A Canada Without Katimavik

WTF!?!?! I just finished reading the article "Katimavik Cuts..." from the Huffington Post (click here to read). I don't normally take many political stances but this is just too extraordinary to not talk about. The next federal budget could dictate the existence of the Katimavik program!

If you know anything about our office you will know that Katimavik volunteers are the backbone of our operations. They literally make this place work. Without them.... actually I don't even want to think about that right now.

Every time a new group of Katimavik volunteers start working for us, I give them the same speech. I tell them that "Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration" (thank you mister Thomas Edison). I tell them that anyone can have a good idea but making good ideas happen is what makes Katimavik so special.

And "persperate" they do. Our participants are crucial to several of our programs. This past year we had Katimavik manage our Dump and Run (almost 4 tonnes of discarded and donated items that were diverted from landfill and sent to communities in need), assist with our Furniture Recycling Program (1500 items diverted from landfill at a estimated saving of over $400,000 to the University and the community), tend to our Community Garden (over 50 plots established around campus to help the internal and external community), and dish out free coffee as part of Muggy Mondays (hundreds of disposable cups diverted and counting).

Of course that doesn't even scratch the surface. Katimavik participants repair of old coats to give to the homeless, set up and run our Free Store, help collect paper to make recycled notebooks, create signage for our recycling programs, rum our office composting program... seriously, my hand is starting to cramp up just writing all this stuff.

Affectionately in the office we refer to our participants as Katimaslaves, Katimaviktims, and all manner of clever play on word things. But they never feel bad because they own those titles and make all our other volunteers strive to earn that recognition. If anything, we usually call them parts.... short for participants, because they really are a part of who we are as the Office of Campus Sustainability.

So imagine my surprise when I heard about the proposed cut to the program. There are so many reasons why this is a bad idea. I am going to leave the in-depth analysis to better people than I but there are a few outstanding things I do want to mention.

1. The Katimavik program gives youth a much needed gap year. This is common practice in Europe and much appreciated by youth in Canada. Not everyone is ready to jump into post-secondary education or the job market.
2. You can't beat the experience. Katimavik gives you the chance to work at something and get a letter of reference... not just another crappy part-time job to post on your resume; actual testimony from a reputable community member.
3. Katimavik teaches life skills. Trust me, live with 10 other people, manage a home, make meals, clean every day, do the groceries.... some parents only dream about the possibility of giving that experience to their kids.
4. Mentored feedback and development. I and my colleagues work with Katimavik on an on-going basis to make sure that they are improving at the skills they want to develop.... not every employer does that.

There's more; in fact, there is too much more to mention. What I can't understand is why anyone would want to cut a program that has been a staple of Canadian culture for the past 46 years? I hate to say this but it seems to me that an attack on the Katimavik program is an attack on Canada. There are tens of thousands of people that owe their success to the Katimavik program and with any luck, there will be hundreds of thousands more.

I am not the type of person that makes personal pleas to people I don't know, but I might have to become one. If things go down they way they are looking to, we are going to need some extreme love from the community to help keep Katimavik alive. Because honestly, I don't want to have to think about a Canada without Katimavik.

~jON - campus sustainability manager

photo credit - jonathan rausseo

It's World Water Day... now what?

(water fountain at the University of Ottawa)

So last week was World Water Day and I have to ask a question, what did you do to celebrate? I know what you are thinking, "World Water Day... Are you serious?"
You know, on a level I definitely feel you. Sure, water is super important, but come on... why not start celebrating air, or sunlight, or language?

We are pretty spoiled here in Canada when it comes to a lot of things and I think that water is at the top of that list. We so take it for granted that it is basically forgotten that people used to have to take staggered showers not even a century ago. We hear about things like drought in the Prairies, but it is an alien concept to most of us. If you want to flush a toilet, you don't even think twice. If you need water to drink, you go to a tap or buy it at a store. The idea that there was simply no more water does not compute in our minds.

The one beautiful thing about water is that we still recognize that it is valueless. You probably shower almost every day but you would likely never pay the same price for your shower water as you would for a bottle of water. A typical shower requires 160 liters of water. If you bathed in Evian you would need to pay over $400 for a shower. You would have to pay $18 every time you flushed the toilet. Hell, the average Canadian consumes about 300 litres of domestic water a day so at about $3 a litre we are talking about $900 a day.

