explicit mention of plans to consult with particular marginalized communities,” said Arig al Shaibah, associate vice president at the EIO.
Unlike at Guelph and Western, where there have been vocal pro-straw-ban voices, the movement has not gained the same traction at McMaster. This is evidenced by the fact that there has not been a #StrawsSuck campaign here, at least not a visible one online.
According to Abbie Little, the coordinator of academic sustainability at the McMaster academic sustainability programs office, however, in the SUSTAIN 2S03 and 3S03 courses, discussions about plastic straws were polarized.
Mohammad Abdul Aziz, a Teaching Assistant for the 3S03 course, says there were quite a few ardent pro-ban students in his classroom.
“From my understanding, students were more than welcome to the idea of banning straws,” said Aziz. “Students believed that eco-friendly practices are not adopted in one fell swoop but need minor introductions to the consumers of multi-national corporations.”
While it looks like a straw ban will not be implemented at McMaster, Roberts did not say the university is committed to the status quo indefinitely. Only time, research and MSU and EIO consultations will tell what lies in store for the future of plastic straw users on campus.
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On Nov. 6, Hamilton’s newest café, The Nook, opened its doors to the sleepy part of Bold Street just off James Street south. Those familiar with the area likely know the café’s location: a tiny space that has stood — or at least looked to be — vacant in recent history. With a dark exterior and darker windows, the spot was so uninteresting one could almost skip over seeing it without realizing a building was there.
But Suad Abukamla saw 6 Bold Street as the place for her vision to come alive. Over the course of almost a year and a half, she and a group of friends slowly transformed the space, breathing new life and a vibrant slick of yellow paint onto its previously black-walled interior.
“When I saw things coming [together] I knew I couldn’t stop because I had already started and I wanted to finish,” she said, explaining that even when she was overwhelmed, she felt motivated to keep working. “Because I was doing the design by myself so I had to do the research, and look up ideas from here and there and what’s next, what’s going to match.”
Abukamla handpicked, designed or made every part of her business, from the lighting, to the exact shade of yellow on the walls, to the tables, which she built herself from a pile of scrap lumber left by the former owners. The chandelier that hangs from the middle of the ceiling took months to find, and she looked in five different cities to find the perfect fabric for the chair cushions.
“I needed the colours to match; the grey, the yellow and the yellow is very sensitive. So then we finished Oakville, Burlington, Hamilton, Brantford and then we just had St. Catharines, the last city we were going to go to. And I was like, ‘okay I’m not leaving St. Catharines without fabric,’” she said, laughing. “I like details.”
In addition to Abukamla’s requirement that the café’s aesthetic translate exactly as she had imagined, she was also keen on making environmental practices central to her business. The Nook’s patrons will only find a garbage bin in the café’s washroom. All the cups, napkins, plastic lids and drink sleeves are either recyclable or biodegradable.
Although Abukamla admits there was no way to entirely eliminate garbage from the renovation process, she intends for the café to reach as close to zero waste as possible. All the construction materials are recycled or eco-friendly, and every business choice has been locally-sourced and to use companies that have environmentally sound practices. Even the coffee is from local roaster Relay.
Abukamla’s attention to detail is impressive on its own, but The Nook is not her only project. She is also in the process of completing her Masters in engineering and public policy at McMaster University, a degree that will further the work she used to do with the women’s rights and advocacy branch of the United Nations. She hopes to combine all these skills to encourage social change within Hamilton and inspire more women to pursue their goals.
“I was the Advocacy and Information Officer [for the UN] and we were supporting security and economic projects for women and I was always telling women… [even though] there were times when they would get overwhelmed, [they] are always super,” she said. “They can multi-task. They will do it. They will succeed.”
To facilitate this change within the city, Abukamla is in the process of creating a system for non-profit organizations and community groups to use The Nook’s space, free of charge, after the café closes for the day. These groups can use the space for fundraising, community outreach, meetings, volunteer appreciation or even as a meeting space for book clubs.
“Even in school, in my program, a lot of people are creative and they have innovative ideas,” Abukamla explained. “Just take the next step.”
Abukamla is grateful to the community and support network she has befriended in Hamilton.
“I have unique friends. I always call them my unique friends. They give me the right advice. They give me the right help.… Find the right people, stick with them and have a mentor all the time.”
