UBC leader in campus sustainability

The Sheaf
Written by Crystal Clarke
Thursday, 25 November 2004
Freda Pagani, the University of British Columbia’s Director of Campus Sustainability, visited Saskatoon last week. Pagani has been with the project since its inception, after completing her PhD in architecture and was involved in the building of the C.K. Choi Building, an award-winning demonstration green building. On Wednesday, November 17, she gave a talk to students about the innovations that UBC has undergone in order to make it the world’s leader in sustainable campuses and a goal for Canadian universities to strive towards, including the U of S. Her talk was held together by one theme: the unexpected success of the UBC program and its unexpected outcomes.

UBC’s Campus Sustainability Office opened in 1998, one year after implementing a sustainable development policy. The policy was implemented in UBC’s 300 different departments where volunteer sustainability coordinators work on enforcing the policy by providing tools to the department to make sustainability easier and more accessible. This was an unexpected inspiration for Pagani, as the meeting of the staff from around the campus came together and worked together to make the project possible.

The C. K. Choi Building for the Institute of Asian Research has brought much attention to the project and the UBC campus, as it won an award for the American Institute of Architects’ in 2000. It opened in 1996 and has set new green building benchmarks for the world. The building features reused and recycled materials, natural ventilation, highly efficient lighting, grey-water recycling, and composting toilets. UBCs next green building, the Liu Centre for the Study of Global Issues, opened in 2000. This building highlighted the replacement of cement in the concrete mix with fly ash, a waste material from coal-fired power plants to make “high-volume fly ash concrete.” UBC has more plans for innovative buildings and the work is never done.

The Campus Sustainability Office is also looking at improving the sustainability of existing buildings on campus. UBC houses Canada’s largest university energy and water retrofit program. The upgrades generate savings of about $2.5 million annually. Coincidentally, this covers the cost of the Sustainability Office. Not only does the EcoTREK (the program working on the retrofitting of existing buildings) save up to 30% on core energy uses every year, it also reduced CO2 emissions by about 30,000 tons and reduces water use up to 45 percent and saves lots of money. Ecotrek’s project value is $35 million, which is paid by the savings in energy and they have met Kyoto’s targets of CO2 emission decrease by 6 percent below 1997 levels.

However, these successes weren’t unexpected at all. According to Pagani, this was accomplished through projecting and meeting goals. The unexpected successes of the program are the behind-the-scenes interactions and inspirations from the staff and students at UBC. “A community was built for the staff and students at UBC around sustainability,” said Pagani. She was especially excited about the universal bus pass (UPASS) that passed a couple of years ago that increased ridership by 53% and decreased single-vehicle occupancy trip by 20% from 1996. The program has brought attention to all aspects of sustainability, including social and economic sustainability.

The biggest unexpected benefit of the program was the snowball effect that it caused on UBC’s campus. “Every student that comes to the campus must think about sustainability,” said Pagani.

Winter blues or SADness?

The Sheaf
Written by Crystal Clarke
Thursday, 27 January 2005
There are many reasons to get down in January. Whether it is a post-Christmas debt or because you are just plain miserable due to the cold temperatures and lack of sunlight, many people become depressed this time of year. However, there may be something more to the “winter blues” than just being a little less energetic because Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is being diagnosed more often.

SAD has only been diagnosed since the 1980s, even though it has been noticed since the early 1800s. Some research has shown that there is a lot of similarities between SAD and atypical depression and the methods for diagnosis are still being worked on. Diagnosis seems to be the most difficult part of the disorder because of the ambiguity of some of the symptoms. The symptoms include sadness, anxiety, irritability, inability to concentrate, withdrawal into solitude, and loss of interest in life, which are common amongst diagnosis of depression.

However, SAD also includes unusual sleep patterns, increased appetite, weight gain, and lethargy. The important part of diagnosis is that SAD follows a predictable pattern year after year, with symptoms starting in the fall and becoming more severe in January and February, followed by a lessening of symptoms in the spring, as the light increases.

There are three common theories as to why SAD occurs, but research is ongoing to determine the actual cause. The first theory suggests that the body overproduces melatonin, a hormone, during the long winter, which is supported by studies showing that light therapy inhibits its flow. Another theory proposes that the body produces less serotonin, a chemical produced by the brain that is commonly associated with causing depression, in the winter months. Thirdly, there is evidence that people with SAD have less sensitivity to light and never fully adjust to dim winter days, which could disrupt the body clock by making short days seem even shorter.