Of course all of that is very unrealistic; here in Canada we would never tolerate those prices for water. But there is a dangerous side to this kind of thinking. Here in Canada we don't pay those prices but in some countries people are being asked to pay those prices relativistically.  And if we forget the role water plays in our lives, we risk allowing this gift of cheap and safe water to fall through the cracks.

I mentioned domestic water consumption is about 300 litres a day. But domestic consumption is actually a really small piece of the pie. It represents only the water you personally use everyday. It doesn't talk about the amount of water it takes to grow your food, to create the cotton for your jeans, to refine the gasoline in your car, to develop the plastics that permeate our lives, etc. What if the cost of water went up for all of these things?

The other day I received a message from someone on campus asking why we banned bottled water. Their argument is that we are artificially subsidizing a commodity and therefore creating a situation of unsustainable resource management. But the argument only makes sense if we are talking about sustainability from a purely economic dimension. If selling bottled water were more desirable than increasing the number of water fountains, then I suppose we should install pay toilets and showers on campus. But is that really what everyone wants? Sure we could make some quick cash but it would be devastating to the community and social fabric of the campus.

So that's it; that's my thesis in defence of celebrating water. If you ask me how we could celebrate the day, I think we could try to go through our day without using any water, go on trips to the local pond or water treatment plant, or watch a documentary about water (here are TreeHugger's suggestions). It is time that we stop forgetting how important water is on our daily lives and start valuing the world's most important resource.

~jON - campus sustainability manager

-photo credit - merissa mueller

Polythene bags : a shopping necessity or a bag of menace

click here to see the full image

Polythene bags are very popular with both retailers and consumers. They are strong, lightweight, functional and hygienic means of carrying items. Though they are a modern convenience that we cannot do without, they are a menace. Around the world, this menace is showing its impact now. Not totally excluding the impact of other reasons like green house gases, pollution and deforestation, polythene has a much greater impact.

As for me being an international student at University of Ottawa, I’ve come realise a lot of things. When I was a kid, we had this old age tradition to take our own shopping bags even for little stuff may be just fruits or vegetables. We would have exclusive bags, could be handmade or recycled or cloth that were beautifully painted or embroidered. I never understood why my grandma was always against getting any polythene bag home. As I grew older, finding out why a polybag was not good, I came across a lot of strange facts that surprised me.

Polythene bags have been of great benefit to mankind but its not at all beneficial. In places where bags are not re-used, they land up clogging the drains, being eaten by stray animals and also contaminates the soil and water. Our ancestors have always been using cloth bags even before polythene got introduced. Since the advent of polythene, a lot of people were against it. They must have predicted the harmful impact of it years ago. I’ve never been a patron of polythene myself and have used back-packs for all my shopping needs. It was until I came to Ottawa to realise the fact that people use polythene bags for every single thing.

Apparently polythene bags cannot be degraded efficiently and mostly lands up in landfill sites. It takes many years for a single polybag to decompose. I’ve noticed people take home loads of polythene bags with grocery. After that the polythene bag lands up in the garbage and is of no use. Not having offended anyone but even after some stores charge for the polybag, people still take the “menace” back home.

People just need to realise that if something is widely available, it should not be taken for granted. Wouldn’t it be simpler if each one takes their own bag shopping cloth bag and gets grocery in it. Few stores are going polybag free and use paper bags or recycled plastic bags. Overall there is a still widely accepted fact that a polybag is essential when you shop. It takes lot of petroleum resources to produce them and in today’s changing scenario, petroleum resources are limited.

One would have noticed the gas prices being higher than normal since the last few months. If we switch to a cleaner greener way of living, we would surely be giving our future generations a better Earth to live. Gas prices would go low and other factors would normalize, if we could just go green and switch to cloth bags. If everyone takes a pledge not to use polythene, the redirected resources from the polythene could be used in a more appropriate way.


