Hi world,
This past year I have been working on a four part documentary series as part of the UBC Sustainability Ambassadors program. Myself, Daryl-lee Schalm, Carissa Kirk and Brian Marx each created a short documentary on one aspect of UBC’s resource use; Energy, Waste, Food and Water.
As humans living in the Anthropocene, we are experiencing an exponential increase in population, resource consumption, waste disposal etc.(aka. the great acceleration). As such, wicked environmental problems continue to develop and our impacts on the environment are increasing at at accelerating rate. Our current economic models promote linear economies and this, along with our technology dependent, globalized world means that we all to easily become disconnected from the intimate relationship we have to our resources, and to the land.
These short videos are meant to begin restoring that connection, through highlighting the way that UBC as an institution, and a student body interacts with the land, and uses the resources it provides. By beginning to understand our local resource use, I hope we can begin to think about the global context in which all of this is taking place, and adapt our behavior and our ways of thinking accordingly.
We recognize that these resources, and the land on which UBC is situated is the traditional, ancestral, occupied and unceded land of the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ speaking xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) people; it is sovereign unsurrendered. For me, an aspect of sustainability is recognizing and understanding the mistakes of the past so that we may not repeat them now or in the future. So i encourage you, as you watch these videos to think about the historical context in which they exist, and ask yourselves these questions:
Who is speaking, and what narratives are framing these issues?
Who isn’t part of the conversation, and who should be?
How are our investments and consumption habits contributing to climate injustices?
How can we adapt our resource systems, and cities to be sustainable and resilient?
Is what we are doing enough, given the 3 year window scientists have given us to peak emissions?
There are, unfortunately, many more questions that we need to be asking ourselves which did not make this list, and there are many more problems that need to be solved which have not been brought up in this article. However, I truly believe that if we use our collective voice to push for commitments to climate action and climate justice, and if we reflect those beliefs in our own thoughts and actions, that we can overcome the wicked problems which face our species.
Thank you for taking the time to read this , please enjoy this short documentary on Energy at UBC:
Sam