This summer we are featuring a series of blog posts from students in the ENV 2301 course "History of Environmental Thought". We are super happy to highlight the thoughts and ideas of these bright young individuals. The New York Times - The Magic Kingdom is Going Green Climate change is a hoax! Climate change is going to kill us all! Okay now that I have your attention with these opposing opinions of climate change, let’s get into the whole point of this blog.  Climate change is neither of these things. Climate change, however, is responsible for loss of habitat,  floods, food and water shortages, and other issues worldwide... BUT we are not doomed and there are ways to stop this from happening! But how exactly can we do this? Well here are my suggestions, and they begin here at the University of Ottawa. My suggestion comes from when I took a trip to Disney World two years ago.  While I was driving to see everyone’s favourite mouse at the Magic Kingdom, I noticed...

This summer we are featuring a series of blog posts from students in the ENV 2301 course "History of Environmental Thought". We are super happy to highlight the thoughts and ideas of these bright young individuals. Everyone cares about climate change. I mean, we’re all supposed to, right? Save for the climate change deniers a la Donald Trump mold, saving the Earth has been pushed to the forefront of social issues, and it seems like everybody cares. The real question is does everyone know what to do to help? Putting desires into simple daily practices is still an area where most people struggle to “walk the talk. A big reason for this is a lack of information and resources, but for some people it is just an issue of caring. The University has a responsibility to ensure that every student who leaves this institution is equipped with the knowledge to live sustainably and be able to think critically about climate change. Simply put, the University must try their best to g...

This summer we are featuring a series of blog posts from students in the ENV 2301 course "History of Environmental Thought". We are super happy to highlight the thoughts and ideas of these bright young individuals. “To build a road is so much simpler than to think of what the country needs”. Aldo Leopold questioned the destruction of natural environments through economic pursuits. The University of Ottawa could learn a lesson from this quote as it has largely neglected the need for green spaces, despite some efforts.  Rewilding means letting nature take its course as it did before urbanization invaded. It is arguably one of the greatest solutions to climate breakdown through capturing carbon from the air, especially through restoring trees, and allowing animals to maintain balance within ecosystems. This act of designating space that species can re-inhabit inherently promotes the flourishing of biodiversity while protecting and preserving the land from development a...

This summer we are featuring a series of blog posts from students in the ENV 2301 course "History of Environmental Thought". We are super happy to highlight the thoughts and ideas of these bright young individuals. With close to 50,000 members of the University of Ottawa, representing both staff and student, our university is responsible for a large influx of vehicles, electricity, food resources, and other consumables that help the university run. However, given this large population, the negative effects on our climate are inevitable with our current practices, and are unsustainable. While one university alone cannot change the scope of climate change, practicing climate and earth conscious measures can help promote a more environmentally conscious system to other private and public institutions, in hope of creating a cumulative effect. Thus, for this article I propose a solution to Earth well-being and climate change, to re-adjust 7:00 pm to 6:00 am scheduling in order...