After six years of vacancy, the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) reinstated the role of Vice President (VP) Sustainability and Operations this June. Hassanatou Koulibaly—who served as VP Student Life in the 2022-2023 academic year—currently holds the position after running unopposed in the 2022-2023 SSMU executive election. The VP[Read More…]
Tag: sustainability
Exploring the groundbreaking architecture at the “Design for the Global Majority” exhibition
As the global housing crisis worsens, a revolutionary project spearheaded by the Minimum Cost Housing Group (MCHG) at McGill’s Peter Guo-hua Fu School of Architecture promises to reverse the narrative. “Design for the Global Majority,” an exhibition happening on campus from Oct. 2 to 27, showcases affordable and sustainable housing[Read More…]
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…]
Some stones are better left unturned
In recent decades, the many negative effects of tillage, the practice of turning over soil after harvesting crops, have become increasingly evident: It disrupts soil structure, accelerates soil erosion, and causes runoff of pesticides and fertilizer, damaging adjacent ecosystems. No-till farming, a practice that involves leaving the soil largely undisturbed,[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…]
McGill’s Catalyst Awards celebrate community contributions to sustainability
In September 2022, McGill’s Office of Sustainability granted three Catalyst Awards recognizing students, staff, and projects that have made exceptional strides in pushing sustainability forward at McGill. “Since its first edition in 2011, the purpose of the awards has always been to acknowledge and celebrate those who led the way[Read More…]
As ice sheets melt, will Greenland mine?
While many are worried about large swaths of land disappearing under water as global sea levels rise due to melting ice sheets in the Arctic, Greenland finds itself with a different problem: Its coastline is growing. Scientists have observed that when Greenland’s ice melts, it runs down to the ocean,[Read More…]
McGill alumni create world’s first carbon-negative concrete
After water, concrete is the most commonly used resource in the world. From the buildings we live in to the roads we drive on, nearly everything in our built environment is made from concrete. Unfortunately, it’s also the most destructive material in the world, responsible for approximately eight per cent[Read More…]
400 days of cycling and recycling
On July 1, 62-year-old McGill mechanical engineering professor Larry Lessard set out on the journey of a lifetime. An avid cyclist and expert on recycling, Lessard plans to travel across three continents, 28 countries, and 20,000 kilometres in 400 days. Along the way, he’ll stop at universities and wind farms[Read More…]
No such thing as empty land: Agricultural expansion and displacement in South America’s Gran Chaco region
The destruction of the world’s rainforests has long been framed as an environmental problem. Extractive logging, mining, and agricultural practices have led to the loss of millions of acres of wildlife and have emitted massive quantities of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere. But for years, activists have argued that[Read More…]