After conducting a seven-month online survey, on Thursday the University of Indonesia (UI) announced the first environmental-based universities rankings, hoping the benchmark would be adopted by every campus worldwide, wrote The Jakarta Post Dec. 12.

The survey, conducted between May and November, ranked participating universities based on several factors, including the percentage of green space on their campus, electricity consumption, waste and water management, and the application of eco-sustainability policies and efforts. As many as 94 universities from 35 countries participated in the survey, which is called “UI Green Metric Ranking of World Universities 2010”.

Seven US-based universities entered the ranking's top 10, including the University of California, Berkeley, which topped the list, and Northeastern University, which came fourth.

"We hope there will be more universities participating in the survey next year," UI rector Gumilar Rusliwa Somantri said.

UI GreenMetric Ranking:

University of California, Berkeley, US (8,213 points)
University of Nottingham, UK (8,201.55 points)
York University, Canada (7,909.14 points)

***DocUnites is a joint initiative between GYN (Global Youth Network), JHR (Journalists for Human Rights) and ECO (Ecologically Conscious Organization)***

HEY YORK STUDENTS

GYN, ECO and JHR are excited to present a great new initiative called DOCUNITES. Every month we will be screening a social/environmental justice documentary that will allow students to 1) Gain an insight into current world issues 2) Meet like minded individuals in a fun and interactive environment and 3) Learn about each others interests and articulate ideas that will allow us to develop as responsible future leaders

Why should YOU want to come out to this event ???

- The documentary is FREE for your viewing pleasure
- There will be REFRESHMENTS
- Its a cheap and fun ON-CAMPUS outing
- The documentaries screened are STUDENT FOCUSED meaning that they are directed to reflect the interests of York Students

Upcoming Event:

A REMIX MANIFESTO:
Date: December 7, 2010
Time: 5.30pm - 7.30pm
Location: 1004 TEL building

Is remixing music a RIGHT or a COPYRIGHT?
As University students many of us are guilty of downloading movies/music/TV shows and even books. In a world where we can share information in the matter of seconds however, this documentary addresses the very relevant changing concept of copyright. Created over a period of six years, the documentary film features the collaborative remix work of hundreds of people who have contributed to the Open Source Cinema website, helping to create the "world's first open source documentary"

York community members are reminded to switch off and unplug before leaving for the weekend.

It is also an important time to remind others in your area about the importance of shutting down computers, lights, small office or kitchen appliances and other personal electronics before leaving the office. This simple gesture can yield tremendous results given that staff and faculty operate more than 8,000 computers, and together the Keele and Glendon campuses have more than 140,000 internal lights.

The ability to shut down certain electrical devices will vary depending on departmental requirements. Click here to review Yorkw!se's list of recommendations on what to unplug, or visit the Yorkw!se website and look for the Unplug icon.
For information on reducing your own carbon footprint, visit the Zerofootprint website, which offers a free and easy-to-use carbon footprint calculator.

Click here to view the YFile article

A new false solution has recently emerged, duly greenwashed in order to create confusion – and greater business opportunities, wrote the World Rainforest Movement in an article published by Australia’s EngageMedia.org Nov. 24. The story included a case study of a REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) project in Laos by one of the world’s largest paper companies, Oji Paper.

Between 2004 and 2006, said the article, Keith Barney (MES ’02), a York PhD candidate in geography and a member of the York Centre for Asian Research, carried out a study in the village of Ban Pak Veng in Hinboun District, Laos. Barney described the village as suffering a “double displacement effect”, the first caused by being downstream of the recently constructed Theun Hinboun Power Company (THPC) dam and the second by Oji’s plantations. “Through the land reform program,” Barney writes, “village degraded forests, which are crucial for village food security and swidden production, have been zoned for industrial plantation production and bulldozed.”

In 2006, Oji commissioned the Global Environment Centre Foundation to carry out a feasibility study to investigate how Oji could gain carbon credits through the clean development mechanism (CDM). The report described villagers as carrying out “illegal slash-and-burn (or swidden) farming,” and noted that they have “no other means to secure food.”

As Barney pointed out, the report omitted to mention that villagers in Ban Pak Veng were “undertaking swidden farming not out of timeless tradition, but largely due to the loss of access to lowland paddy from the THPC hydro power project.”

Barney added that the CDM feasibility study “ignores at least 20 years of research in Laos on the importance of upland farming and swidden-based, non-timber forest products in the rural economy.” Barney documented in detail the complex relationship the villagers have with their land and forests and noted that the state officials, who are responsible for producing the maps for the land reform program, “do not use anything like the same terms for landscape and forests as villagers do.”

Click here for YFile link

The cumulative impact of the relentless release of pollutants into the air from Canada’s "Chemical Valley" affects the members of Aamjiwnaang in a way that is fundamentally unfair, and is now argued to be unconstitutional, wrote Dayna Nadine Scott, professor in York’s Osgoode Hall Law School and co-director of the National Network on Environments & Women’s Health in The Sarnia Observer Nov. 8.

The mantra of the environmental justice movement that “some of us live more downstream than others” is a stark and obvious truth in the Chemical Valley. This area houses one of Canada’s largest concentrations of industry, including several large petrochemical, polymer and chemical industrial plants, as well as coal-fired utilities on both sides of the border.

When we consider this pollution and its effects on the health of residents in the context of their status as First Nations people on the reserve, then the violation of their constitutional rights comes into sharp relief.

The First Nation is tied to the land, confined to a small portion of their traditional territory. To this legacy of colonialism, they add the legacy of a century of petrochemical production. That they should be expected to endure these threats to their well-being, perpetuated by the ministry’s failure to enact an effective, health-protective air pollution regime, is unconscionable. That they should be forced to choose between subjecting themselves and their families to these risks or leaving the reserve at great social, economic and cultural cost, demonstrates that their equality rights are clearly infringed.

Click here to view YFile link

Is your school as green as it could be? How would you deal with your school’s biggest sustainability challenge? Tackle that topic on video and submit it by January 21, 2011, and your team could win up to $140,000!

Here’s what you need to know:

Who can enter?
Anyone who is a legal resident of Canada and is currently enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate program, full or part-time, at an approved Canadian college or university is eligible to enter.

What are the prizes?
1st prize: A $20,000 team prize and a paid summer internship with TD FEF (or another organization) for each team member, plus a $100,000 grant for your school to support on-campus sustainability initiatives.
2nd prize: A $15,000 team prize and $15,000 grant to support tree-planting initiatives at your school.
3rd prize: A $10,000 team prize and $10,000 to support tree-planting initiatives at your school.
4th prize — People’s Choice Award: From February 28 to March 11, 2011, your entries will be posted on TD’s YouTube channel and the public will be invited to vote for their favourite idea. The winning team will be awarded $2,500.

Where should I begin?

Please remember:
Your video cannot be longer than four minutes and has to be submitted in one of the approved file formats.
In your video, you need to clearly communicate a sustainability challenge facing your school and propose a unique solution that is realistic and viable. But by all means, please present a forward-looking idea. After all, you are our future environmental leaders!
When deciding on your wardrobe, logo-free clothing is the way to go. And, unless you composed an original score for your video, please skip the music. Be sure to read the full Rules for any restrictions, so that your video will be entered in the contest.

How do I enter?

How are winners selected?
For the top three prizes, videos will be judged on:

For more information regarding rules, deadlines and submission details, please click here