The Missing Ingredient: When fields collide. Carli Halpenny and the McGill School of Environment Graduate Option

The McGill School of Environment has a newcomer in its academic family. Some of you may already be aware of the new program, if you are a graduate student, but to the undergrads, it may be but a whisper through the hallways and classrooms. Either way, it’s about time that we learn a little bit more about the MSE’s newest addition, which Carli Halpenny will help us discover, with some help from Dr. Marilyn Scott.

Carli is a PhD student, studying under Dr. Scott in the department of parasitology and has spent the better part of the past two years doing research in Panama. Her thesis title is: A Holistic Scientific Investigation on the Impact of Conditional Transfer Programs on the Cycle of Poverty – Malnutrition – Gastrointestinal Parasite Infection.  Having done pre-med, Carli was very familiar with looking at health at an individual scale. Having the MSE graduate option has opened up several avenues for a more interdisciplinary approach. “I gravitated to thinking more globally. You can look at health at the individual level, but you can also look at each system and how it is connected to other factors, such as how agriculture changes the diet”, Carli said when asked to describe what a holistic scientific investigation entailed.

She is also one of the first students to have enrolled in the MSE graduate option, which Marilyn suggested to her about 3 years ago. The option was incorporated into Carli’s degree after her first year, when it was still a very new program in the MSE. She describes it as a very human approach to research, and an opportunity to meet a great diversity of people. “There were five of us in the program: a geographer, a philosopher, an anthropologist, and ecologist, and me (a parasitologist). It was great and there was some really constructive debating, and is also really great for networking, both academically and in the field.”

The MSE grad option is a great opportunity, but it isn’t for everybody. The option of doing the MSE graduate program depends on the interests and skills of each student. It is available to both masters and PhD students, depending on the 20 departments that now offer it at McGill, with more joining on every semester.

There is a strong networking component, and the opportunity to make connections in faculties that would otherwise have not been possible without the diverse backgrounds that the MSE graduate option presents. This can help further research opportunities, and allow students to think deeply about the definition of interdisciplinary studies. “It helps the students re-think how we look at the world, and how it can shape the research students are undertaking,” said Dr. Marilyn Scott.

Carli’s background is in fish parasitology, and earned a master’s degree from the University of Toronto in 2006 (An epidemiological survey of a conservation hatchery: BC Living Gene Bank (Dept. of Zoology, University of Toronto).

While exploring her options for a PhD in parasitology, she discovered Marilyn.

“Carli had a background in fish parasitology and nutrition with an environmental perspective”, Dr. Marilyn said. “Her diversity of experiences and her interests were quite broad. She was more concerned about the ecology of the fish rather than just the biology. Having Carli jump on board with the MSE grad option was good timing. The option was just getting started, and I was looking at which students it might fit.”

Carli enthusiastically recalls when Marilyn suggested the MSE option and the field of ecological health while working in northern BC forests one summer, “I was up in my tent alone pouring over eco-health journal articles and thinking ‘I found what I’ve always been looking for!’ and Marilyn had contacts in Panama. It was a wonderful combination of coincidences and things falling into place.”

So, why would a graduate student willingly decide to add a 9-credit option to their workload? The proof is in the pudding as far as Carli is concerned. “Marilyn recognized my interests, and I realized that this is what I’ve been missing. I always had the idea that, I’m interested in health, therefore I should be working in med school, or, I’m interested in conservation therefore I must become a conservation biologist. Both of these fields always had something lacking in it for me, and with the MSE, I am able to mix these two fields together.” The MSE graduate option is great for people, like Carli, who do not find themselves fitting into just one academic box.

“The MSE is something I couldn’t find anywhere else, and it made me feel more at home and validated in what I was doing. I felt like a jack of all trades-master of none, and this program helped to recognize that there are other people like that”, said Carli.

The common thread tying the rich diversity of backgrounds together in the MSE grad option is a strong interest in the environment. It has given Carli and others a place to conglomerate their ideas and interests without leaving out important enriching components of their research. To find out more about the MSE graduate option, please consult your department, and the MSE web-page.

