- OVER THE EDGE _ February 9, 2007 L Jeffin Raju Have you seen any improvement from. the previous NUGSS elected members? Would you like to see more services from NUGSS? Do you want io make sure that -your money ts being spent in a way that justifies you? Dovyou want to ste more events involv- ing. You as a student? If you. have said YES, to any one of these questions Then vote for-Jeffin Raju, as Member Mike Touhey Mike Touhey is a 3rd year Commerce Student: majoring in accounting/marketing- His plans are to complete his undergraduate commerce degree and pursue a chartered accountant designation, This year as the at Large. And I will show you a different NUGSS!! Hi, Lam Jeffin, a 3/4" year Finance/Mar- keting student, I haye been in UNBC for 2yrs now, | believe someone needs to.step up and make a change rather than just com- plaining. 1 was elected as the International Liaison at Kwantlen International College. Twas in charge of all the 6 campuses for the international and exchange students. I ran for election at Kwantlen because I thought Director of Public Relations for the UNBC Commerce Student Society he organized the 3rd Annual UNBC Apprentice as well as helped witha number of other CSS pro- jects. that they needed a change and getting more students aware of the student. association and now I feel that the NUGSS needs me. Please vote for me and I will do by best so that you too are aware of NUGSS and make sure that your money is being utilized the. way you wanted, Some of the goals that I will achieve once elected: ly Making: sure-you are getting your money’s worth from NUGSS. which is over $200 for each student. —~9, POSITION UNSPECIFIED (LIKELY CSM Rep. Mike has attended UNBC for the past 2 years, before that he was-a business student at the British Columbia Institute of Tech- nology, Mike is originally from West Van- couver, BC where he graduated from West 2) Getting more events that would bene- fit NUGSS and subsidizing them through sponsorship. 3) Try to-get. scholarships for students. ‘4) Try. to get the U PASS, because we are a university in BC. 5) More interhational events to create the international experience at UNBC, like sushi night, arabian night and international day. 6) And anything that I believe the siyj- dents need, Vancouver Secondary in 2003. Mike enjoys snowboarding, dirt biking and many other outdoor sports in his tine off. Contact: touhey@unbe.ca The Next Green Revolution? CHARLES HAMILTON THe Swear (UNIVERSITY OF SASKATCHEWAN) SASKATOON (CUP) -- If there is one issue dominating Canadian politics this year, it is undeniably the environment. Climate change, environmental sustainability, and ecological con- Nixo.Lay Dimirrov, WwWW.E-COBO.COM servation have all increasingly become fixtures of conversation -- both in the mainstream media and on politicians’ teleprompters across the country. But the environment, and the politics that surround it, are more than just an election issue: they are perhaps the most complicated and important concerns of an en- tire generation. “This is surely the most press- ing issue humanity faces today,” says Peter Prebble, provincial rep- resentative for Saskatoon Grey- stone. “If current trends continue, the consequences could be devas- tating.” Prebble, a longtime environ- mental activist and respected provincial politician, has dedi- cated his political career to the en- vironment. A former NDP cabinet minister and environmental ad- visor to Premier Lorne Calvert, he currently serves as the legislative secretary for Renewable Energy Development and Conservation. “Hopefully this warmer-than- usual winter will sober people up to the realities of climate change and global warming,” he says. “Places like Greenland are going to melt, and the world’s popula- tion is going to see the effects.” This past year, the Saskatch- ewan government commissioned Prebble to draft a report outlining a vision for an environmentally sustainable Saskatchewan. The re- port, released this past December, contains 30 recommendations, most of which pertain to renew- able energy and conservation. The recommendations touch on everything from wind power to environmentally friendly building practices. But the most important pillar of the report is conservation, both in producing and consuming energy. Prebble insists a movement towards renewable resources and better, more energy efficient building practices could translate into tangible benefits for Sas- katchewan’s economy. “Energy conservation is a way for Saskatchewan businesses and Crown corporations to generate revenue,” Prebble says. “Some- thing as simple as using more energy efficient light bulbs could save SaskPower millions.” Many of Prebble’s recom- mendations are based on case evidence from other jurisdictions across North America. Manitoba and British Columbia have both implemented strong energy con- servation practices, and Prebble hopes their success -- in terms of _both economic and environmental — sustainability -- will put to rest any initial fears about the practi- cality of such programs. “Plans like the one I have out- lined here have worked in other jurisdictions across North Amer- ica,” Prebble says. “They are proof the economy and environ- mental sustainability can work together.” But not everyone is confident Saskatchewan’s NDP govern- ment has what it takes to paint this _ province’s economy green. Glen Hart is the environment critic for the opposition Saskatch- ewan party. He says although he agrees with the vast majority of Prebble’s recommendations, the details -- namely the economics -- are still a little fuzzy. — “We have a number of ques- tions of how things will actually work,” Hart says. “Of course, overall we support a movement towards environmental sustain- ability and alternative energy re- sources.” Hart says he is most impressed with Pebble’s plan to help small- scale producers of green energy generate and earn income. The exeess energy produced by small- scale wind farms and solar panels would be fed back into the system, and green producers would be re- warded for their contributions. “There will be.a cost, but there will also be economic opportun- ities that we need to maximize,” Hart says. Like many other critics, Hart is concerned about how some of these initiatives, namely those dealing directly with SaskPower, would effect Saskatchewan tax- payers. - Hayley Hessien is an environ- mental economist at the University of Saskatchewan. She says that ‘while she agrees that something has to be done, tax-incentives may not be the best way to encourage environmental responsibility. “There is a lot of talk about spending money to provide incen- tives for people. “My initial reaction to that is, ‘Is that going to be economically sustainable, and how are they go- ing to do it?’” Hessien says. “I would like to see the government allow private industry to operate in a way that is profitable, is sus- tainable, and doesn’t rely on gov- ernment incentives.” Prebble says the environment is an issue that transcends polit- ; ical divisions, and he is doing his _ best not to make this ‘an issue of ' left-right politics, of public versus private industry. “T think there is a real under- standing among people of the aprovince that something has to be done. Private industry and the . government need to work togeth- er to ensure that Saskatchewan is successful in its movement to- wards a green economy.”