The most ambiguous part of the disorder is the fact that there is no treatment that is guaranteed to cure SAD. In fact, there have been few studies to find something that can cure SAD and what has been researched doesn’t seem to work all the time, let alone some of the time.

Light therapy is the most prominent method of treatment that is shown to work sometimes, but one should see results fairly quickly from using it. Some research say that just becoming more active, even going for a 20-minute walk, can bring positive results. There are also skeptics that think the disorder doesn’t exist and that making positive changes through diet and overall health will decrease the symptoms that become more prominent with the “winter blahs.”

Over-diagnosis can be problematic with the disorder, so when one is diagnosed with SAD he or she should probably seek out a second opinion from a different doctor. Women are seemingly most affected by SAD. No matter what, overall health should be looked at as an important part of treatment, with other methods examined after one’s lifestyle has been looked at.

Winter is a hard time for most people in the northern hemisphere, but for some this season is seemingly more difficult. There is definitely something about the darkness and cold temperatures causing people to remain indoors that can be looked at. However, reoccurring symptoms can suggest that there is more to the “winter blues” than just “cabin fever.”

Green justice not easy

The Sheaf
Written by Crystal Clarke
Thursday, 30 September 2004

Green Justice. The name sounds easy enough, but behind it are issues of oppression, racism, classism, and hierarchy. The environmental movement is being taken by storm by a bunch of newly educated people across Canada. The myths of the environmental movement have been deconstructed and replaced by understanding and information. So allow me to share the information with you.

During the weekend of September 16th, the Youth Environmental Network held their annual Capacity Building Retreat right here on the Prairies. The retreat usually brings youth from around Canada to build support for their environmental organization, in ways of getting more members, finding funding and funders, policy-making, and networking. However, this year was a little bit different as the weekend’s focus was issues of oppression within the mostly white, middle-class environmental movement and how diversity within the movement can be established without white people taking power, tokenizing non-white people, or maintaining respect of the diverse groups throughout this large country.

Environmental justice is a new term to the environmental movement, let alone to the general university public. This movement started in the mid-80s when groups started connecting social justice issues and environmental issues. Environmental racism was defined when a study found that race determines where hazardous waste facilities are located in Los Angeles. The YEN’s Green Justice Retreat Resource kit states that “Environmental racism brings attention to how systemic racism is a key factor in environmental planning and decision making processes as they are carried out by governments, as well as the mainstream environmental movement. People of colour are often excluded from or restricted within decision-making bodies that are responsible for creating and implementing environmental policies, programs, and permits.” The kit also states that non-white people and poor people suffer more from environmental hazards, mostly caused by the lifestyle of white, upper class people. Environmental justice is about taking action against environmental racism.

The idea of environmental justice is not one that many people think about within environmental organizations, let alone environmentalists. Racism and environmental justice was the focus of the retreat, challenging people’s comfort zones and ensuring that people learn about issues within environmental justice and issues of racism that are faced everyday. It started out with a focus on racism within the last few centuries and how little progression there has been. A recent example of how racism still exists within the system is Africville, a town in Nova Scotia that black people fled to during the slave era in the United States. In this town, racism and environmental racism still exists and has pushed the people out of their town into larger centers.

Heavy issues of anti-oppression workshops to teach the participants how systemic racism is, how to recognize it, and how to deal with it were also discussed at the retreat. A particularly interesting workshop was conducted by the Indigenous Environmental Network, based out of the United States, a group that focuses on the rights of Indigenous people for environmental and economic justice. A workshop that I attended was based on climate justice and how climate change affects people of colour and Indigenous people more than predominantly white communities. As we see an increase in the number of hurricanes and large storms hitting places like Haiti, we can see this affects minority groups.

So what do we do? The YEN set aside an entire morning for people to come up with “Action Plans” for their respective organizations. Within this, they looked at anti-oppression training opportunities, anti-oppression policy-making with the organization, meeting and decision-making procedures, coalition building between organizations, organization promotional and program literature review, and program development and review. For example, if a group wanted to build a coalition with an Aboriginal group and work on a project together, the action plan would help to make that coalition fair and just.

Needless to say, none of these issues are easy and anti-oppression training is very hard to go through as a white person. As a “white” environmentalist, I learned that instead of feeling guilt I need to recognize the systemic racism that some people are faced with and how the groups that I am a part of can try to get away from participating in and supporting that racism. This is no easy task, but one that is obtainable. Since participating in this retreat, I have found that I see the world in a different light: through the lens of the anti-oppression framework. I also know that I cannot fight racism alone, so I encourage you all to take a moment to look around at the racism that exists on our campus and in our community…and then do something about it.