Mel Lefebvre

Come one, come all to the launch of the Sustainability Project Fund and make some change

Last November, I had the pleasure of speaking with one of the founders of the sustainability project fund, Jonathan Glencross. To access the resulting article, please click here

The project was approved last November by an overwhelming majority vote which saw the second biggest voter turnout in SSMU history, and the biggest vote from Macdonald campus for any event, ever. Jonathan had spoken of the following steps that needed to be made for implementing the project at the time, and are now in full swing. The next steps will have to be taken by readers like you.

Please take some time to attend this event. It is something that McGill has needed for a long time, and the future prospects for this venture are very exciting:

Sustainabililty Projects Fund Community Forum

Join us on Tuesday, January 26th at 5:00 pm in the Shatner Ballroom (3480 McTavish st.) to celebrate the creation of the Sustainability Projects Fund, learn how to apply and enjoy tons of free food, live music and local beer! Network with like-minded people and share your ideas about new projects for a sustainable McGill!

What better way to put your in-class knowledge to use in a capacity that will create positive environmental and social change? The limits for this opportunity are only as high as you are willing to make them.

Mel Lefebvre

Haiti and the Environment

The earthquake in Haiti on January 12th of this new year was another devastating blow for the country, and the environmental problems before the quake pose further threats to the country now. We can learn some valuable lessons about long-term environmental planning, poverty and conservation from Haiti.

With less than 2% forest cover remaining, there are extremely high risks of landslides occurring. Having no vegetation to hold the soil back, the chances of recovery from environmental damage become less hopeful. This deforestation is largely based in tree to coal conversions, used for household fuel.

Before the quake, UNEP had planned projects for resource conservation, including forests and coral reefs, beginning in 2010. Thousands have died annually due to flooding in hand with erosion. Hurricanes have also had a larger impact on Haiti than on neighboring Dominican Republic from the severe lack of trees, which originally served as a natural buffer.

Haiti’s history of strife appears to be long and stricken with natural resource mis-management. The events on January 12th are acting as a headlight to look deeper into this unfortunately troubled country. Haitians are no stranger to disaster.

For more information on the history of Haiti’s environmental problems, please visit the following links:

Times of Alta

Excerpt: “Long-term efforts to help Haiti recover from the earthquake will have to reverse environmental damage such as near-total deforestation that threatens food and water supplies for the Caribbean nation, experts say.

The focus is now on emergency aid — Haitian officials estimate that between 100,000 and 200,000 people died in the January 12 quake. But President Rene Preval urged donors to also to remember the country’s long-term needs.

Experts say deforestation in Haiti stretching back to the Duvalier dictatorships — leaving the nation with less than 2 percent forest cover — contributes to erosion that undermines food output by the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere.”

Grist online environmental magazine, “10 things I Haiti about you”

Excerpt: “More than 90 percent of the country of Haiti is deforested. If you think that’s depressing, consider that the lack of trees to hold soil in place has left Haiti’s rural residents vulnerable to periodic floods in which torrential rainwater tumbles down mountains, picking up gravel and boulders that slam into villages.”

Al older posting from a Latin America studies website, dating to 2003, on Haiti’s environmental disaster.

Excerpt: “The environmental crisis is very real and entails much suffering,” says Glenn Smucker, a cultural anthropologist who has worked in Haiti for two decades doing studies for the U.S. government and other organizations. “It’s about soil and water erosion, agrarian and population pressures on the land, political crisis and ineptitude, and erosion of many, if not most, of the formal structures of society.”

A small final note; pity does not always lead to progressive change. Empowering Haitians to help Haitians is one of the most sustainable ways to get this country strong enough to stand on their own feet. Please choose to donate to organizations who will help to empower Haitians so that help can also come from within, and encourage governments in the wealthier minority world to forgive Haiti’s debt so that they can have a fresh start.

Mel Lefebvre

The Post-Copenhagen Climate Movement, thoughts from a youth delegate…

McGill student Andrew Cuddy (U3 arts & science; political theory and earth-systems science) attended the Copenhagen climate negotiations as a member of the Canadian Youth Delegation in December 2009, and was one of the policy directors for the youth delegation. He has previously interned with Sierra Club Canada and the Pembina Institute, and someday hopes to take graduate studies in ecological economics. Andrew now shares some of his thoughts on his experiences at the climate negotiations in Copenhagen, focusing on some of the substantive issues within the negotiations.