~ tuhina seth - guest blogger
photo credit - the truth about plastic

De vivre sans déchets pendant 2 mois, un défi plus grand qu’imaginé

Au début du mois de Février, je me suis engagée de vivre sans déchets pendant 2 mois. Avec assurance, je croyais finir ce défi sans problèmes et sans découragements. Je savais très bien que à ma maison j’avais un système organisationnel assez clair et efficace : dans toutes les pièces où se trouve une poubelle, j’avais aussi mis en place une boite pour le recyclage et une poubelle à composte qui réclamait une grande majorité des moussoirs utilisés. Donc, mes colocataires aussi indirectement participaient.

Au travail, j’avais caché la poubelle, installé un bac de composte et réservé une espace pour les trucs à recycler. À l’école, c’était assez facile, il y a plusieurs stations de recyclage avec la possibilité de recycler tous les plastiques (oui, j’apportais mes plastiques de chez moi à l’école) et il y a aussi plusieurs bac de composte.

Les problèmes se venus avec les sortis chez les amis et dans les restaurants. J’ai réalisé d’en fait je ne mangeais pas très souvent à la maison. J’aimais manger aux restaurants beaucoup. Oui c’est pratique et très bon, car je suis incapable de reproduire les mets vietnamiens ou Éthiopien que j’aime trop manger. C’est à ce moment qu’on se sent obliger de trainer avec soi toute forme de poubelle qu’on crée. C’est à ce moment qu’on doit s’apporter un sac pour mettre ces moussoirs quand on est malade et pour mettre son papier essuie-main après d’aller à la salle de bain. C’est à ce moment qu’on réalise si on ne mange pas tout ce qu’il y a sur son plate au restaurant, le reste ne saura jamais composter donc il faut le manger ou le trainer. Et, c’est à ce moment qu’on sait vraiment qu’on vit dans une société de poubelle et de marchandises de vie à court terme, enfin une société de production de consommation jetable.

En plus de ce système de consommation de masse, notre société n’a même pas mis en place partout et fonctionnelle un système de recyclage, réutilisation et compostage. Oui, il y a plusieurs belles initiatives un peu partout par exemple sur notre campus avec les stations de recyclages (ps : certaines stations n’ont plus de poubelle) et la gratuitrie où on peut déposer des objets ou vêtements qu’on ne veut plus et d’autres gens peuvent prendre ce qu’ils ont besoin. Cependant, ce n’est pas assez. Il faut plus. Selon moi, il faut pousser à la cause du problème. On fait partie du problème, mais on fait aussi partie de la solution. 

C’est ne pas seulement de faire de plus en plus des actions individuelles, il faut revendiquer les solutions à nos gouvernements, former les entreprises de produire des produits de long terme, durable de matières recyclés et les items de courte vie en matériels compostable. Enfin, il faut pousser notre système à ne plus créer des déchets directs.``

~christine - bloggeur invité
photo - jonathan rausseo

We’re all environmentalists

Recyclemania is slowly coming to an end, leaving in its’ trail optimists, newly enthusiastic recycling addicts, guilt-ridden consciences and some very frustrated people. I’ve noticed that many people having taken the pledge realise how much we actually throw out (and buy), and how we could collectively make a difference. I absolutely agree and often get frustrated when I see paper in the trash can. But I think it’s time for some high fives and thumbs up.

Anyone who took the pledge is awesome in my books. Anyone who became mindful about recycling and composting also get an A. And everyone who just tried a tiny bit to have better recycling habits is pretty darn cool. Why are all these people equally cool in my mind? Because we’re all different. We have different backgrounds, come from different places and don’t all have the same mentality. For example, in the music department, I often hear “purists” bashing about “wanna be musicians”. Which basically mean they do not accept someone who picked up a guitar and learned from youtube videos and now plays at Nostalgica during Open Mic night as a musician. 

I understand there may be frustration coming from someone who has been taking piano lessons since they were four, dedicated hours and hours, and then an entire degree to music. Though, in the end, music is like any other language, we just want to keep it alive. Those guys dragging little drums in their bags are also musicians during the spontaneous drum circles outside Perez. All in their own way, depending on their need, desire and capacity.