I can see it

can you see it?
can you see the sun shining?
simply sitting beside someone
the only one
reading to each another,
basking in the warmth
peaking through the trees
through the window
and the blue skies reflect your eyes.

someone waiting for you to come home,
unwanting to let go or forget
wanting to spend the days together
because that's what you were meant to do.

close your eyes
and see it.

Sled Dog hell

Last Friday night I had the pleasure to fill-in for a friend of mine's motherly duties and took her 9-year-old to his track and field event, along with his three-year-old brother. Perhaps I have just blocked out parts of my childhood, but I can't recall anything in my past coming even close to resembling the sight that we encountered.

First of all was the parking lot. I couldn't help but think of all the parents who were driving around with one or more children in their vehicle, trying to find a place to park so that they would be on time for their respective races. The lines of lights in a pseudo-traffic jam were enough to think that the stress levels of the parents were in the red zone. When I asked the flag guy where I should park, he looked at me helplessly and said to park in the parkade half a kilometre from our destinated building.
"But the kids don't have mitts!" I exclaimed.
He just shrugged.

Off we went to the promised-land of parking, Kody being upset about being late and Nik trying to get my attention to talk to me. I assured them all that we would get to our finish line before Kody would begin his race. After we walked to the Fieldhouse, we were faced with yet another hurdle - people. Kids, adults, and teenagers filled every orface of the building. Nik held my finger as I snaked through the crowd to pay to get into the doors. Once in was the next bit of our obstacle course: finding his teacher and fellow teammates. With what seemed like millions of children running around and teachers with clipboards yelling out instructions, we made our way to where we thought his team was. We finally found his teacher, only to find out that he had been replaced because we were so late. "Do you know what the parking lot is like right now?!?" I asked increduously. She just shrugged, which was becoming the response of the night.

Instead of staying to watch his team, Kody wanted to leave because he was super disappointed... and we had a trek ahead of us back to the car. Once outside, we avoided any conversation about what just happened and listened to Nik's babbling on the way back to the car. We drove home and I have never been more relieved for something to be over.

The whole experience made me think that when I become a parent, I will know that I am prepared for the worst of the worst. But it also made me appreciate what parents do everyday, especially single-parent households. I guess there is a reason why it takes two people to conceive a child. So while I felt privledged to be an "auntie" in true form, I'm glad that I only do that once in a while. Growing up is all about learning and going to hell and back must be part of that.

Crystal's Life on Paper

STMSU gives up Coke money for second year

I wrote this last year, but it got picked up the Uwatch.ca, which is a group "Advocating for universities in the public interest." I thought it was very cool when I found it, which was an accident. So here it is:

Saskatchewan students say no thanks to Coke dough – again

We have The Sheaf at the University of Saskatchewan to thank for this story about the student council at St. Thomas More College who are starting to make a tradition of declining some easy-but-sleazy money from an exclusivity deal the campus-wide student union cut with Coke in 1998:

STMSU gives up Coke money for second year
by Crystal Clarke
The St. Thomas More Students’ Union (STMSU) has once again rejected the money owed to them from a controversial deal the USSU had made in 1998. The students’ society revisited last year’s council’s decision to decline the allotted $1400 and decided this year will be no different. In total, with the money carried over from last year, the group has declined $2800.
“Last year, the Campus Ministry gave [the STMSU] a package that came to them from Development and Peace about the bad business practices and the terrible things that Coke was doing in other countries,”said Adam Day, STMSU Vice President of Academics. “We decided as a group that it was wrong for us to take money from a company that would do that kind of thing.”

Based on this information, a Coca Cola committee was formed to do research in order to help the STMSU council make an informed decision about the money. This year another group was set up to take on the same task, but also to raise awareness to students about the injustices that Coca Cola are doing.

“We also felt it would be disrespectful to the previous year’s council if we went against their decision to not take the money and decided to take the money,” said Brennan Richardson, STMSU Member at Large. This is something that this committee is trying to change. “If we would have taken it this year, we would have to take last year’s money as well,” noted Alice Collins, another STMSU Member at Large that sits on the Coke committee.

The majority of the STMSU council felt that it would have been hypocritical to take Coke’s money since STM is a Catholic college and follows a certain human rights and social justice agenda. “We have to find a balance between serving students and representing the values inherent to the Catholic college that we represent,” said Richardson.