As the semester draws to a close, Abukamla, like any other student, is likely swamped with final projects and papers. But she still finds time to celebrate her accomplishments.
“I am proud,” she said. “I’m happy because [despite] how long it took me to work in this café, everything in this space has a story behind it… it’s just… I can’t express my feelings. But it’s enough to be proud.”
A nook is a space that holds multiple meanings: safety, comfort, a place to relax. The Nook aspires to be all those things and empower individuals to create the change they wish to see in their city. And with an owner like Abukamla behind every detail of the business, it is likely to do just that.
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By: William Alexander
Permanent compost bins will soon be installed in McMaster University Student Centre thanks to the efforts of a coalition between the McMaster Students Union’s Sustainability Education Committee and an independent project for a third-year sustainability course.The coalition has already met with MUSC’s administrator and has secured a grant from the Student Life Enhancement Fund to finance the project. They plan on installing the new bins at the beginning of the new year.
Currently, MUSC is serviced by temporary green compost bins. These were provided by members of the project to allow for composting in the interim, and have been dutifully emptied and sorted by members of the project since late October.
Fiona McGill, chair of MSU Sustainability Education Committee, explained that sorting the compost bins has been no easy task.
“People just see an open bin and they throw stuff in there,” she said. To confront the problem, a sign has since been added to the temporary bins reminding students that plastic is not compostable. As of Nov. 13, responsibility for the bins has changed hands to the custodial staff as members of the group reach the end of their pilot project’s term.
Permanent compost bins existed in MUSC in the past, but were removed in the last student centre renovation in 2016 and were never replaced.
“Lots of student groups tried to [implement bins] in the past, but they weren’t successful,” said Alicia Giannetti, a member of the project.
By meeting with several members of the administrative staff within the university, her group managed to finally get the bins approved.
The independent project is an assignment for a third year course titled Implementing Sustainable Change. In a course report from last year, Academic Sustainability Programs senior manager Kate Whalen wrote that the course encourages “interdisciplinary, community-based, student-led, and experiential education related to sustainability”. The project itself encourages students to go out into the community and find a way to make a positive difference for sustainability.
The bins will be financed with part of a $15,000 fund provided to the Sustainability Education Committee by the Student Life Enhancement fund last year. The coalition also plans on printing infographics informing students how to properly sort their compost. As for the remaining sum, McGill said that the committee is “looking for student input on how it should be spent.”
When asked about the future of the initiative, Giannetti replied that her team hoped that after the MUSC bins are installed they can expand and implement compost bins across campus. McGill added that they “would love to get more student groups on board.” They emphasized that improving sustainability can sometimes be a long process, but they hope that their success will motivate other groups to take action at further encouraging sustainability at McMaster.
“[I] love to work with other groups on campus dedicated to sustainability,” said McGill. She can be reached at [email protected]
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By: Saad Ejaz and Hetal Patel
It may be difficult to imagine, but there are all sorts of creative alternatives out there to help create a more sustainable campus.
Typical discussions about sustainability tend to talk less about how to conserve water in our lawn maintenance endeavours. Although there is not much thought given to water use in this context, highlighting issues like these can be a solid first step in developing a respectful attitude towards water use and decreasing wasteful activities.
As Canadians, we are privileged enough to have access to one fifth of the world’s surface freshwater. However, we are not always mindful in our use of this scarce resource. If we continue to contribute to the upward trends of wasteful water usage, we may fall victim to water scarcity at home.
One of the greatest water- consuming activities we engage in is maintaining our gardens and lawns. On average, traditional grass lawn size of 0.18 acres needs an estimated 40 to 70 litres per day to water. McMaster’s total landscape area, taken care of by the grounds staff, is 300 acres. This means that we use roughly more than 100,000 litres.
A traditional green lawn serves the purposes of recreational use and aesthetic value. However, what if we considered an alternative that could serve those same purposes while using less water?
The costs of traditional grass lawn mowing and maintenance can range from $214 to $322 on average for 0.18 acres. Imagine the amount of money McMaster spends on lawn maintenance for over 300 acres of grass.
A substitute for traditional grass lawns are clovers, which have become a popular alternative due to the benefits that they present. This is largely due to clover being inexpensive, easy to grow and requires little attention and maintenance.