If someone has grown up in a family that believes that global warming is a myth, I think acknowledging the fact that Mother Earth may need some help is a huge step.

So good job everyone!

~katherine - campus sustainability coordinator
photo credit - jonathan rausseo

Sure it is destroying the planet, but I could win a muffin

It is that time of the year again, when millions of Canadians hold their breath, squeeze all their hopes into the pit of their stomachs, and roll up the rim to see if they win. The problem is that the only thing we are actually winning is a crappier planet.

Roll up the Rim to Win has been the bane of my existence for the past decade. The University of Ottawa, like every other University, has a disposable cup problem: there are too many of them to put a fine point to it.

Many, if not the majority of disposable coffee cups, are tossed directly into the garbage on campus. There is a general misconception that coffee cups are covered with so much wax that they can’t be recycled (I can’t blame anyone, what is that stuff on the inside of the cup that is super shinny and stops water from leaking out of it?). Otherwise, people understand that you can recycle them and they do just that... except that they do it while the cup is still half full of coffee. That means that the coffee soaks the rest of the paper in the bin and contaminates everything.

So when I say that I cringe at the slowly rolled “r”s of Rrrroll up the Rrrrim, believe me there is good cause. You see, all the efforts we put into getting people to use reusable mugs during the year goes completely out the window during roll up the rim. It is as if there is a collective frenzy of cup lust during the month of March... and for what? A one in six chance to win a muffin? This is a serious problem; I even have enviro friends that give up their reusable mugs for a couple of weeks. It is simply understood that during roll up the rim, the rules about being green somehow no longer apply.

Well, here are the straight goods people. Those "extra" coffees you are drinking to get more cups in the hopes of winning it big are really bad for the environment. Let’s look at a couple of contributing factors.

• First, most coffee cups are not being recycled properly, as previously mentioned. The first place to look for discarded cups; the garbage bin. The second place; the street. The third place; the river. After that, you can probably find large chunks of cups in the stomachs of birds.
  
• Second, cups come from trees. I know that this seems like a really intuitive thing to mention but it seems like people have totally forgotten this. All those cups mean that a whole lot of trees aren’t growing in the forest anymore. I wish that the cups were made from 100% post consumer paper, but they aren’t.
  
• Third, those cups are being created from pure unicorn love. They are a concoction of chemicals and plastic based materials that have the potential of doing some serious damage in your body. I do know of people that have said that coffee tastes better when it is in a disposable cup... I mean if you like the taste of wax and plastic and stuff like that, more power to you.
  
• And finally, all those cups don’t ascend into disposable cup heaven. No, not at all... they go to a much worse place, the municipal landfill. As mentioned, many cups aren’t recycled and so they are filling up the dumps, and the fact that roll up the rim encourages the idea buying more cups for more chances to win is kinda evil. (Just another random evil thing, Tim Hortons is notorious for not having small coffee sleeves if your beverage is too hot; rather, you get an entirely new cup to put your other cup into.)

Roll up the rim is brilliant in how effective it has been. If Tim Hortons can convince you to spend a couple of more bucks on coffee at the cost of a muffin or donut that only costs the company like 20 cents, than they are certainly coming out on top. Of course, the big loser is the environment and by extension the people that live in it. 

I would love to know how many more cups are sold during roll up the rim just so I could wrap my head around the total damage being done... but maybe I actually don’t want to know because I kind of think it would be too depressing. Whatever, just don’t come to me complaining of a destroyed planet littered with endless fields of coffee cups... you at least got a muffin out of it.

~ jon - campus sustainability manager
photo credit - jonathan rausseo

Katimavik et uOttawa

Je suis bénévole pour l’université d’Ottawa et je participe au programme katimavik. J’ai débuté en janvier et depuis j’aime bien ce que je fais, j’ai un travail très diversifier et physique et je m’y plais. Chaque lundi il y a le muggy Monday qui consiste a donner du café gratuit a tout ceux qui emporte une tasse réutilisable et ces vraiment drôle car la plupart des gens nous voit tous les lundi mais vont quand même acheter un café chez Tim Horton a la place de l’avoir gratuitement à condition d’avoir une tasse de café. 

