Over the Edge + November 3, 2010 Plastic Bags Everywhere Insert sub heading here HANNAH PETERSEN NEWS EDITOR Groceries, pharmaceuticals, clothes, and everything we purchase is put into a bag. Usually it’s plastic. Plastic bags require less energy and less money to manufacture than paper bags. Even though many people reuse and recycle plastic bags to line the trash can or pick up puppy poop, this plastic waste still finds its way to landfills, flaps from trees, and floats in the wind. Plastic bag litter has become One successful region to ban single-use shopping bags is the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, in northern Alberta. Beginning in October 2009 provisions for a plastic bag ban were reviewed and revised. Reusable bags made of cloth or other machine washable fabric and /or made of durable plastic (minimum of 2.25 mm thick) and are suitable for reuse must be used by grocers, etc. Bags provided by pharmacists to contain prescription drugs are exempt from this bylaw. Peace Officers are used to enforce the bylaw and may make examinations, investigations and inquiries with any retailer. Those who fail to comply are De welll. A such an environmental nuisance and eyesore that Ireland ONLINE SOURCE Plastic bags ruin everything and Australia have heavily taxed bags or banned their use outright. Some Canadian and American cities are also considering similar actions. subject to financial fines. When is it B.C.’s turn to eliminate plastic bags? Recently, four of Canada’s largest retail associations have endorsed a plan to cut the distribution of plastic bags in B.C. by 50% over the next five years. The plan aims to encourage consumers to use reusable shopping bags through various incentives and education initiatives. It will also provide consumers with a way to collect and recycle single- use plastic bags at retail locations. As for now, Metro Vancouver is closest to banning single-use bags. City council recently allowed the city to amend the Vancouver Charter to allow it to ban plastic disposable grocery bags. Council has also directed city staff to provide a report in early 2011 on ways to eliminate the single-use plastic bags until a ban can be implemented. Metro Vancouver, as a regional government, doesn’t have jurisdiction to impose an outright ban but can encourage and promote the idea of charging fees for disposable shopping bags through outreach to local business associations. As for now in Prince George, most grocers and retailers charge for plastic bags in hopes to reduce plastic bag waste. Is it working? Tell Over The Edge what you think, email us at over-the- edge@unbc.ca. Mark ih FES) and Win a Trip! NORTHWEST GOOD. hee NORTHWEST TERRITORIES anf ( Graduate degree holders in the Northwest Territories earn $25,000 more per year than the national average. That’s a clear advantage, and a clean one as well. Because the Northwest Territories offers all kinds of jobs and other opportunities that let you work to save the planet. With a wide range of incentives for alternate energy and _ start-up businesses, you can make it big as you make it better. —> The Northwest Territories. Make your mark without leaving a mark. d, AQf come make your mark .ca TERRITORIES 1-877-336-3940 Education Grads Face Difficult Job Market Many are forced to look for work out of province, or country TREVOR RECORD THE UBYSSEY (UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA) VANCOUVER (CUP) — Graduates of education programs in British Columbia are finding it increasingly difficulty landing jobs in B.C. schools, forcing many to leave the province or work abroad.“l have always known that an amazing, full-time teaching position in the city | want to live in probably wouldn't await me at graduation from UBC,” said recent University of British Columbia education graduate Nadine Bouliane. Sydney Craig, director of teacher education at the university's faculty of education, says that the trend has been growing over recent years.“Certainly for many years we’ve been telling our students that they would most likely begin their careers as teachers on call. And that’s been the case for more than five years ... | think that what you’re hearing now is that even those part-time positions are not as available.” Craig claims that there are a number of contributing factors to the decline in available positions. Declining enrolment, linked to a low birth rate, is one factor. Lower funding given to public schools is another.“Certainly in B.C. right now, the governments are not providing boards with a lot of financial resources,” said Craig. According to the Ministry of Advanced Education, the number of teachers employed in public schools has stayed relatively the same over the past five years. While there were 33,704 total teachers working in the province in 2004— 2005, the number has only dropped by 300 from 2005 to 2010. Further, the majority of education graduates are listed as “in the workforce,” though this number includes graduates who are still searching for work or have found employment in other sectors.Craig says budget cuts have meant the loss of many programs, which means that teachers from disbanded programs are also in competition for teaching jobs. “If the special education classes or resource rooms [are cut], those are the teachers that move into the classrooms,” said Craig. “If the music program is cancelled, and that is happening everywhere, then those music teachers become regular classroom teachers. In some cases they’re even closing libraries.” Meanwhile, some education graduates are looking for teaching jobs in other countries where their degrees are highly valued. Bouliane recently took a job at a girls’ middle school in Mokpo, South Korea.“! was hired through a recruiting agency | encountered at a UBC career fair last year,” said Bouliane. “If | had plentiful work in Vancouver, | would still take the opportunity to be teaching abroad while | have no mortgage and child-rearing obligations. For me, working overseas is a big part of my professional practice as a teacher.” Craig pointed to Canada’s strength in exporting educators to schools abroad.“There are many provinces in Canada that have developed a partnership with schools in Asia,” said Craig. “Many have chosen the B.C. curriculum, possibly because we’re on the Pacific Rim, but also because it’s fundamentally a very good curriculum. “So naturally enough, they’re happy to get grads from B.C. university teacher education programs.”Craig says, however, that here in B.C. there are only a few areas looking for teachers, including kindergarten and subjects such as French, math, science and home economics. There may be some hope for graduates specializing in other subjects soon, however. Craig said that a large number of baby-boom teachers are expected to start retiring soon, which will occur near a time when a larger number of students begin entering schools. “There is talk of a renewal by 2015,” said Craig. “Quite a significant renewal.’For Bouliane, though, schools should be paying more attention to the market place and avoid taking on more students than there are jobs to fill. “| do question the integrity of UBC’s policy of taking as many tuition dollars as possible to churn out professionals where jobs don’t exist,” she said. “Entering teaching was my decision, but | wonder if our certifying institutions don’t have a responsibility to acknowledge the realities of the job market in the number of teachers they qualify each year.”