|
City educators optimistic after Copenhagen trip |
|
|
|
Written by Caroline Zentner
|
|
Friday, December 25 2009, 8:33 PM |
Two Lethbridge educators who went to the United Nations conference in Copenhagen to discuss education about climate change accomplished their goal despite the politicking.
While the outcome of the conference wasn’t as much as they hoped for, they said the non-binding agreement at least got people talking and provides a starting point.
“Hopefully that momentum will carry forward to Mexico,” said George Gallant, a broadcast journalism instructor at Lethbridge college.
He and Rick Mrazek, a University of Lethbridge professor of science education, went to Copenhagen as part of a 10-member Canadian Wildlife Federation delegation. Their goal was to discuss the role of education in climate change at meetings that ran parallel to the main conference and increase awareness among Canadians about Copenhagen. With 45,000 registrants for 15,000 spaces at the conference, gaining entry to the main Bella Center was no easy feat.
“From the point of view of the Canadian Wildlife Federation, they were very pleased with the engagement that was possible even with the limitation of some of our access,” Mrazek said.
Mrazek met with folks at the Danish School of Education to learn more about how their education system focuses on sustainable development. As such, it incorporates both sciences and humanities in what could be called a lifestyle approach.
“We need to work across the curriculum,” Mrazek said. “We have to make teachers comfortable in raising some of those tough questions.”
Gallant created a series of videos, which can be found online by searching for “CWF at Copenhagen.”
“(Access) was the biggest problem for me but it opened up the opportunity to go to these other locations that traditional media weren’t covering,” Gallant said.
He shot some footage at Hopenhagen, an International Advertising Association movement created to support the UN in getting a strong deal at Copenhagen, and at Klimaforum, or people’s climate conference. In addition to the conference, they had the opportunity to note Copenhagen residents were good role models for living sustainably.
“I did not see one overweight or obese person there,” Gallant said. “There are bikes everywhere.”
Most homes are small and in multi-family developments that allow for greater density. People walk or bike to their destinations. Streets have sidewalks, bike lanes and car lanes. Train service was available every 20 minutes. Bathrooms featured dual flush toilets and waterless urinals. Appliances like refrigerators are small. Denmark imposes a large car tax on people who buy cars, more than the price of the car, Gallant said. Danes also pay a 25 per cent value-added tax and roughly 70 per cent of their income goes to taxes. Wages are much higher than in Canada.
Some of those practices may not work in Canada given its size and climate but some might be adaptable to North American conditions. Denmark is far ahead in sustainable living practices and has been educating its citizens since the 1970s, Mrazek said. He hopes to use their experience in educating Canadians about climate change. Education becomes even more important with a complicated topic like climate change that involves science, politics and economics at the same time. On top of that, today’s technology makes it easy for anyone to broadcast their opinion whether it’s based on fact or not.
“We have to teach people how to be wise consumers of information,” Mrazek said. “We have to mobilize our society better in terms of public participation. We have to take seriously things like being well-informed voters and holding governments accountable.”
The agreement reached after United States President Barack Obama arrived at the conference sets a mitigation target to limit global warming to no more than 2C and take action to meet the target.
Although Canada was labelled the fossil of the day at the conference and Alberta’s tarsands considered an environmental black eye, Mrazek said the damage likely won’t be permanent.
“This was a snapshot. Canada, I think, has a very solid reputation in the international community and that’s what was conveyed back to us,” he said.
|
