A new false solution has recently emerged, duly greenwashed in order to create confusion – and greater business opportunities, wrote the World Rainforest Movement in an article published by Australia’s EngageMedia.org Nov. 24. The story included a case study of a REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) project in Laos by one of the world’s largest paper companies, Oji Paper.

Between 2004 and 2006, said the article, Keith Barney (MES ’02), a York PhD candidate in geography and a member of the York Centre for Asian Research, carried out a study in the village of Ban Pak Veng in Hinboun District, Laos. Barney described the village as suffering a “double displacement effect”, the first caused by being downstream of the recently constructed Theun Hinboun Power Company (THPC) dam and the second by Oji’s plantations.

The cumulative impact of the relentless release of pollutants into the air from Canada’s “Chemical Valley” affects the members of Aamjiwnaang in a way that is fundamentally unfair, and is now argued to be unconstitutional, wrote Dayna Nadine Scott, professor in York’s Osgoode Hall Law School and co-director of the National Network on Environments & Women’s Health in The Sarnia Observer Nov. 8.

The mantra of the environmental justice movement that “some of us live more downstream than others” is a stark and obvious truth in the Chemical Valley. This area houses one of Canada’s largest concentrations of industry, including several large petrochemical, polymer and chemical industrial plants, as well as coal-fired utilities on both sides of the border.

When we consider this pollution and its effects on the health of residents in the context of their status as First Nations people on the reserve, then the violation of their constitutional rights comes into sharp relief.

Is your school as green as it could be? How would you deal with your school’s biggest sustainability challenge? Tackle that topic on video and submit it by January 21, 2011, and your team could win up to $140,000!

Here’s what you need to know:

Who can enter?
Anyone who is a legal resident of Canada and is currently enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate program, full or part-time, at an approved Canadian college or university is eligible to enter.

What are the prizes?
1st prize: A $20,000 team prize and a paid summer internship with TD FEF (or another organization) for each team member, plus a $100,000 grant for your school to support on-campus sustainability initiatives.
2nd prize: A $15,000 team prize and $15,000 grant to support tree-planting initiatives at your school.
3rd prize: A $10,000 team prize and $10,000 to support tree-planting initiatives at your school.

Three upcoming panels will look at social, economic, technological and political issues related to “automobility”, as well as the production, use and culture surrounding the car.

DETAILS:

First Panel: Technological Futures- Automobility and Beyond
Monday, November 29, from 5 to 7pm on the 7th floor of the York Research Tower

Second Panel: The Changing Political Economy of the Global Automobile Industry,
Monday, January 24, 5 to 7pm on the 7th floor of the York Research Tower

RSVP: Please register in advance at ccges@yorku.ca

Hosted by York’s Canadian Centre for German & European Studies (CCGES) and organized by centre affiliates Professor Roger Keil (right), director of the City Institute at York University (CITY), and Professor Emeritus Bernard Wolf of York’s Schulich School of Business, the first panel – “Technological Futures: Automobility and Beyond” will take place Monday, Nov. 29, from 5 to 7pm on the 7th floor of the York Research Tower, Keele campus.

Keil and Wolf suggest that Europe an and North American societies of the 20th century were transformed and marked by the automobile more than by any other commodity.

Richard Francki has been appointed assistant vice-president, Campus Services & Business Operations (CSBO), effective Nov. 30,  Vice-President Finance & Administration Gary Brewer announced on Friday.

A graduate of Queen’s University and Royal Military College, Francki has held senior posts with three school boards over the past decade, most recently as superintendent of facilities services for the Toronto Catholic School Board.  His background also includes an impressive career with the Canadian Forces, in which he held several key leadership and senior technical roles in its naval element, Brewer said.

As assistant vice-president, Francki will be responsible for providing strategic leadership and operational oversight to all CSBO units, including Custodial & Grounds Services, Maintenance, Planning & Renovations, Construction, Energy Management, Campus Planning & Sustainability, Security Services, and all ancillary business units (Bookstores, Printing & Mailing Services; Housing Services; YU Card & Food Services; and Parking Services).  His portfolio also includes the management of the University’s commercial tenancies, business relationships and contracts.