From the packaging of an online order to the takeaway cup holding a morning coffee, plastic is everywhere. In 2019, humans produced 460 million tonnes of plastic, an enormous increase from the mid-twentieth century when roughly two million tonnes were produced annually. A key aspect of plastic pollution is that[Read More…]
Tag: environment
Planting a SEED: McGill sustainability project moves forward in UN competition
Two years ago, roughly half of high school-aged Canadians did not believe that climate change could be stopped. Some of this hopelessness stems from climate education, which still revolves around causes and effects, rather than solutions. But, can climate change be stopped without spurring the next generation to action? That[Read More…]
SEDTalks showcases the wonders of McGill graduate student research
The Trottier Institute for Sustainability in Engineering and Design hosted the fifth annual edition of SEDTalks, a program where three graduate students work throughout the winter semester to present their research to the public in an accessible, engaging way. This year’s students presented a wide array of research in public[Read More…]
The truth behind so-called sustainable vehicles
In December 2022, Federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault gave the go-ahead for a new lithium mine in northern Quebec. The James Bay project represents the only lithium mine in North America, and the materials are slated to help meet the surging demand for electric vehicles. Although the shift away from[Read More…]
McGill Policy Association hosts ‘Indigenous Voices in Resource-Sector Policy’ panel
On Nov. 9, the McGill Policy Association (MPA) hosted a panel titled “Indigenous Voices in Resource-Sector Policy,” which centred around Indigenous activism within environmental policy. The first of the two panellists was Yolanda Lopez-Maldanado, an Indigenous Maya from Mexico and the recently appointed Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Indigenous Affairs Officer[Read More…]
Donating clothing, dressing the community
Say you’ve decided to clean out your closet and you find yourself staring at a pile of clothing, realizing you don’t wear most of it. According to the Pareto principle, you probably wear 20 per cent of your clothing 80 per cent of the time. Maybe some of it is[Read More…]
Five small habits to reduce your digital ecological footprint
Even though the internet is not a space we associate with physical resources or landscapes, it very much affects it. It is an unfathomably large resource and therefore requires resources to sustain it, even if it seems as simple as opening your laptop. Studies estimate that digital technologies are responsible[Read More…]
The human cost of a warmer future
This summer, I spent most of my time working and hiking. If I wasn’t running around helping a client find something at the pet store I worked at, I was running around the woods with a backpack full of snacks, coffee, and water. I ventured past the city of Montreal[Read More…]
Cabinet criticisms coincide with McGill’s concerning treatment of faculty
On Oct. 26, Governor General Mary May Simon swore in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s new cabinet. As Canada faces its second consecutive Liberal minority government, the cabinet will become a focal point of debates over the future of the nation. Notably, Trudeau appointed Member of Parliament (MP) Anita Anand to[Read More…]
The social and environmental toll of concrete production
Names like McCall MacBain Arts, Redpath Museum, or Stewart Biology may bring to mind lecture halls and study spots, but all these McGill landmarks have at least one more thing in common: They all use concrete in their construction. Just about every infrastructure project in Montreal, and across the world,[Read More…]