Halfway throughout the second week of Copenhagen, I was befallen with a sense of utter despair upon realizing that the negotiations were about to end in failure. I was fortunately able to find hope in those last few days was by focusing on 2010, and the prospect that it would be the year in which the climate movement secures a Fair, Ambitious, and Legally Binding (FAB) post-2012 deal.

The Future of the Negotiations:

(1) The emissions reduction commitments of countries for 2020 must be increased. The UN has projected that the pledges currently on the table will lead to 3°C of warming.[i] Developed countries’ pledges do not even meet (even when potential ‘loopholes’ are ignored) the lower-end of the IPCC’s recommended range of 25-40% below 1990 levels, while developing countries’ pledges almost meet the upper-end of the IPCC’s recommended range of 15-30% below business-as-usual.[ii]

(2) The US must pass domestic climate legislation; all else depends on it. Many hope that the Copenhagen Accord will prod the US Senate to pass climate legislation, while others fear that moderate democrats will be more focused about their November midterms and thus be unwilling to take any political risks.

(3) China must be convinced that it has nothing to fear from a FAB deal. China had any global emissions reduction target removed from the Copenhagen Accord and refused international verification of its commitments. China must be convinced that the former will not result in it being called to take on deeper pledges in years to come and that the latter will not infringe on its ‘sovereignty’.

(4) The UNFCCC must continue to be the site of the negotiations. Some have suggested that Copenhagen reveals the failure of the UNFCCC consensus-based process that allows a few countries (e.g. Sudan and Saudi Arabia) to block progress. Instead, that handful of countries that account for 85% of emissions should negotiate in a forum such as the G8/G20, as the argument goes. Unfortunately, if the most vulnerable (small islands and Africa) are not at the table, then it is unlikely that the Big Emitters will be motivated to reach a FAB deal. Going forward the UNFCCC must choose countries to host the COP that are more adept (Mexico perhaps?) at bridging the North-South divide than Denmark was.

They are––of course––also a host of unresolved debates that the movement must grapple with.

- What should the legal architecture of the post-2012 regime look like? Should the weak Copenhagen Accord simply be discarded with all efforts focusing on the official negotiating texts? If not, will the Kyoto Protocol survive?

- Should environmentalists continue to use messaging that despite being ‘accurate’ and/or ‘justified’ does not resonate with much of the public (e.g. financing as climate “debt”)?

- Will the movement continue to be divided between those who believe that truly radical political/socio-economic change is required to get the reductions science demands and those who believe that reforms will be sufficient and/or are all we can get?

The State of Play in Canada:

Most of the public now realizes that Canada’s stance on climate change is harming our cherished international reputation.[iii] Unfortunately, Harper/Prentice’s main argument that Canada must–– out of economic necessity––“harmonize” with the US on climate policy and thus cannot increase our 2020 emissions reduction target of 3% below 1990 still resonates with many moderates.

Two counter-messages are necessary.

(1) Canada is already “failing to follow” the US.

(i)      The US Congress is currently considering legislation that will not only meet but exceed their 2020 target[iv]; Canada continually delays releasing the details of its plan and leaked cabinet documents obtained suggest that Canada does not even intend to meet its target.[v]

(ii)    The US invested 14 times more per capita in renewable energy than Canada over the past year[vi] and Canada has become the only G-7 country without a national-level program to support renewable energy.[vii]

(iii)    The US legislation is clear that it does not consider oil and gas as an Emissions-Intensive, Trade Exposed sector and will not give special treatment to the Tar Sands.[viii] Prentice has stated that Canada is considering special treatment by way of far lower targets for the Tar Sands––Canada’s fastest growing source of emissions.[ix]

(2) Canada can and must do more than the US.

A recent economic modeling report by the Pembina Institute found that Canada could reach the more ambitious 25% below 1990 levels by 2020 target while still growing its economy 23% from now to 2020, in contrast to 25% under Canada’s current target.[x] This being even if the US did not also raise its ambition. There are also dire economic costs if the global effort does not limit warming to 2°C, such a loss in global GDP of 5-20% and over $200 billion of Canadian assets that at risk.[xi]

But taking action on climate change is more than an economic issue. Canada currently has one of the highest levels of per capita emissions in the world, taking up more than its fair share of atmospheric space. Climate change will negatively impact those with the least responsibility for the problem, developing countries and future generations. Acting out of sync with the US on climate change is––like with so many other issues–­–a moral imperative.