In terms of taking the money and donating it to good causes, like the suggested Tsunami relief fund, they decided against that. “In a way it would only be helping Coca Cola because thatús the way a major corporation like Coca Cola presents a good public image is they advertise their charity contributions,” Richardson said. “In fact, the amount of money they actually put into these things is minimal for them. [This money] is ‘peanuts’ compared to how much they make. It’s not that they have a humanitarian effort, they are just trying to convince the public that they are an environmentally friendly and community-friendly corporation.”

One example of the committee’s research was based on water-issues. “There is also issues with Coke going into certain areas in a Third World country, setting up on a stream or body of water and then using that water for bottling. The water that ends up getting to the people is the waste. So people are getting seriously sick and they are selling Coke cheaper than water, to get people to drink their product,” said Day. “The best-known example of this is Kerala, India. It was reported by BBC, talking about a farming community in Kerala, where Coke established a bottling plant. They dried up the water-bed. All the arable land was useless,” added Richardson.

“By us not taking the money, we may not be serving our students as well as we possibly can, but we are representing their ethics and values,” said Toma. “We’re not the only group on campus or in Canada that has declined their money,” added Day. “Hopefully we can apply pressure the Board of Directors to not sign the Coke deal again,” said Richardson.

As for the future of the STMSU and the Coca-Cola issue, “It’s a stance that we would like to see keep going, even with [the STMSU’s] inevitable turnover,” said Day.

The group hopes that a permanent committee will be put in place to lobby against Coke. A goal for the group is to increase awareness about Coke and serve as a model student group against the company.

Posted: 2005-02-02 033, 2005, 05:%i Wed
The trackback url for this post is http://www.uwatch.ca/bblog/trackback.php/158/

Nobel Prize winner says education key to success

Written by Crystal Clarke

Thursday, 21 October 2004

Wangari Maathai got word about her newest accomplishment, winning the Nobel Peace Prize, as she was planting trees in a rural area in Africa. She is the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize and the first person in the history of the Nobel Prize to be recognized for environmental activism. Eventually Norwegian television caught up with Maathai and she commented, “I am absolutely overwhelmed and very emotionally charged, really,” she said. “The environment is very important in the aspects of peace, because when we destroy our resources and our resources become scarce, we fight over that. I am working to make sure we don’t.” In 1977, Maathai founded the Green Belt Movement in Kenya, a program that is carried out primarily by women in the villages of Kenya to plant trees in lieu of the deforestation problem that Africa has been undergoing. The program also taught rural women about the relationship between deforestation and erosion, paying them a small fee for the trees they planted. Maathai earned undergraduate and Master’s degrees in Biology in the United States, before returning to Kenya to get her PhD, making her the first woman in east and central Africa to do so. She also became the head of the veterinary medicine faculty at the University of Nairobi, another first for a woman to head a department in the country. She attributes her accomplishments and passion on education: “The privilege of a higher education, especially outside Africa, broadened my original horizon and encouraged me to focus on the environment, women and development in order to improve the quality of life of people in my country in particular and in the African region in general.” Maathai has not always had it easy. Over the past five years, she has been beaten and jailed for her activism of tree-planting and speaking out against the deforestation in her country. However, in 2002 she was elected to parliament and was appointed to the position of Deputy Minister in the Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources and Wildlife. Her latest accomplishment of winning the Nobel Peace Prize includes $1.3-million (U.S.) and will be presented to Ms. Maathai on December 10 in Oslo, Norway.

Sassy Slean to Serenade Saskatoon

Written by Crystal Clarke

Thursday, 17 November 2005

Sarah Slean’s performance, entitled “Intimate and Solo” promises to be a great sit-down show. Slean’s newest album Day One is a masterpiece, full of amazing lyrics, music, and artwork. A couple of years ago, Slean decided she needed a break from the world and took a hiatus in a cabin for a few months, writing, painting, and figuring herself out. I’m sure many of us 20-somethings would like to do this, but I doubt we would come out with anything as amazing as Slean’s fourth album. Slean is a sassy artist who tells lots of stories while on stage, and not just with her songs. When I saw her at the Regina Folk Festival this summer, she did a great job of mixing up her songs with quirky stories of being alone in that cabin. I’ve heard her described as a Canadian Tori Amos and I would mostly agree with that. However, Slean has an air about her that makes her seem like a person just like everyone else, who just so happens to be an incredibly talented pianist, writer, and artist. What struck me the most about her when I saw her live in Regina was her relationship with the crowd. Despite being an early act in the evening, she held everyone’s attention and had people swaying to her music as they sat on their blankets on the ground, laughing with her jokes and eccentric remarks. I also made a very wonderful discovery, which was unknown to me before that evening – her musical abilities. She studied music formally at the University of Toronto (after deciding against going into Medicine), but decided she wanted to play her own music. That she does – and very well I might add. Last April, she was nominated for the 2005 Juno Award for Adult Alternative Album of the Year for Day One. Her first single off the album “Lucky Me” is a great up-beat song that has good rhythm and vocals that are sure to bring people to their feet, if any song will. Other songs on the CD include the self-titled track, as well as “Vertigo”, and my personal favourite “Out in the Park”, a song giving the vision of a wacky woman in a park who is “conducting the birds/ trying to remember which bicycle’s hers.” If you like sit-down shows that are live and “intimate”, I highly recommend checking out the show on Thursday at Louis’. Perhaps you’ll see me there: “I’m taking my seat, oh lucky me.”

