The hot topic of climate change was on everyone’s mind at the recent Climate Catastrophe and Social Justice: Analysis and Action conference held at the U of T. Sponsored by Science for Peace and supported by GSU Student Justice Committee, UTERN, and Students Against Climate Change, it was both a student activist and academic conference featuring many speakers and workshops on climate change topics.
A desire for results was the day’s theme. Cheryl Teelucksingh, an Associate Professor of Sociology at Ryerson University dispelled the myth that “people of colour do not care about the environment” through her discussion about environmental justice and racialization.
Also addressing the topic was 22 year-old Ben Powless, co-founder of the Canadian Youth Climate Coalition and student at Carlton University. Powless spoke about issues close to home, such as the impacts of the environment on Indigenous peoples and the Arctic. He argued that by framing climate justice within a human rights context, it “gives Indigenous and impacted communities the right to speak for themselves and empower them to participate in debates [about climate change].”
Environment in relation to business was another key issue. Dr. Leslie Jermyn from U of T’s Anthropology Department critiqued capitalism in her speech, as did Dr. Jim Stanford. He discussed the problems of nature regulation under capitalism, providing his own solutions. One suggestion for positive change was “to think about Toronto not as simply a built space or simply a human space, but it is also a natural space… and all its meanings, [and] how we live with nature in cities.”
The climate change conference provided not just analysis, but also action. A panel of speakers providing legal, political, and practical directions for reducing our footprint took the stage in the late afternoon. Theresa McClenghan, a lawyer from the Canadian Environmental Law Association discussed how the public can affect environmental law. Albert Koehl critiqued the transportation system and provided simple, yet powerful advice saying, “If you’re going to deal with global warming, you have to get out of your cars.”
Action took another form through a series of workshops. Each presentation bridged the gap between speakers and audience, allowing for discussion of practical action happening within campus and throughout Toronto.
Those who attended the transportation workshop spoke with members of Bikechain, U of T’s bicycle repair facility and supporter of carbon-free commuting. Another group debated how society could achieve a future richer in green technologies. Representatives from FoodShare and Local Food Plus—organizations that help build sustainable food systems—addressed food’s connection to climate change.
The workshops were a hit with students, “phenomenal” even, as described by Eric Bear, an OCAD student currently studying Integrated Media. He enjoyed the free-form format of the workshops, but wished they had provided more time for discussion.
In a post-conference interview, Paul York, a conference organizer and board member of Science for Peace, articulated several aims of the conference saying, “there was definitely an activist component to…[the conference], aimed at stimulating progressive environmental activism at U of T and encouraging people to get involved who were not involved before.” This activism was addressed in the Climate Camp workshop. Climate camp is active in the U.S., England, and Africa, and will take place in Ottawa in 2009. According to Paul, “The basic idea is that young people get together and live together for a few days[…]in a makeshift camp during which time they have intensive workshops and discussions with experts on climate change and collective resistance to social injustice. Sometimes Climate Camp results in non-violent civil disobedience action[…]to bring media attention to the issue.”
The Climate Catastrophe and Social Justice: Analysis and Action conference was more than just a meeting of minds. It was a call to youth-oriented action against climate change. Based on the success and strong attendance of the October 4 conference, the call was heard.