With the failure of Copenhagen abroad and an intransigent government at home, 2010 will likely prove to be the toughest year the Canadian climate movement has faced to date.

---

[i] Oxfam International: Climate Shame, Get Back to the Table, 2009.

[ii] Ibid.

[iii] Macleans: ‘Suddenly the World Hates Canada’, 2009.

[iv] World Resources Institute: EMISSION REDUCTIONS UNDER CAP-AND-TRADE PROPOSALS IN THE 111TH CONGRESS, 2009.

[v] Climate Action Network Canada: Fact Sheet: Leaked Canadian Cabinet Documents, 2009.

[vi] Pembina Institute: Backgrounder: Canada vs. U.S. Investments in Renewables and Energy Efficiency, 2009.

[vii] http://www.pembina.org/media-release/1944

[viii] Climate Action Network Canada: Fact Sheet: Leaked Canadian Cabinet Documents, 2009.

[ix] Climate Action Network Canada: Fact Sheet: Leaked Canadian Cabinet Documents, 2009.

[x] Pembina Institute: Climate Leadership – Energy Prosperity, 2009.

[xi] Nicholas Stern: The Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change, 2006; WWF-Germany and Allianz Group: Major Tipping Points in the Earth’s Climate System and Consequences for the Insurance Sector, 2009.

Copenhagen… what was the point?

People around the globe have been left with feelings of frustrations and disappointment at the end of the United Nations climate change negotiations which recently took place in Copenhagen, Denmark. From December 7th to the 18th, demonstrators were calling on their representatives on the interior to move forward and create bold new policies that would finally move the world in ways that the Kyoto agreement has failed to do. Grist magazine has collated many of the media highlights from the duration of the negotiations.

The conference was plagued with hoaxes, riot police, and climate change deniers. Many of the “big” leaders on the global scale, such as Canada and the United States made their appearances at the conference when it was almost too late to create new policies that had any meaning. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has even been accused of acting like an elected dictator, appearing to make little to no effort while at the negotiations in Denmark. He has further and embarrassed Canadians by promising better policies now, but only implementing them at some vague, future date.

The conference was offered practical solutions daily that would cut emissions, but, as one columnist wrote from the Huffington Post, “They didn’t seal the deal; they sealed a coffin”. Business as usual appears to be a major outcome of this conference, notwithstanding an underwhelming climate agreement proposed by US President Barack Obama.

Is this good enough for the rest of the world?

Please stay tuned to the MSE blog for more on Cop15. I will be interviewing several McGill delegates of the Copenhagen conference to get some views from the frontlines. Until then, happy holidays!

Mel Lefebvre

The good that comes from saying “no”: Jonathan Glencross and the Sustainability Project Fund

Every now and then, you have the opportunity to meet incredibly inspiring individuals who you know will make great change in the world. One of these individuals is visionary Jonathan Glencross, a 3^rd year MSE student in environment & development, minoring in philosophy. Sharp as a tack and won’t take no for an answer, Jonathan has put in significant work to bring McGill up to speed regarding sustainability and bridging the gap between students and administration.

The Sustainability Project Fund (SPF) is his most recent contribution, which has been a record breaker for McGill regarding the vote alone. More than twenty-six percent of the undergraduate student body (5700 students downtown,) voted, and of those, 79% were in favor of the sustainability fund downtown, with 88% on Macdonald campus. This was the second biggest turnout for a vote in SSMU history.

Nineteen percent of the students who voted were against the fund, but Jonathan is not discouraged by this. “An overwhelming majority has voted for this. I would love to see Stephen Harper get 79% on anything he ever did” he said during an interview with the MSE journalist Mel Lefebvre in Montreal this week.

Jonathan has also also taken a lead role in the McGill Food Systems Project, is the coordinator for the Sustainable McGill project, is involved with the sustainability working group, attends SSMU environment commission meetings, and sometimes goes to the four classes he is currently registered in. “I skipped my class this morning to work on this fund because it’s clearly more worthwhile, and I will continue making decisions in the sense of asking where I am most effective. I find it hard learning things in the classroom when you’re not effecting change locally, too.”