Chaque mercredi je vais cuisiner avec quelque autre personnes, des mets végétariens pour les distribuer gratuitement le midi, ces vraiment une bonne idée car si on n’a pas assez d’argent, ou on est trop paresseux pour ce faire un lunch, chaque mercredi on peut quand même manger. En plus ces toujours délicieux. Les vendredis je dois faire le tour des bâtiments pour m’assurer que toutes les stations de recyclage sont dans un bon état et que le recyclage est bien fait. Dans les temps libres je fais toute sorte de choses cette semaine j’ai trié des déchets il y avait peut-être dix sacs de poubelles au début, et à la fin du triage il n’en restait qu’un. Le reste était recycler ou composter.

On y a trouvé des repas complet même pas touché des pommes dont le sac n’avait pas été ouvert et bien d’autres choses que je ne nommerai pas. Chaque dernier mercredi du mois il y a une gratuiterie, des gens font des dons de ce dont ils n’ont plus besoin et qu’ils jetteraient normalement à la poubelle et nous, on les redistribue gratuitement à ceux qui en ont besoin. J’y ai moi-même trouvé plusieurs trésors et je suis toujours curieux de voir les nouveaux dons à chaque mois.

~ Toni, bloggeur invité
 photo credit - jonathan rausseo

Eco-friendly Sex

While the Fulcrum’s latest sex-ydition and the Recycle Mania waste-free challenge that are plaguing my mind of late, I have to pose the question:

“Environmentally friendly sex; is it possible?” Let me rephrase, “is environmentally friendly, baby-free, safe sex possible?”

Answer after my research: Probably not.

Option 1:
The pill, one of the most popular prescriptions on university campuses, can be used to effectively prevent pregnancy and if you’re in a committed relationship where both partners are tested negative for STIs, it may be appropriate. Though, as recently covered in the media, the estrogen in the pill is causing the feminization of fish and also, those plastic cases aren’t recyclable in your regular recycling (they are in our campus plastics program though).

Option 2:
Condoms, sitting out in front of Health Promo (if you are interested in some freebees) for the campus population, are also effective in preventing pregnancy and the transmission of STIs. However, the environmental impacts of producing them and the end result pose a problem because though latex condoms are biodegradable, the lubricant alters their ability to decompose. Furthermore, the packages are non-recyclable.

Option 3:
The lambskin condom, fully biodegradable and adept in preventing pregnancy (but not protective against STIs) are an alternative. The condoms are manufactured out of sheep intestine which poses an ethical problem to some environmentalists and the packaging- still not recyclable folks.

Option 4:
Non-hormone, female-controlled birth control (particular product I found called the Fem Cap) which can prevent pregnancy, and apparently STIs with the use of a microbicide (this proved hard to research). It’s made of silicone which will eventually have to be thrown out but the lack of hormones makes the fishes happy.

Option 5:
Just pull out; uhmm- I am not even going to get into the lecture your health teacher should have had with you in grade school. Though environmentally friendly, this is NOT an effective means of preventing pregnancy or STIs!

Ugh, I tried. If anyone has any suggestions as to how to combat this issue let me know. Until then, it will be like the organic vs. local debate I always have with myself.

~merissa - campus sustainability coordinator
photo credit - jonathan rausseo

A Meaningless Attempt to Inspire?

I joined the waste-free challenge because I thought it would inspire my colleagues to rethink their habits in the workplace.

I already live a mostly waste-free lifestyle: recycling, composting, avoiding products with too much packaging, unplugging electronics when they’re not in use, turning down the heat when I’m away, turning off my computer screen when I leave the office, etc. This isn’t to say that I’m perfect or better than anybody. The point is that I make a conscious effort to reduce my share of waste. Sometimes it’s a hassle, but I do feel a sense of responsibility for my actions.

Let’s be honest. There’s no such thing as a completely waste-free lifestyle. Humans live on this planet. We have a right to use our fair share of its resources. Sadly though, I’ve come to realize that a large percentage of people I meet simply do not think or care about using their fair share. My last job was at an environmental non-profit here in Ottawa. I was living in a bubble. All the things that my past co-workers cared about seem meaningless here at the University. Waste, sadly, is everywhere.