Currently, the cost of a traditional grass lawn is estimated between $8 to $12 for 4,000 square feet. This may not seem like much, however it is quite expensive when we compare it to the cost of having clover. It costs approximately $4 to plant clover over an area of four thousand square feet. Why not opt for the cheaper alternative and save money?
While it does require initial watering, the clover lawn requires little to no additional water once established. This would allow us save hundreds of liters of water that would otherwise be consumed for the same purpose.
Another important point to consider is that each year we spend hundreds of dollars on grass lawn maintenance. We can reduce this cost through the use of clovers since they are nitrogen fixing plants that enrich the soil with natural fertilizer. In addition to not needing chemical fertilizers, clover also stays green in the driest part of the summer without the need for water.
As much as we may enjoy mowing our lawns on a John Deere lawn tractor, clover does not require any mowing maintenance. The costs of traditional grass lawn mowing and maintenance can range from $214 to $322 on average for 0.18 acres. Imagine the amount of money McMaster spends on lawn maintenance for over 300 acres of grass.
Looking at it from an environmental perspective, there would be a lower release in greenhouse emissions due to less use of machines that mow the grass. Not to mention the amount of money we would be saving on gasoline, the purchase of a lawn mower and the maintenance of the mower. These are massive costs that we can save at McMaster, and we can use that money towards other sustainable development practices.
By: Melanie Yin
Typical discussions about the environment tend to talk a lot about how terrible cars are for the environment, but we don’t talk a whole lot about food. However, the transportation sector makes up 14 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions, while food makes up a third of all emissions. Here are some tips to reduce your impact.
The production of red meat causes four times more greenhouse gas emissions than an equivalent amount of chicken or fish on average. Per kilogram of food:
As you can see, beef and cheese are by far the worst offenders. This is mostly because milk-bearing animals emit a lot of methane. All the wastes excreted by cows and other byproducts in the industry significantly impact our environment.
If you choose to reduce your red meat consumption, an important note to consider is that cutting down on meat can lead to a lack of iron and protein and potentially cause anemia. However, it can be easy to compensate with tofu, pumpkin seeds, beans, lentils and nuts. Some plant proteins don’t have all the essential amino acids, so be sure to have a good mix of foods to get everything your body needs.
Anything flown, even for a short distance, has a larger carbon footprint than food that is transported on land. Fresh fish that isn’t local is often air-freighted. For example, salmon that is flown in an airplane from British Columbia to be labeled fresh on your restaurant table 48 hours later is much worse for the environment than flash-frozen salmon that is transported by truck. Furthermore, fresh fish and properly stored frozen fish are indistinguishable in taste.
While it is true that transporting food is costly for the environment, it’s important to keep in mind that there’s not much you can grow efficiently in Ontario in the winter months. If you’re buying local tomatoes in the middle of the winter, the only explanation is that it was grown in a greenhouse. Heating up greenhouses is more costly for the environment than some methods of shipment from a warmer climate. That’s why it’s important to buy local, but also seasonal.
In Ontario in the winter, your best bets for local fresh foods with lower environmental impact are beets, carrots, cabbage, parsnips, mushrooms, potatoes and squash. The Hamilton Farmers’ Market, downtown at James and York, is only a 20-minute bus ride from campus and features excellent local food with a 4.5 star average rating on Google reviews. Mac Bread Bin also has you covered with a monthly box of fresh, local and seasonal produce you can pick up each month on campus for $12.
Keep in mind that while buying local is a decent rule of thumb, actual carbon output can vary wildly. For example, a Lincoln University study found that because of differences in their pastures and farming processes, New Zealand raised lamb imported to the UK had a lighter carbon footprint, 688 kilograms per tonne, than UK-raised lamb, 2,849 kilograms per tonne.
If you’re buying out of season fruits, consider buying them frozen. Freezing fruits when they’re in season is much better for the environment than growing them out of season as the latter requires more fertilizers and greenhouses. Furthermore, frozen fruits are often cheaper and the freezing process helps retain nutritional value.
Seeing MUSC trashcans overflowing with half eaten Pizza Pizza never ceases to leave me horrified. About 40 per cent of food in Canada each year is thrown out. Not only is the food itself lost, but the energy and water spent transporting and growing the foods is wasted. Overripe fruits can be made into smoothies and mushy bananas can be baked into bread.
