BUILDING TOWARDS 2030
BY JOANNE ARCAND
O
USING THE UN GLOBAL GOALS TO FOSTER ADVOCACY IN DESIGN
ne of the biggest sur- prises of the shutdown that came with the surge of COVID-19 cases last spring was the environ- mental impact. Photos
of grounded airplanes and empty highways, wild animals moving into cities and satellite images of reduced carbon emissions stopped us in our tracks with thoughts of what this moment could potentially do for the cli- mate emergency. As teachers, we like to bring good news to students whenever we can. For a while, news such as reports of China re- ducing greenhouse gas emissions by 25 per- cent at the start of 2020 offered a glimmer of hope. People were learning how to bake and cook together again. Pictures of new crafts, making do with what we had instead of buying more and connecting over social media to ask and offer help brought a taste of a more sustainable culture. Parents forced to work from home found time to play again and more people made runs and walks out- side part of their daily routines. We now know the increase in deliveries
and reduced recycling efforts during isolation have likely made up for the initial drop in emissions. We are waiting to see whether our increased reliance on items that aren’t shared will affect our overall consumption patterns. In our conversations with students about
science and social studies, however, we now have a few months of images that connect to a choice. We may choose, as a society, to re- turn to the consumption habits of last year. This year, I challenge you to consider anoth- er option with your students.
“Historically, pandemics have forced hu- mans to break with the past and imagine the world anew. This one is no different. It’s a portal: a gateway between one world and the next. You can choose to walk through it dragging the carcasses of our prejudice and hatred, our avarice, our database and dead ideas...or we can walk through it lightly, with little luggage, ready to imagine another world. And ready to fight for it.” – Arundhati Roy, author and political activist, The Pandemic is a Portal, YouTube
What if we continued that impulse to use
what we have before ordering more? What if we celebrated and fostered nature and natu- ralized spaces that grew during the summer? What if we took daily outdoor walks for mental health, made reaching out and of- fering help and noticing when people are in
8 ETFO VOICE | WINTER 2020
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