The booth at the Thunder Bay Country Market where Shannon Venlenthe, the Squash Queen, sells her produce was located outside in brutally windy, cold weather. Well-bundled up, Venlenthe seemed accustomed to braving the impending elements of northwestern Ontario fall turning to winter.
Lakehead students came out to educate one another about the value of our local food network on Wednesday. Students from Dr. Scott Pound’s “Food, Writing, and the Community” class organized Shake the Hand that Feeds You – a showcase of local agriculture.
“I’ve been an environmentalist for over two decades,” Andrew Telfer tells me. “Back then we used to call it sustainable development, but people didn’t like the word development – the growth aspect of the word – so they changed it to just plain ‘sustainability.’ But I really like the term ‘sustainable development.’ We don’t live in a zero-growth world; the world economy is based on growth.”
How easy is it to eat locally in Thunder Bay? According to Nick Buragina from Aramark Campus Services, the university’s chief supplier of food, Aramark does its best to make local food available on campus. But it’s not easy.
Last Wednesday, the first Lakehead Campus Market took place in the Agora. The market is one of the projects that new Sustainability Commissioner, Ian Kaufman, has started up.
Camosun College will soon be using biodiesel from cafeteria cooking oil waste, thanks to some students in the environmental technology program.
Back in 2007, students at the newly-formed Sustainability Initiative succeeded at passing a referendum that granted $18,000 per year to its operations via a $3.00 fee tacked on to every student’s LUSU membership dues.
Just a few months after reversing its infamous prohibition of wireless internet, Lakehead may be wading into another controversial ban – this time on the sale of bottled water on campus. An online survey conducted between February 28th and March 10th asked students, faculty, and other employees if they were in favour of the ban. Nearly five thousand responded, with about 59% voting yes.
With the sale of bottled water in limbo on Lakehead campus, the Argus thought it would be appropriate to look into the facts of the beverage’s consumption in Canada.
The survival of the human race and our earth are at a crossroads. Increasing human consumption is unnecessarily diminishing our supply of natural resources and harming the environment. While it would be convenient to blame consumers or corporations for harming the environment, the truth is that there is no one to blame.
The LUSU Sustainability Initiative recently polled students via MyInfo, asking if they felt the sale of bottled water should be banned on campus. While I speak unofficially, it’s been said that over 6,000 people, including students, staff, faculty, and alumni voted in the poll. To my astonishment, over two thirds of the participants apparently voted in favour of the ban. I’m not exactly sure what these thousands of people have against bottled water, and quite frankly I don’t care.
Last Thursday, the LUSU Sustainability Initiative teamed up with a handful of local environmental organizations to present “Moving Towards Adaptation.” The jam-packed conference showcased presentations and workshops on the various impacts of climate change and how we can adapt.
How regularly do we hear about environmental issues? How about seeing posters for environmental discussion panels or movie nights? If you go to Lakehead, it’s probably more often than not. And that’s all because of your LUSU Sustainability Initiative.
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