Jonathan’s 215 person campaign team for the SPF contacted about every environmental and social group on campus and made over 100 class announcements. The team also created a 2450 member-strong facebook group in 6 days during the campaign, which is impressive in itself. “There has been an overall positive reaction from everybody. There have been reservations and hesitations, but no significant opposition.”

The fund will charge a $0.50 per credit, non-opt-out-able fee through tuition over a three year trial period. Funds will be available to students, administration and staff alike. All funds from students will be matched to the cent by the University. “If students are willing to pay up front, it needs to be recognized that it’s a meaningful thing and to do that is by a matching component.”

The fund is up for review in three years. By then, an estimated $2.5million will have been raised. “It’s a lot of money, and is the biggest sustainability fund of its kind in a North American University to date. By then, you will have to question if it is responding to the needs of what we originally set out to do.”

The SPF concept was initially put on the table by Jim Nicell, associate vice principle of University services and James McGill engineering professor. He first proposed for students to have the capacity of creating their own fund, similar to Concordia University’s sustainability action fund.

“The real question came down to, ‘how do we create a culture of sustainability at McGill?’. It became increasingly obvious that we needed to create incentives and avenues of creativity and involve it at the scale that affects behavior and operations. If you’ve lowered your footprint but you haven’t changed perceptions, then what have you really changed?” Jonathan asked.

Further development of SPF took place when Jonathan began researching the different ways other universities have run sustainability funding projects, and then began forming a proposal which led into negotiations.

“It became obvious that as students, we weren’t going to move forward on a self-operating model. We felt it was more meaningful to have a matching component with administration. The polarized culture of “us vs. them” that we have right now at McGill is less than trusting, and the proposal addresses this. Trying to break down this mentality will bring out the best in people. Trust is integral, and consensus and parity are really important aspects of the fund.”

As Albert Einstein had once said, “Great spirits have always found violent opposition from mediocre minds.” The opposition Jonathan received was not borne of violence, but of an unwillingness to change. “I was told that this fund wouldn’t be possible, but no other issue has gotten students out to vote to this degree. People will tell you all the time that you can’t do something, but no is never a reason for me.” With this, he quoted a professor who asked if we are just rearranging the deck chairs on the titanic. “What is it that we are doing? Are we getting to the fundamental issues or not?”

Jonathan’s biggest hope is that a sustainable campus and a culture of sustainability will be created at McGill where applied student research can take place. “If we create an environment where students can focus their coursework on making change locally, and if people commit to the idea of transforming this campus and their lives to be sustainable and continue to be a sustainable citizen when you graduate, then you are transcending many obstacles.”

Regarding Jonathan’s future plans, he shared that “If I had a choice right now, I’d like to take a nap.” He spends at least double the amount of energy on projects outside the classroom, “It’s what I’m passionate about.”

As for the evolution of the SPF, a workshop is planned for January 2010 to further explain the application process for the sustainability fund, and a sustainability coordinator will be hired to help with the initialization and creative processes for projects. Additionally, four work-study positions will be created to facilitate the application and implementation process. “We’re doing everything we can to get the word out,”, said Jonathan.

To learn more about funding details, and about the project itself, please click here.

Climate media highlights

Here are some useful links to help you stay informed on the important issues of climate change and over-consumption.

From the creators of The Story of Stuff, a short and powerful video of the how and why of consumerism is a teaser for The Story of Cap & Trade.

These videos are a great reminder of our role as citizens of the earth (rather than consumers, as Peter Brown noted in his Food for Thought lecture this past October), especially as Buy Nothing Day approaches.

A leading environmental journalist tells us why the media tells the climate story badly

This Thursday, November 26th, come and see why Canada is now considered an epic failure in the leadership for climate issues. This panel discussion is taking place in Leacock 219 at 7pm. Presented by Powershift Climate Action Montreal in collaboration with the Dawson Student Union, SSMU Environment Committee, Sustainable Concordia, Concordia Student Union, Hillel McGill, and Challenge Your World.