If you’re at a restaurant and don’t finish your food, get a takeout container and bring it home. The environmental damage from the wasted food far outweighs the environmental damage from the container. McMaster’s green container program is a good first step for local takeaway habits. $5 gets you reusable eco-takeout containers for life on campus.
Remember, eating low carbon isn’t like diet plans that are all or nothing. When thinking about going greener, small changes to your diet can have a big impact.
The ground may be frozen, but it’s not too early to plan what you can grow come springtime.
Seedy Saturday is an annual event held in several cities across the country. Inspired by Seeds of Diversity Canada, a national organization dedicated to the conservation of food biodiversity, the event focuses on local sustainability practices, education, and building communities with sustainable futures.
Hamilton’s own event was hosted on Feb. 4 by Green Venture, a local, environmental non-profit organization committed to facilitating sustainable living practices while realizing a cleaner and healthier community. The event saw a seed swap, a gardening book exchange, seed and garden supply vendors and educational gardening workshops.
The event also served as an opportunity for likeminded individuals and organizations to network and discuss moving forward with sustainable resources within their respected communities. Although the event’s focus pertained heavily to agriculture, discussion also revolved around what sustainability means for Hamilton, and what initiatives could further the city’s environmental practices.
“[Seedy Saturday] is about awareness and connecting the dots within the community,” said Matt Carson, volunteer at the McQuesten Urban Farm, an urban farm developed as an initiative to increase food security within the McQuesten area. “Sustainability means working towards a city that is sustainable for all to live in; addressing the lack of green spaces for lower income neighbourhoods, growing food deserts and lack of accessible transportation in large parts of the city.”
Hamilton’s 2016 to 2025 strategic plan sees environmental sustainability as one of its top priority projects. The project’s key directions include a focus on natural features that the city has to offer, leadership and awareness initiatives, and considering environmental impacts in decision making processes.
From larger projects such as the light rail transit system to smaller, local initiatives like community garden plots, Hamilton is moving towards a more sustainable city, but there is always more work to be done. Initiatives concerning sustainable transportation, food security, environmental practices and education surrounding these topics are continuously coming to light from community organizations and events just like Seedy Saturday.
“Sustainability means so many things for Hamilton, but moving forward with light rail transit and improving the current transit system and bike lanes is necessary. I really appreciate all the green space we have and I hope it always stays that way,” said Jacqueline Cantar, sustainable food systems assistant at Mohawk College’s Sustainability Office.
“Hamilton has been changing a lot lately, and I think we need to remember our city and its residents who still require attention before we celebrate too much,” she said.
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By: Crystal Lobo
The “SHIFT: Environmentally Responsible Print Practice Exhibition,” is currently on display at the McMaster Museum of Art. Professors Judy Major-Girardin and Briana Palmer present this exhibit, which displays work from applicants across North America.
Printmaking typically consists of heavy chemical use and other toxic substances. This exhibition aims to approach this art form from an environmentally responsible perspective.
78 artists across Canada and the United States applied to have their work showcased. Only 28 were chosen.
“We really wanted to maintain a high standard of quality. So all along this initiative, the idea has been that we can do things in a more responsible way without sacrificing quality,” said Major-Girardin.
The exhibit served as one part of the greater movement towards environmentally responsible art. The second component was a symposium held on Fri., Feb. 26th. This symposium consisted of workshops displaying the processes used by the artists of the exhibit in creating their works. It also included a discussion panel, as well as showcasing of faculty and student work.
“It was a really kind of lively day of exchange. Everybody was able to talk to people who had like interests and really begin to build the network … We felt like we got the word out in a short amount of time with art pieces and the symposium,” said Major-Girardin.
The exhibit shows the McMaster community that meaningful change in society stems from small circles, something Major-Girardin takes great pride in.
“One of the quotes that I always reference is one from Margaret Reed that goes something like ‘Don't ever doubt the power of a group of small individuals in changing the world because really that's the only way that the world has ever changed with a group of small committed passionate individual.’ So I guess that's the message. We really are empowered to make change here and it starts with a small group but that builds and can build a whole movement,” said Major-Girardin.
