Finding a local link

Now that I have decided to publish my article in The Communicator, I have been trying to find a "local link," or something present and locally pertinent that will help connect readers to the issue. A quick Google search of "university of winnipeg sustainability" set me on a promising path. At the beginning of this February, the University of Winnipeg launched their newest sustainability initiative. There are numerous "modules" of this initiative that will aim to reduce the university campus's environmental impact. These modules range from energy, to transportation, to waste. I could discuss this initiative as a current example of community leaders looking ahead towards progressive sustainability, rather than remaining stagnant and continuing to support pipelines and petroleum production.

This then got me thinking about a fact that I heard in an article a couple of months ago: Lloyd Axworthy, the president and vice-chancellor of the U of W used to sit on the Board of Directors of Hudbay Minerals. A quick Google search of Hudbay shows that this company has consistently been rated as one of the top industry polluters in North America. Another example of industry infiltrating our community: Phil Fontaine, the Chair of the U of W's Indigenous Advisory Circle is currently working for TransCanada, which owns the Keystone XL pipeline. Another: until September 2013, Enbridge was sponsoring a campus program that gave inner city youth a chance to spend a day at the university.

I think that it may be interesting to bring up these examples as factors that may restrict our progression towards sustainable energy. One of the things that kept coming up in my interviews with both Umesh Ramachandran and Matthew McCandless was that the public, the politicians, and the industry must be on board if we wish to make sustainable energy a viable possibility. Having Axworthy and Fontaine, two people who are or have been involved with the industry and who are both major players on the political stage, occupy such important positions at the U of W could seriously hinder our community's progression towards sustainability. And if this is happening at the U of W then it must be happening in many other institutions. Just an idea...

Unfortunately I will not be able to interview Lloyd Axworthy for my article as he left for Ukraine earlier this week. However, I will hopefully be interviewing the Director of the U of W's Sustainability Office on Monday.