The panelists for this discussion include:
Shannon Walsh, Director of H2Oil
Nathan Cullen, NDP Deputy Environment Critic
Dr. Catherine Potvin, Global Change Biology, McGill University
Andrew Cuddy, Canadian Youth Delegation to Copenhagen
Nathalie St Pierre, Urban Ecology Centre

Dr. Colin Chapman’s important monkey business

Diseases make the wheels of evolution spin, and so it is important to study how disease is spread for the benefit of conservation and health.  This is exactly what Dr. Colin Chapman has been researching for the past 20 years in Kibale National park, Uganda and here at McGill.

On Monday November 16^th, I had the pleasure of hearing Dr. Chapman, give a lecture for the McGill School of Environment’s Mini-Enviro lecture series.  This series is a great and inexpensive way to get a different spin on important topics ranging from the world food crisis, to this week’s lecture on the problem of  having so many cars. Mrs. Abby Schuster, one of the coordinators of the mini-enviro series was happy that students are attending in addition to the many people who have registered, “students maybe don’t get to see some of these profs in their classes”, she commented. Dr. Chapman finds these lectures great for giving another spin to topics that he regularly teaches in the classroom.

The basis of Dr. Chapman’s lecture was to inform a packed auditorium how we can learn about the spread of emerging infectious diseases from primates. “This is a field I find fascinating, but also scary,” were Dr. Chapman’s opening lines, “there are social and ecological impacts, and I explore the ecology of infectious diseases.” Looking at how quickly H1N1 has spread, one can only imagine how quickly new forms of HIV could span the globe.

There is a surprising amount of diseases that humans and primates have in common, such as Ebola, HIV/AIDS, E.Coli, Giardia, Salmonella, Elephantiasis and more.  HIV was actually first spread because of a human-primate contact, originating in chimpanzees and mangabeys.

One of the principle problems fueling increased disease spread is the rapid elimination of primate habitat. Natural resources, such as the forests of Uganda are being consumed at an unprecedented rate.  If the forest is being logged, burned and harvested, there is incrementally less space for groups of monkeys to rove, eat, sleep and procreate.

“An area the size of Florida is cleared in tropical countries every year,” Dr. Chapman told a room of approximately 100 people; “this area supports 32 million primates.  By clearing this land, we are committing 32 million primates to death every year.”

Like the stories you hear about bears roaming urban regions, raiding garbage cans, so it is for the people in and around Kibale National park, Uganda where Dr. Chapman witnesses many of these realities.  It may be cute to see monkeys eating bananas in a tree, but not when you were saving those bananas to feed your own children and not if the increased contact with that monkey spreads an infectious disease.  Conservation of primates and primate ecosystems are two of Dr. Chapman’s main focuses in his research as a McGill professor.

“Whole communities of gorillas can be wiped out (when people get too close).  There is a major decline in primate populations in all of central Africa,” Dr. Chapman noted. One documentation shows that 93% of a population was wiped out within several months because of Ebola.  The people who are most drastically infected with trans-species diseases are those who get close to them, like illegal bushmeat hunters.

Laura Gapski, a volunteer for the mini-enviro lecture series and an MSE student (ecological determinants of health, science stream) was surprised at the deforestation rate of tropical countries. “The shock value is there” Laura said of Dr. Chapman’s lecture, “but all of the people going to work or volunteer at Kibale clinic is a good omen”.

Dr. Chapman and his wife, Dr. Lauren Chapman have been working on applying their knowledge to make the world a better place. In collaboration with various Ugandan authorities and residents, they have created the Kibale Health and Conservation Project, which employs a local nurse and gives residents local health care.  Having a clinic close-by also avoids the problem of having to travel 10 km by bike with your wife doubling up ready to give birth.

Dr. Chapman and other experts in the field believe that emerging infectious diseases are on the rise.  This could be a sign that we’re getting better at discovering new genetic varieties of diseases we already familiar with, or it could be a bad sign of a world in decline. One good way of ensuring that the wheels of change move in a positive direction is to visit the Kibale Health and Conservation Project website (just click on the red words) and learn more about the on-going research and developments in local health care.

Mel Lefebvre

The Power of One: Maggie Knight and the Climate Movement

It is with great pleasure that I introduce Maggie Knight.

