Dear Editor,
I was both impressed and encouraged by The Journal’s coverage of the climate catastrophe (“The Climate Issue” September 13).
Particularly important were the stories on the City of Kingston’s climate emergency declaration last March, and the detailed feature exposing the University’s holdings in and donations from the oil and gas corporations that are leading carbon polluters.
It will be particularly useful for the energetic Queen’s divestment campaign to know that so many alumni hold senior posts in these firms.
It might also be useful for The Journal readers to know of a debate at City Hall this past summer.
Councillor Jim Neill was urging Kingston to ban the widespread practice of downtown retailers leaving doors open on hot days, wasting energy in an attempt to lure customers. Keep in mind that our climate emergency declaration is now six months old.
Responding to Mr. Neill’s motion, Mayor Bryan Paterson urged caution.
“Emergency does not mean we rush forward and do something,” said Mr. Paterson.
The Mayor did his graduate studies at Queen’s, learning his trade in the Economics Department. I don’t know whether His Worship looked into the thorny problem of externalities.
Sincerely,
Jamie Swift
Adjunct Lecturer, Smith School of Business
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