The Saskatchewan Aboriginal woman who surprised the NDP

Section: National News
Outlet: The Globe And Mail
Byline: BILL CURRY
Headline: The Saskatchewan Aboriginal woman who surprised the NDP
Page: A4
Date: Monday 10 October 2005

---

NDP MPs don't know what to do with Lillian Dyck.

The soft-spoken neurochemist from Saskatoon sparked a heated debate among the party's 19 members of Parliament when she became their first senator six months ago.

NDP Leader Jack Layton would not let Ms. Dyck attend the weekly closed-door caucus meetings because party policy calls for the Senate to be abolished. Others questioned her commitment to the party, because she had allowed her membership to lapse.

But through chats at parliamentary events and over a few dinner invitations from MPs, caucus members have learned more about Ms. Dyck, an aboriginal who was not well known outside Saskatchewan when she became a senator. Some are calling for Mr. Layton to make an exception for Ms. Dyck.

``I do think it's important that we do invite progressive voices to the table, so I would welcome Lillian to the table - unofficially, of course,'' B.C. MP Jean Crowder said. ``I think she could bring a perspective from the Prairies. We currently don't have anybody from Saskatchewan in our caucus.''

Ms. Crowder noted that Pierre Ducasse, Mr. Layton's unelected Quebec adviser, and the Canadian Labour Congress are allowed to attend caucus meetings. But Mr. Layton remains adamant that unelected Senators cannot, even though he says Ms. Dyck is a ``wonderful individual'' who could provide helpful advice.

``The Senate is not part of a democracy,'' he said. ``Our caucus is for elected people.''

In an interview in her small Senate office, Ms. Dyck blamed her own political naiveté for triggering the controversy.

Although she had volunteered on some municipal and provincial campaigns, Ms. Dyck, 60, was never involved in federal politics. The cut-and-thrust of Ottawa is still new to her and she admits talking to the media makes her nervous.

``Though I declared myself as an NDP, that was largely out of my own ignorance, not realizing it would create such a big problem,'' she said.

When the Prime Minister's Office called to offer her the appointment, Ms. Dyck said she was told she could be a Liberal or Independent senator. Ms. Dyck called the Senate clerk's office to ask whether she could choose another party and was told she could.

``Because I had voted NDP for most of my life, not all the time, I thought that made the most sense. Then the newspaper headline read after Mr. Layton made his comments: `NDP shuns Dyck,' '' she said with a laugh. ``And I thought, `Oh, there goes the lovely thing of Saskatchewan aboriginal woman appointed to the Senate, how wonderful.' ''

Ms. Dyck said she accepted the appointment to give aboriginal women someone to turn to in Ottawa and hopes to make aboriginal issues her priority in the Senate.

Born of a Chinese immigrant father and a Cree mother, Ms. Dyck was not always proud of her Cree heritage. The family felt it would be better to pretend to be 100-per-cent Chinese to avoid anti-aboriginal racism in Saskatchewan. The family moved from one small Prairie town to the next as her father was repeatedly unsuccessful at running Chinese restaurants.

``There's a hierarchy of racism. Indian is definitely lower than Chinese,'' she said of the Prairie environment in which she grew up.

It was not until she was 36 and had completed her PhD in biological chemistry at the University of Saskatchewan that she felt it was safe to explore her Cree roots.

Ms. Dyck raised eyebrows among her colleagues in the lab by making a priority of speaking to school groups, particularly young girls, encouraging them to enter careers in science at a time when scientists rarely appeared in public.

She continues to work part-time at the university, testing possible drugs to treat mental illness. She has also completed a study that ruled out a genetic predisposition toward alcoholism among aboriginals.