Maggie is a U2 BASc Environment student minoring in Economics. She has been involved with many environmental initiatives on campus, including Greening McGill, The Plate Club, the McGill Food Systems Project, Gorilla Composting, and Journalists for Human Rights. Maggie is also in her third year working for SSMU as one of their Environment Commissioners, where she helps connect and support sustainability initiatives on campus, runs a website representing sustainability concerns to Administration, and works on SSMU sustainability policy such as the recently passed Five Year Plan for Sustainability.

If that juggling act isn’t impressive enough, then she is also currently doing an internship with Professor James Ford.  This research entails increasing awareness about the impacts of climate change in Canada’s North and the lack of adaptation measures to help communities cope with the already significant changes they are experiencing.

Maggie focuses a lot of her attention on the issues surrounding climate change, and is involved with one of the biggest Canadian youth movements for the climate. Most recently, this brought her to Ottawa for Powershift Canada in the biggest gathering for the environment ever recorded on Canadian soil. The following interview should leave you impressed and ready to step up to the challenge as Maggie has.

How did you first get involved with Power Shift Canada and Why? Did you know about the Powershift movement in the USA before Canada’s?

I’ve been involved with the youth climate movement, primarily through the Sierra Youth Coalition, for several years. In the winter of 2009, I coordinated the McGill delegation to Power Shift US. It was such an inspiring experience to see how much we all grew from that experience and how many new ideas we brought back to Montreal, so I jumped at the opportunity to get involved with bringing Canadian youth together for Power Shift Canada. I decided I could best help out with Recruitment because I love talking to people, building capacity, and communications—and I already had connections with many people across the country through SYC! I ended up coordinating a team of over 200 people in every province and territory, supporting them with their outreach, fundraising, and logistical efforts.

Could you explain Powershift is 2 sentences?

On October 23-26, 2009, the Canadian Youth Climate Coalition brought nearly one thousand young people from every province and territory together in Ottawa for two days of awesome workshops and strategy sessions, which, on the third day, culminated in a day of major lobbying on Parliament Hill. Students, young workers, young parents, indigenous youth, immigrant youth, rural youth, and urban youth shared ideas, built skills; action planned, and performed a Flashmob dance on Parliament Hill where hundreds of us performed. The energy was amazing!

We all grew and strengthened a national network of youth holding our government accountable for its climate inaction, and lobbied for a viable green job economy and climate justice for all.

How was “Climate Day: Fill the Hill”?

Climate Day: Fill the Hill was extraordinary. It was wonderful to have so many people together, representing so many different groups all pressuring our government to take real, science-based action. We telephoned Stephen Harper en masse and filled up his voicemail! Huge props to my friend Gracen Johnson, the U of Guelph student who spearheaded the event.

What was the most discouraging aspect of the Powershift conference?

The media coverage was probably the most discouraging. There was extensive coverage of a few protesters in the Public Gallery during Parliamentary Question Period (they were participants in Power Shift, but the action itself was the spontaneous choice of the individuals rather than an organized protest by any group), leading many people to dismiss climate activists as rowdy and disrespectful.

If our media was less interested in spectacle and bloody noses and more interested in constructive, collective action, they would have known that on the same day, Power Shift participants held more than 70 meetings with their Senators and MPs and that youth from every province and territory had worked hard to fund-raise to come together for three days.

Why is Climate Change such a pressing issue for Canadian youth? Why do we need the PS movement in Canada?

We need a broad-based coalition bringing us all together for climate  justice—students, young workers, First Nations, immigrants, northern,  coastal, rural, urban—because the forecast for the future isn’t looking so rosy. Today’s youth will be very much alive when we start experiencing more major and widespread impacts of climate change. Those of us who live in the North already see these changes every day. Those of us who live on islands may see their houses swallowed up by the ocean. Those of us who live in cities may face huge shortages of food and water as agricultural yields and precipitation patterns change. Those of us from rural areas may see traditional crops fail and industries collapse.

The Power Shift movement helps youth to stare these worrying facts in the eyes and take constructive action to avoid the worst. By bringing people together, building capacity through issue and skills trainings and lobbying our elected officials not to play games with our futures, Power Shift is building a Canadian generation that is aware of climate concerns and exactly what they can do about them.

If you had 15 minutes with Stephen Harper, what would you say to him?

