Nikalas Kryzanowski, News Editor news @theotherpress.ca Ashley Whillans, Associate News Editor associate @ theotherpress.ca Are you the planet's Greenest Student? ‘ Nikalas D. you have your own balcony-top vegetable Kryzanowski patch in the middle of the downtown urban jungle? news editor Or do you and your group fundraise to build a well in Africa? Even if you haven’t and instead ride your bike to school or even simply find a garbage can instead of littering, these and other things may qualify you as the planet’s Greenest Student. 3" Whale, a local social networking group, has run the Greenest Person on the Planet contest last year. With over 600 entries last year, it hopes to replicate the success they had then with a new twist, the Greenest Student on the Planet contest. Founded by SFU Sustainable Entrepreneurship Professor Boyd Cohen, it’s hoped that the contest will encourage average people to think and live in a more environmentally friendly way. He argues that the world of students is a much different place than that of generations ago and that students today have a far deeper understanding of environmental and social issues than the average working professional of today; he believes that fact alone will make for a successful contest. The contest is open to students from ten years old and up with three different categories: Junior High (10-13 years), Secondary School (14-19) and University/College (all ages). “Students have so much awareness, energy and passion to devote to the projects that they’re working on, whether they’re environmental or social issues,” said Christy Stesky, a spokesperson for 3 Whale. “We want to identify those people and recognize them for the hard work that they’re doing and also provide them with the opportunity to inspire more people to create amazing changes on their campuses.” Winners of the contest will receive an apple iPod or iPhone, loaded with 3" Whale’s own Luna application, which is a guide to being green on the go. As a bonus, the group is also running the Greenest Student Body on the Planet contest for the school with the most entries. The winning school will receive that title as well a feature on the front of the 3° Whale website in an effort to promote discussion and ideas on how to live sustainably. The competition closes December 31*, 2008. Coquitlam libraries ‘plug in’ to latest trend Pisses wanted to rent video games for free? Well, thanks to the Coquitlam and Poirier Public Libraries, you can! On Wednesday, November 12", Young Adult Services Librarian, Chris Miller and the Library’s Teen Advisory Committee took part in a group discussion about the Coquitlam Public Library’s initiative to loan out video games. Thanks to a compassionate Teen Advisory Committee, a group of roughly ten high school and middle school students, who came up with the idea last year and a couple of extra budgetary dollars, plans for the “Games Program” are already under way. Beginning in the New Year, the Coquitlam and Poirier Public Libraries will become part of only a handful of libraries in the Lower Mainland to loan out video games. With a library card, all patrons will be able to borrow from a circulated selection of multi-platform video games for systems such as the Wii, Playstation 3 and the Xbox 360. “Initially, the library will purchase games with a broad audience appeal—those rated E (Everyone),” Miller explained in a phone interview with The Other Press. However “classic” video games with a more mature rating, such as Halo 3, will also make up the collection. They hope inclusion of video games will prove beneficial to libraries and patrons alike. “Video games involve thinking and memory skills, such as the Wii games, and promote transferable skills such as hand-eye coordination, multitasking, problem-solving, By Ashley Whillans, Associate News Editor and memory skills,” said Miller. “Not only are (video games) an additional storytelling and education tool, but hopefully they will also draw people to the library that wouldn’t otherwise go.” With future plans including video game rentals, a drop-in games centre, as well as Dance Dance Revolution and Rock Band competitions, there is no doubt that thanks to Miller, the Coquitlam and Poirier Libraries are bound to be more popular than ever. Coquitlam’s Poirier Library Northern activist blames Health Canada for a a a a poison i ng WI Id | ife By Nikalas Kryzanowski, News Editor Aa to Dr. Josette Wier, a wildlife activist in Smithers, Health Canada has washed its hands of a toxic chemical, leaving British Columbians to suffer the consequences. The concern stems from the chemical MSMA, a controversial substance that was used in the north as a pesticide to control the pine beetle infestation. Wier contends that the MSMA has been found to be far more toxic than previously understood and ineffective as a beetle control mechanism. Up until 2004, the Pesticide Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA), a branch of Health Canada, maintained that the substance, “based on available information poses minimal risk to humans or the environment including wildlife.” In 2006, the substance was banned from use as a pesticide in both Canada and the United States. In January of 2007, a meeting was held to address the issue of twenty previous years of use. All parties agreed that urgent action was required to determine a solution for the toxic leftovers of nearly half a million trees that were injected with the arsenic-based pesticide. Wier now contends that the citizens of B.C. have been left to contend with a “toxic legacy,” with the MSMA potentially entering the food chain as birds suffer the effects from eating from infected trees. She suggests that Health Canada is dragging its feet on the issue of risks to human and environmental health. She claims that not a penny was offered for studies and no technical or scientific advice was received. On the provincial level, it took a year for the B.C. Ministry of Forests and Range to create a website with information on MSMA and they have now begun to map the affected areas. “It is shocking that the agency that caused the problem not only ignores it but does not offer any meaningful collaboration towards addressing it,” she said. “The Ministry of Forests and Range does not have one single toxicologist and has always relied on the expertise of PMRA to assess the safety of pesticides.”