Her accomplishments earned her a National Aboriginal Achievement Award in 1999.

But Ms. Dyck, who is divorced and has an adult son, said she believes an aboriginal woman such as herself would still be at a disadvantage today if she ran for public office in Saskatchewan.

``I hate to say this, but Saskatchewan's not noted for equal treatment of the aboriginal population,'' she said.

With no caucus meetings to attend, Ms. Dyck is largely on her own in the Senate with only one staff person.

Ms. Dyck said several caucus members have told her privately that they would like her to join the caucus, but she has not asked Mr. Layton to reconsider.

``At some point maybe the onus is on me to make that request because I do know there are some that have said they would support my attending caucus,'' she said.

There is also a possibility that the woman who surprised the NDP by joining them could also surprise them by leaving.

``As I understand it, I can at some point decide that I'll be a Liberal or a Conservative or an Independent. I can change. I don't have to stay NDP forever,'' she said.

``I can't see myself changing, but if for some reason it looked as though there was a very important issue and I wasn't able to effect any kind of change as an NDP, then it might be wiser to change affiliation.''

Rooftop garden possibility for Place Riel

The Sheaf - News; Thursday, 22 September 2005 Written by Crystal Clarke

While rooftop gardening is not a new concept, a project being carried out atop the Dentistry building by a U of S student could be incorporated into the plans for the new Place Riel building. Many buildings on campus, and around the prairies for that matter, could benefit from this new-to-the-prairies concept of rooftop gardens. Cimberly Kneller spent her summer setting up the research project for her honours undergrad thesis - and got a summer job out of it while she was at it. The Facilities Management Department (FMD) took the environmental initiative last year when it hired Sustainability Coordinator Margaret Asmuss, and subsequently hired five summer students this past summer. “This project was headed up by FMD, but the whole project idea of this came from Bill Archibald [head of the Geography department]. We are doing a temperature response difference between the plants and the roof itself and we expect to see a 10-15 degree difference between the sedums and the gravel [plots],” said Kneller. It seems simple enough to understand. However, there have been limited studies as to what plants would work well under the harsh prairie conditions. In fact, this study uses German guidelines because there is so little research from North America. “This is the first one in Saskatchewan and anything that’s been tried in the prairie region hasn’t worked yet. So this will be huge if it does,” said Kneller. This system has huge benefits with limited input costs. Kneller watered the plants only while they were establishing themselves and has let them fend for themselves ever since. Also, the structural requirements for an extensive roof system are 40-50lb/square foot of extra weight. “It is not difficult to put on an existing roof,” says Kneller. In terms of this being an option for Place Riel, USSU VP (Student Issues) Sarah Connor said the project is worth looking at. “I definitely want to throw the idea out there, but I’m not even sure when the plans will be done…especially if this study works.” The benefits of rooftop gardens can be extensive. Kneller quoted from a study done in Scotland that said “20 percent of poor water quality is from runoff from urban areas…. A Portland study said that rooftops make up about 40 percent of their impervious surfaces in the city alone…. If we can green that we can eliminate a lot of water quality problems.” After all, on average 75 percent of rain could be retained in an extensive green roof system. Not only does a rooftop garden affect water quality, but it can also reduce cooling costs and impacts on the environment from this cooling. “Primarily, there are summer benefits,” said Kneller. In fact, there can be a reduction in air conditioning costs, which translates into a one-story building with a green rooftop cutting cooling costs by 20-30 percent. Not to mention smog and greenhouse gas emissions, which could even be used as carbon credits to help reach the Canadian government’s promise to meet the Kyoto Protocol goals. This study uses 23 different plant species over a number of boxes in this specific scientific study. Over the winter, Kneller will be keeping track of what species survive the harsh prairie winter, the temperature difference on the roof compared to the garden plots, and the water runoff.

A New Purpose for this Blog

I am changing the purpose of this blog to be about the non-personal aspects of my life - school, journalism, art, politics, and activism. While it is hard to separate these parts from my personal life, I am going to try and hopefully will succeed. I was inspired to do this by a vegan mom, whose link is in the list on the sidebar. I am going to put my former articles on here, as well as my newest ones. I'm not sure how I'm going to format it yet, but I hope to find something clever and easy-to-view.

Yes, there used to be a couple of other posts, but alas they have been deleted.

My First Blog on here

So this is what blogging is like on here. Touche! This will prove to be much fun, methinks. I think I will keep my personal stuff here and my non-personal stuff on livejournal. What do you think new journal?