Judy Major-Girardin would like to recognize the Forward with Integrity President’s Grant for funding this project.
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On Feb. 4, Naomi Klein came to McMaster to discuss her latest book, This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. the Climate. Her overall message was simple: our current methods of living — and especially making money — are not sustainable.
I’ll be honest, I have only ever been peripherally involved in environmental movements. My activism tends to focus on social issues that affect people: racism, sexism, ableism, transphobia, and classism. To an extent I convinced myself that environmentalism was a whole other world disconnected from mine, but Klein related many of the issues that I care so deeply about directly to the environment because of the connection between capitalism and climate change.
This got me thinking, what are we doing here at McMaster to tie environmental activism to our other work? Why have I become so complacent about the environment? Climate change is directly connected to other issues I greatly care about, yet I am significantly more passionate about other topics. Part of it is undoubtedly the overwhelming amount of work to be done to help save our planet. When I consider the enormity of the problem I can almost hear the sound of a door slamming as my brain shuts down. “No thank you, this is too much to bear, and I’m not interested in engaging with what you are selling.” While overwhelming panic is undoubtedly behind my inaction, I’m starting to think that complacency is the bigger culprit.
So how are we fostering complacency on campus? One example is water. McMaster’s sustainability website boasts advances in water conservation on campus, from “ultra low-flush” urinals in DBAC, to a rainwater conservation system at the Engineering Technology Building. In an attempt to engage students in water conservation, the MSU has created “plastic-bottle-free zones” and retrofitted fountains with spouts designed to refill bottles.
While the sentiment behind these changes is great, I am skeptical of their efficacy. Every time I fill my reusable water bottle, the fountain tells me that X number of bottles — including my own — have been saved from a landfill, but this isn’t strictly true. Just because I refilled my bottle doesn’t mean I otherwise would have purchased bottled water. Apropos purchasing water, if the MSU is invested in a disposable-bottle-free-university, why are bottled beverages still sold across campus? I don’t think that the steps we have taken are necessarily bad, nor should they be repealed, however I do think that they have given us a sense of false security. While we may indeed have reduced the use of disposable bottles on campus, our initiatives have given us a good excuse to pat ourselves on the back and consider our environmental sins absolved.
If the MSU is invested in a disposable-bottle-free-university, why are bottled beverages still sold across campus?
At McMaster we have fallen into the exact trap that Kline warned against: attempting to make our current capitalist system slightly friendlier to the environment as opposed to understanding that the system is the problem. McMaster’s environmental initiatives, such as recycling, are framed as important for saving money. Our campus waste audit report in 2015 listed the ways in which recycling could reduce operating costs, but not the potentially positive impact it might have on the environment. Recommendations were described as “appropriate and cost effective.” It is easy for us as students to feel ambivalent about sustainability efforts when they are framed as a way to reduce overhead. Outside of our tuition costs — which would not directly correlate to recycling efficiency — are any of us concerned enough about our university’s budget to religiously recycle in an effort to reduce spending?
Instead, we need to call for reforms that are less budget-friendly and more environmentally sound. Klein called for McMaster to follow the examples of Oxford and Harvard in demanding our university cease investing in corporations profiting from oil production. Divesting from fossil fuels is a fantastic place to start. We need to go beyond reusable water bottles and energy efficient urinals, because we don’t demand more, complacency will be our demise.
Photo Credit: Jon White/ Photo Editor
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By: Saad Ejaz
On Jan. 26, dozens rallied outside the Federal Building in Hamilton to call on the Trudeau government to keep its promises on climate change.
The crowd carried signs and posters advocating for divestment from fossil fuels that read “Divest from oil, invest in our future.”
Leading up to the election in October and the Paris climate change conference in December, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau addressed climate change extensively and discussed the need to overhaul the National Energy board Pipeline review process. He also promised to include members of Indigenous communities in this discussion.
However, those who were present at the rally expressed dissatisfaction with the government’s actions so far.
Don McLean, an attendee, said that he along with other members of the community want the Trudeau government to be proactive on climate change.
“Promised in the election campaign, both verbally and in their platform, that they would stop this broken process of pipeline reviews … We also want him to keep his promise to the planet, which he took in Paris.”
The question the protesters aimed at the Trudeau government is simple: How can Canada be a world leader in climate change and continue the destructive environmental projects of pipeline expansions?
