Zachary Pelletier

Mass demonstrations are, in theory, a way for the general populace to protest about issues in a very visible way. In general, I like the concept as it gives a very large amount of power to the people and has been successful in the past but I also have one issues with them. These marches can turn violent and chaotic quite quickly, especially if the police and the protesters start butting heads. For example, just a few days ago, the pro-Palestine march ended with numerous incidents of vandalism. The reason that I think that these marches are more susceptible to violent actions is that there is a group mentality that forms when there is such a large gathering and this group mentality pushes people to commit actions they usually would not even think about. For this reason, I prefer other forms of protest like petitions since they incite change without risk of getting pepper sprayed.


This is a poster I found on the internet which has a witty and recognizable source as well as advocating for positive change in the form of ditching coal.

Week 5 update: To reduce the amount of single use plastics I consume every week I have started bringing my own lunch rather than eating subway or any other school lunch. I have also stopped eating lunch on days where I don't stay on campus for most of the day. This means that I usually eat only 2 lunches at school and the other 5 are eaten at home. Finally, I have restarted bringing my reusable water bottle to school to avoid having to use an empty bottle that I would get after buying and drinking a beverage at the cafeteria.

This week, I decided to learn about biomass and explain it in as much detail as I can. Biomass, in simple terms, refers to materials that come from living organisms(plants and animals mostly) and that can be converted into energy. The energy usually takes the form of some type of fuel(ex: firewood or biogas) which is renewable and less detrimental the the atmosphere and the climate. In 2023, biomass provided 5% of the total energy that was consumed in the US. The largest consumer of biomass in the US is the industrial sector with 45% of the total usage which mostly goes to heating buildings and powering certain power plants. Even though the US is a large user of biomass, it is actually classified as an exporter. This inadvertently means that the US prefers mining and using coal and oil rather than using its excess of biomass to meet its energy consumption. If coal, oil, and natural gas were to be completely replaced by biomass, by 2050, we could avoid between 2.62 gigatons and 3.59 gigatons of CO2 being sent into the atmosphere and could save between $218.83 billion and $287.99 billion.

Hello, My name is Zachary Pelletier. I'm currently studying science in the Pure and Applied science program. I am an avid reader of novels and comic books and like to play video games with my friends. I don't currently have any concrete ideas regarding the sustainability project but will soon start seriously brainstorming ideas. For this semester, I am very interested in the EcoChallenge which asks that you take a walk. This may seem like a very simple challenge but to me, who is not in the best physical condition, this challenge is an opportunity to gain a more active lifestyle.

VANIER SUSTAINABILITY PLAN
I think that, for a school's sustainability plan, this is quite good. It contains a wide variety of ideas, all tackling different aspects of sustainability. I also think that if Vanier follows through with these plans, it will be a great step towards a more sustainable school. There is always going to be more possible plans but, for now, this set should be worked towards for the foreseeable future. The only problem that I have with these goals is that many of the goals, particularly in the education sections, are a little vague or lack a concrete way to measure success.
I think many of the initiatives proposed in the document are being put in place(ex: compost) or are already in effect(ex: electric car chargers) which is quite the achievement itself. Though, some of the completed initiatives, such as the ride sharing app, are not talked about enough which makes it so that the student body may not be aware of its existence.

Questions:
-Are there any plans to have a campus wide project including departments outside of the sustainability ones like some sort of large tree planting day.
-At what stage is the implementation of a Sustainability Officer Position described in your sustainability workplan.

initiatives:
-"Help develop a campaign about responsible consumerism: buying less, buying ethically, and re-using goods" (section 4.5). I have an interest in consumption and spending habits. Making a campaign about these subjects would, I think, be fun.
-" Increase awareness around issues related to food such as food security, health, and packaging" (section 4.7). I currently have a very unhealthy relationship with food and in helping to raise awareness about the problems with our food, I hope to also consume food with more awareness.
-" To recommend installing electric car charging stations on campus"(section 3.3). If a greater number of electric charging ports were to be installed around the campus I may be able to haggle my way into using may parents' electric car rather than my current gas car which would significantly decrease my carbon footprint

MY CURRENT COMMUTE
My current daily commute involves me driving from my home to the school and back. I drive to Vanier on my own but I often drive my friends back to their house when our schedules align. I could defiantly us public transit rather than my car but doing so would likely double my daily commute as I currently spend between 1h00 and 1h30 driving everyday but using public transit would mean spending around 2h30 in transit everyday. For this reason I am not planning to change my commuting habits much unless necessary.