I would ask Stephen Harper a number of questions, trying to understand where in his reasoning he thinks it is all right for Canada to remain an obstacle to international climate negotiations while taking insufficient action at home.

I would ask him if he understands climate science, and the serious impacts climate change could have on his or his children’s lives. I would ask him if he believes, as an economist, that hanging on to a model of resource depletion at unsustainable levels (while failing to accurately incorporate negative externalities) is likely to produce long-term economic prosperity (or whether it will rather set us up for large economic shocks in the future).

I would ask him if the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms truly applies to all citizens—would the Tar Sands still be operating if it was polluting Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, or Montreal instead of rural northern and indigenous communities?

I would ask him if he truly believes that developing nations should contribute as much to climate change mitigation and adaptation as developed nations—given that developed nations both bear the responsibility for the majority of carbon currently in the atmosphere and have the greatest capacity to dedicate resources to climate solutions.

I would ask him if short-term political gains in the next election cycle are worth going down in history as yet another Prime Minister who refused to act in a time of urgency.

I would ask him what his faith says about acting according to his conscience and sacrificing personal gain for the good of others. I would ask him how leadership looks like waiting for the USA to decide on its climate policy and only attending the UN COP15 negotiations in Copenhagen if other world leaders do. I hope he talks as fast as I do.

What, essentially, do you think needs to happen in Canada regarding the climate issue?

I believe we need “three E’s”: education, empowerment, and ecological economics. We need institutional education about sustainability issues—I believe that, no matter how motivated by the bottom line an individual or firm is, once people truly understand climate science and the socioeconomic impacts of climate change, they are bound to act more sustainably.

We need to be changing lifestyles and informing our public, from preschool to the workplace to the old age home. Empowerment is crucial. Sustainability issues vary by geographic, socioeconomic, cultural, and political contexts. We need to empower our citizens, businesses, and elected officials to shift to sustainable systems that make sense in their local contexts, using their local skills and resources and making sure nobody is left behind (climate justice now!).

Finally, we need an economic system that can properly incorporate sustainability impacts—for starters, we need increased investment in low-carbon energy technologies (instead of subsidizing the fossil fuel sector), a viable and swift transition plan for the Tar/Oil Sands industry, stricter regulations for polluting industry (to level the playing field), and an emphasis on creating green jobs.

How difficult is it to balance activism with academia?

It is definitely a challenge to balance a full course load, two campus jobs, and significant activism! It’s definitely made my grades suffer a little, but all the enviro work I do is very relevant to my field, so I try to justify a lower GPA with the knowledge that I will be more employable—as long as I keep my grades high enough that I don’t lose my scholarships.

What is your opinion on the climate activism in McGill?

We have more than 30 environmental groups at work on campus, which is fantastic. Where I see a gap is in climate advocacy. Fortunately, we have some members of the Canadian Youth Delegation to COP15 at McGill and some Power Shift participants who are working on initiatives such as Climate Crew Mondays and getting people to call their MPs to make their concerns heard.

Finally, what are your plans after McGill?

I’m hoping to work in environmental policy. I’m particularly interested in how federal and provincial legislation can support and integrate community-based solutions to sustainability issues. Different communities have different resources and challenges—different ecologies, different demographics, different skill sets. I think if we are to truly revolutionize our society into something sustainable, we need to be able to find solutions that make sense for each community, and draw on the strengths and ideas of each community to make that happen.

Mel Lefebvre

A Youth Movement you should know about

Youth are fed-up. The climate change issue is no longer a debatable factoid thrown around in the media as a scare tactic. It is something real,anthropogenically induced, and there has been an overwhelming amount of discussion on the issue, so much so that several generations down the line will be listening to the reverberating echo, wondering why we didn’t act sooner.

This is one of the many reasons why 1,000 youth from 10 provinces and 3 territories traveled to Ottawa the weekend of October 24th. There was a clear message: It’s time to listen. This day on the hill, known as Climate Day, organized by Power Shift Canada, was a momentous day that drew supporters of climate action to support positive action for one of the most defining challenges of our time, and was the largest gathering ever to take place in Canada to speak up for the climate.

This event did not only take place in Ottawa;5200 activities in 181 countries mobilized for climate day of action in the most widespread day of environmental action to ever take place. Please click on the red words to learn more about it and find out how your can make a difference, too!