Hearings for the Kinder Morgan pipelines resumed on Jan. 19 despite opposition from environmental groups. The pipeline project would allow three times more bitumen across southern British Columbia through the Vancouver harbour. While the hearings for the project are underway, so are protests and rallies.
Recently, Enbridge proposed an eastern pipeline. The Energy East project is a 4,600 km pipeline that will transport approximately 1.1 million barrels of oil per day from Alberta to Eastern Canada.
The crowd carried signs and posters advocating for divestment from fossil fuels that read “Divest from oil, invest in our future.”
“We already have serious climate change, we have to keep more 80 percent of the fossil fuels that we know about in the ground. And in terms of the tar sands, we need to virtually keep all of it there […] We don’t want to see any expansion of pipelines or fossil fuel extraction. We need to go in the other direction and it is to move towards renewable energy,” said McLean.
The rally was organized by Hamilton 350, a local chapter of the national climate change organization.
A number of different organizations attended the rally, including Council of Canadians Hamilton Chapter, Fossil Free McMaster and a number of sub-organizations within Hamilton 350 such as Environment Hamilton and The Blue Dot.
Mary Ann Blair, another attendee, thinks that there is still time for positive change.
“I personally don’t believe that it is an impossible situation. I believe that it is a situation that can inspire and is inspiring great human creativity … We can’t deal with this anymore. We need to realize it’s possible. And that’s why we are here. Change is possible. We don’t have to do things the same old way.”
Kazlyn Bonner, a member of Hamilton 350, urges Hamiltonians and students to become active on the issue of climate change.
“Whether you change your specific or small habits … Whether that action is in the form of signing a petition, or writing to MPs or even going to protests and rallies, and participating in a more visible way … there’s no action that is too small,” said Bonner.
Hamilton 350 will discuss plans for the upcoming months at a public meeting on Feb. 24 at 294 James St. N.
Photo Credit: Saad Ejaz
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By: Isaac Kinley
McMaster University President Patrick Deane is assembling a fossil fuel divestment advisory group in response to a petition demanding that the university pull its endowment out of fossil fuel investments.
The petition, an initiative of Fossil Free McMaster, aimed to collect 1,000 signatures but has so far managed to garner just over 900 in the two years that it has been online. Its text warns of the disastrous effects of climate change and says that McMaster students “deserve the opportunity to graduate with a future not defined by climate chaos.” It calls on the university to halt new investments in fossil fuel companies and to divest from all fossil fuel-related investments within five years, which it argues is also a financially responsible decision.
The advisory group will counsel the McMaster Board of Governors’ Finance Committee, responsible for the University’s investment decisions, on whether to divest from fossil fuels. Deane aims to form a group that is unbiased and includes both an undergraduate and a graduate student. To this end, he has contacted the Student Representative Assembly and the Graduate Students Association to ask them to provide candidates.
Conner Hurd, the head of Fossil Free McMaster, feels that this lack of bias may be difficult to achieve. “There’s very few people who sit on the fence on this issue,” he said. “It’s going to be hard to find an unbiased sample.” He expects that the advisory group’s eventual verdict will be in Fossil Free McMaster’s favour, but also stresses that his group advocates an approach that will allow the University to avoid losing money.
“Going forward with integrity doesn’t just mean taking the moral high road on any argument, it means being pragmatic. Ultimately we don’t want the university to lose out on money that comes back from endowment funds because it goes towards bursaries and grants,” he said. “Plus it is donated money, so the people who’ve donated [it] want to see it go back into the University.”
Professor emeritus of economics Atif Kubursi, who has been involved with the initiative along with Biology professor James Quinn, is also optimistic about its outcome, although he said he would like McMaster to move more quickly on the matter. “We should be at the vanguard of things,” he said. “It would be terrible if the university were a laggard and always reacting to others.”
He also feels that the recent 50 percent drop in oil prices may provide McMaster with a financial incentive to divest. “If they had listened to us, they would have saved a lot of money. This is an opportune moment to rebalance your portfolio by going into the kinds of investments that are sunrise, not sunset. The oil industry is a sunset industry. Sunrise would be renewable energy,” he said. “The University, even for pure financial reasons, is ill-advised to remain in fossil fuels.”
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