Five McMaster University students have started a hunger strike to protest the university’s decision to install four fossil gas-fired electricity generating turbines on campus as well as to call for full divestment of the university’s endowment from fossil fuels.
A day after the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has once again reminded us that we need to move away from fossil fuels as quickly as possible, that rich countries need to act the fastest – and that we have ample zero carbon solutions for meeting our needs – it is troubling to see one of Canada’s top post-secondary institutions dragging us backwards.
Not only is McMaster betraying its students and alumni by investing in outdated fossil technology instead of embracing innovation, it is going to add to the air pollution burden for a city (Hamilton, ON) with Canada’s 3rd worst air quality. Read our letter to the President of McMaster here.
A university that doesn’t understand the existential threat posed by climate change, especially to its own students, and that lacks the imagination to adopt smart solutions like advanced building efficiency systems, renewable generation, air and ground source heat pumps and new forms of power storage, is really failing when it comes to sustainability leadership.
Instead, McMaster is jumping on the Ford Government’s bandwagon to drive a huge ramp up in gas burning in Ontario’s electricity system. Gas has gone from being used to produce 4% of our electricity in 2017 to more than 10% last year, and is projected to increase to 14% by the end of this year. In other words, we are going in completely the wrong direction.
The McMaster students are right – this is intolerable. But they shouldn’t have to go on a hunger strike to get their school’s attention. Please tell McMaster University that what it needs is smarter thinking, not polluting power.
And if you are a Mac alum, please let the university know how disappointed you are with its decision to embrace polluting gas – post a message on Linkedin telling the university what you think of its decision to embrace polluting gas. Hashtags #McMaster and #DropTheGasMac
Thank you for making the time!