OVER THE EDGE January 16-30, 2008 Resecca CARMICHAEL Copy Epiror What is the value of the forests and natural areas , Surrounding UNBC? Are they prime real estate for expanding the suburban sprawl of College Heights? Or are they better left intact as a home for wildlife such as frogs, salamanders, moose, deer, coyote and foxes, as well as offering natural beauty and recreation for students and the community? This question appears to have been answered for us by the City of Prince George through their plans for the proposed University Heights neighborhood, to be located on 674 hectares of land between UNBC and Highway 16, bisected by Tyner Boule- vard. If you haven’t heard much about this yet, you’re not alone. The message from the two public consultations in 2006 didn’t seem to spread very far. Many students seem unaware that the develop- ment is going to occur, let alone that it is starting this spring of 2008. Moreover, of the two consul- tation meetings that did occur, one took place in the summer break, and none seemed to specifically engage UNBC students or Alumni. However, wildlife biologist and UNBC graduate student Mark Thompson was paying attention, and he feels that the environmental impact assessment conducted was inadequate, and that this develop- ment is not in the best interests of the ecosystem, students or the community. He’s now leading a campaign of students to speak up and challenge the validity of this development. : As a wildlife biologist, his main criticism is that the environmental impact assessment was inad- equate and done too quickly, particularly regarding amphibians such as frogs, salamanders and newts. Animals such as these will not be able to survive in the area if the development takes place. While large mammals such as moose and deer were accounted for to some extent, they will also be displaced by this development plan. There are very low assess- ment standards for amphibians, since they are not seen as being economically important as fish or game animals. However, they do play an important role in the health of the ecosystem overall, as do many other components of the forest that are often not directly considered valuable. Amphibians are going extinct at a particularly high rate, and natural ecosystems in general are continually threatened by climate change and other human activities. Land lost through this development will not be replaceable. We would hope that a school calli ng itself “Canada’s Green University” would not support further destruction of natural lands so close to UNBC and would speak up in support of the students to sustain these lands. Revealing the power of Facebook, over one hundred and twenty five people have joined a group called “Green Students Against the University Heights Neighborhood Plan” before much real world discussion took place among students. Four- teen students attended a meeting last week to discuss the issue. They changed the name of the group to “Students for a Green University”. Despite the original name, the group is not anti- development, and the goal is not necessarily to shut down the Students Fight to Keep UNBC Green | University Heights project, which would prob- ably not be an option or necessarily desirable. Rather, most people seemed to feel that much | more consideration is needed for environmental _,.| sustainability and preservation of natural values, | that alternatives in location and plans should be 4 considered, and that students do need to be con- sulted before the project goes ahead. Most students were concerned about the loss of such a large amount of green space and wild- life habitat around UNBC. It is the close prox- | imity of natural beauty and recreation space ‘q that attracts many students to UNBC in the 4 first place. Loss of this land will also result in a loss of scientific research space close to the university. In the plans for the neighborhood, only 5% of the land is being set aside as wildlife. and riparian areas, although about 29% will be designated as park area. The neighborhood may be more sustainable if much more land is set aside for wildlife and ecological function, with improvements such as amphibian tunnels under roads and more wildlife corridors being options. Students may have many fresh ideas about sus- tainable planning to contribute to the proposal, if given a chance to speak. PGPIRG coordinator Marissa Balhura was concerned about the im- pacts to the community, since the trend in Prince George of outward suburban sprawl and a de- teriorating d owntown core is not healthy for people or the environment. Efforts may be bet- ter spent on growth and revitalization in areas { people already inhabit, rather than clearing new | ones. While this project will likely end up going ahead this spring, there is still much room for __.. | improvements in the plan. Students can play an wx| important role by letting their opinions on the matter be heard, whether or not you agree with the development. If we are going to live up to our title of a “Green University”, then perhaps we should take time to consider what that means and decide just how green we want UNBC to Stay. To get more involved with this issue, you can check out the Facebook group “Green Students Against the University Heights Neighborhood Plan.” More meetings, hikes in the proposed development area, and a possible awareness concert are coming up in the next few months. To see the plans for this project, go to http://www.city.pg.bc.ca/pages/search/ and search for “university heights”. Reasons Why I?ll Never Have to Go Outside Again Micue re MARTINS News Epiror The Consumer Electronics Show (CES), the largest annual consumer technology tradeshow, ran January 7th — 10th. Held in Las Vegas, the CES featured 2700 exhibitors showing off their latest gadgets, gizmos, and services to a 140 000 crowd of attendees. Among the thousands of new products on display was the Microsoft Surface, Micro- soft’s first surface computer, claiming to break down traditional barriers between people and technology, changing the way people interact with all kinds of everyday information. Sur- face is light weight enough that buyers will be able to carry it around with them much like the convenience of a laptop but with a 30 inch touch screen that allows several users to work independently or simultaneously without a keyboard or mouse. Whatever happened to the good ol’ pen and paper? Chevrolet was also present introducing its “Boss”, a self driving Tahoe, equipped with computer controls for driving and radar, laser and cameras for driving assessment. The idea being computer software replaces the human driver — because our lives haven’t become overly saturated with the dependence of tech- nology already. Bluetooth showed off its award winning motorcycle kit, the Parrot SK4000, a hands- free kit that features FM RDS radio- and wireless mobile control. Once attached to a helmet, it uses noise reduction and echo can- cellation technology and asserts to provide the widest range of features available in its market segment. The kit costs just under $200 dollars and is expected to start shipping out in the second quarter of 2008. Possibly one of the more practical items up for observation was Panasonic’s monstrous 150 inch plasma television. The prototype has a screen size equivalent to nine 50-inch Plasma TVs, with an effective viewing area of 11 ft by 6 1/4 ft.