(No styrofoam poutine.... amazing!)

It’s 2012. Anyone who pleads ignorance on basic behaviours like recycling or even reducing waste is simply lying or just plain lazy. I’ve seen people at the University throw out plastic bottles in their blue (that’s for paper) bins, when there’s a recycling station just down the hall. I’ve seen several people use paper towels to dry their dishes. Still others drink coffee from disposable cups every day. And the most egregious offence, in my opinion, is all the one-sided printing (let alone the massive amounts of unnecessary printing) that goes on around here. Perhaps the University should be monitoring its staff’s printing habits in an effort to shave costs.

I know, I know. This sounds like just another tree hugger ranting about saving the planet, right? Blah. Blah. Blah. I guess what I’m trying to say here is this: make a damn effort. There is no “away” when it comes to waste. It all ends up somewhere—whether that’s a landfill or polluting our kids’ future—and it’s everybody’s responsibility to think about their choices in an adult manner.  

I’m watching you.

~robert - guest blogger

photo credit - jonathan rausseo

Devenir Vert

On entend beaucoup parler d’écologie et des multiples moyens de devenir vert pour protéger, localement ou à la grandeur de la planète, l’environnement. Je crois que même s’il y a encore beaucoup à découvrir, nous avons fait des pas de géant sur les façons de devenir vert. Maintenant, pour préserver la beauté de toute la nature, nous y compris, il faut que nous mettions en pratique ces façons de devenir vert. Ce qui me préoccupe surtout ici, c’est notre motivation à adopter ce style de vie, ne serait-ce que pour ce qui a trait au recyclage. Reconnaître l’importance de prendre soin de notre environnement, c’est une chose, mais le mettre en pratique comme règle de vie, c’est autre chose.

Idéalement, il faudrait que nous trouvions ce style de vie aussi naturel que de verrouiller notre porte quand nous quittons notre demeure pour aller à l’épicerie ou au travail ; une sorte d’automatisme. On ne se pose plus la question «Est-ce que je devrais recycler ? Utiliser moins de papier, moins de plastique ?» Nous le faisons parce que nous savons que c’est une bonne chose, la meilleure. Bien sûr, cela prend plus de temps que de tout mettre à la poubelle, mais le résultat en vaut la peine. Nous n’avons qu’une seule terre, et elle se fatigue du mauvais traitement qu’elle reçoit. Les faits sont là. Mais il faut espérer qu’il ne soit pas trop tard pour la sauver. Le fait est que, que nous en soyons conscients ou pas, nous dépendons d’elle. Elle est notre mère qui nous nourrit et nous protège. Mais aussi elle est belle, incroyablement grandiose, même dans ses plus petits détails.

Parfois j’ai entendu des gens me dire qu’ils ne croient pas au recyclage parce qu’ils sont convaincus que tout ce qu’on met à la rue va à la poubelle, que le gouvernement municipal nous ment pour «bien paraître». Si c’est ce que pensent beaucoup de personnes, je crois que nous devrions miser davantage, dans la publicité en faveur du recyclage, sur ce qui est fait à partir de ce que nous mettons dans nos bacs de recyclage.  Démontrer non seulement qu’effectivement le recyclage se fait, mais aussi montrer concrètement ce que deviennent les objets recyclés. D’autre part, il pourrait être bon de montrer le désastre causé par l’absence de recyclage, non pas pour accuser les personnes qui ne recyclent pas, mais pour leur faire comprendre l’impact du manque d’engagement dans ce domaine.

Il y a toujours place à l’amélioration. On peut aussi s’engager à devenir vert graduellement, ne serait-ce qu’en recyclant le papier, le plastique, et le verre. Puis on peut se donner un nouveau but : prendre le transport en commun quand cela est possible, acquérir des appareils électro-ménagers qui soient énergie star quand le temps est venu d’en acheter, etc. En agissant ainsi, nous nous donnons le temps de bien établir ces nouvelles habitudes. C’est certain que l’idéal est encore loin, mais je crois qu’en faisant au moins un peu, on obtient déjà une victoire. 

~ marie colombe de maupeou - blogger invité

 photo credit - jonathan rausseo