“The purpose of this outdoor event is to engage people and make them think of their own energy use,” said Barry Rawn, operations chair of U of T’s Sustainable Energy Fair. The Fair, which set up around King’s College Circle last Wednesday, was co-hosted by U of T groups including Energy Sustainability Community, Engineers without Borders, and Students of Science for Peace. The event’s organization committee was made up of people from academic backgrounds ranging from political science to engineering, exhibiting the multidisciplinary nature of environmental issues. The fair’s ultimate goal, said Rawn, was “to expose the university to sustainable energy practices in our own backyard.” He added that it is a step towards building a “culture of sustainability” that encourages energy efficiency as everyday practice, rather than a theoretical goal.
The fair led by example: all of the utilities at the event were powered by a sustainable energy source, such the barbeques, which ran on Biodiesel. Rawn said that U of T is doing a relatively good job at promoting energy sustainability, such as establishing the U of T Sustainability Office, but that “the onus is on [the students] to push administrators” to adopt environmentally responsible practices. He explained that the administration will always try to maintain the status quo, requiring students to push for change.
“The good thing about students,” Rawn added, “is [that] they’re naïve.”
The fair included representatives from many different student groups, government agencies, and companies that are developing sustainable energy technologies. Nathan Rotman was at the fair representing the U of T New Democratic Party. He said that the purpose of having an NDP presence at the event was to raise awareness.
“If you’re into the environment, the NDP is your party,” he chirped. He provided the example of former Toronto city councillor Jack Layton, current leader of the NDP, initiating the program to retrofit government buildings with energy efficient technology. Rotman added that initiatives like this one demonstrate progress and “won’t freak out conservatives.” The U of T Engineering Department was also present at the fair, displaying plans for the use of solar and wind energy in an urban setting. Isaac Harris, Josh Harris, and Ben Goldstein, who are students working on the projects with Professor Steve Mann, pointed out that solar and wind energy are most often used in a country or rural environment, even though they would be most useful and effective in cities. They hope that alternative energy sources will eventually become common and less intimidating for individual use. In fact, a proposal has already been developed to fit the Ontario Science Centre and the Banting and Best Building at U of T with solar roofing.
