User:Hngsm2/RatnaGhosh

Ratna Ghosh

Ratna Ghosh is a Canadian academic and education scholar. Currently, Dr. Ratna Ghosh is Distinguished James McGill Professor and William C. Macdonald Professor of Education at the department of Integrated Studies in Education at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, where she previously served as Dean of the Faculty of Education from 1998 – 2003.

Academic Career

Ghosh has garnered numerous distinctions and awards and is recognized in Canada and internationally for her exceptional scholarship and leadership roles. After completing her PhD at the University of Calgary, Ratna Ghosh became an assistant professor at McGill University in 1977. Since then, she has held several important positions in her career. She became the first woman to be appointed Dean of the Faculty of education in 1998. She was named Sir William C. Macdonald Chair in Education in 1994 and Distinguished James McGill Professor in 2004 and in 2019, she was awarded the CIES Honorary Fellows for her most marked contributions to growth in the field. She has been a professor in the Education department at McGill University for more than forty years.

Ratna Ghosh has contributed to scholarship on women, gender, education, human rights, comparative education among others. Her research and practical experience expand from Canada to the US, Latin America, Asia and Africa. Professor Ghosh is on the Editorial Board of several international journals. Dr Ghosh is an international expert in comparative and multicultural education and leading figure in the world of education, research and development. Ghosh’s contributions to the area of diversity and education have been most significant over the course of her career. Time magazine recognized her contributions in a Canadian Edition (October 13, 2003) with a full-page feature article on Ratna Ghosh as one of “Canada’s Best” in Education.

Goals

The GCAP outlines the following 10 discrete goals:

Robson Square, Vancouver Green Economy: double the number of green jobs and businesses with green operations Climate Leadership: require all new buildings built after 2020 to be carbon neutral Green buildings: reduce CO2 emissions in existing buildings Green transportation: reduce driving and increase foot, bicycle, and public transit traffic Zero waste: reduce solid waste going to landfills Access to nature: increase accessibility of green parks, greenways, and other green space Lighter footprint: reduce consumption and ecological footprint Clean water: increase water quality and reduce water consumption Clean air: increase air quality, measured against Metro Vancouver and World Health Organization guidelines Local food: increase amount of locally grown food Current Status

According to the City of Vancouver website, there have been many steps taken to reduce waste and recycle more in the City. Out of all the priority actions that were planned, 80% have already been complete. Many “beaches, shorelines and waterfronts throughout Vancouver” have been cleaned up and brought back to life. “Greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) have been reduced by 7% across the city” which is an 18% decrease per capita since 2007. Buildings that are being built now are using 50 % less energy than before and in comparison, to other parts of the province. The cycling and walking networks within the city have been expanded with addition of a 28 kilometer cycling path along the ocean.

Additionally, two million dollars have been funded to community-led projects for a greener Vancouver. The city of Vancouver also “opposed the Kinder Morgan pipeline, [to prevent] a sevenfold increase in oil tanker traffic in Vancouver’s harbor”, which would putt the shoreline and the climate at risk. Further, “the creation of a new coal export terminal on the Fraser River” was opposed by the City, and banned any future coal facilities from being built in Vancouver to protect residents from toxic dust and the planet from rapid climate change.

Currently “about 76% of the waste created through the construction of new buildings or the demolition of old ones is recycled or in the case of wood, used for energy” however this is still far from “zero waste”. By fostering a closed-loop economy, which means using material like metal, wood and other materials in “a single direction”, they still need to be replaced with materials that can be reused for other purposes.

Establishing Neighbourhood Food Networks (NFNs) is another way that currently work towards sustainable food consumption systems. Since the GCAP's implementation, there have been five grants that have funded NFNs in the City of Vancouver. The Greenest City Neighbourhood Grants program from 2010 and Social Responsibility Fund from 2011 are a few examples of funding that has been provided for projects on a variety of green initiatives such as gardening, workshops, and community kitchens.

Reception Criticism

In 2015, Metro Vancouver sought input from the general public on the initiative. Some of the respondents emphasized that the action plan is not enough and that “we need to do more to protect what we have rather than react to what we’ve lost.” Thus, having an active and proactive approach is emphasized rather than a reactive approach. Former city councillor Fred Bass commented that to “save our ecosystems, we need to be heroic [as] we’re facing a real ecological emergency.” The public’s criticism is that they want to see measurable and concrete results instead of objectives such as to “secure critical and sensitive habitats and environmental corridors”. The public wants to know how are these objectives being implemented and if they are being achieved. There needs to be doable actions and specific measures taken towards each goal without more development projects that would have adverse results of hurting the environment.

Support

Support for the initiative has come in the form of international recognition. In 2015, Vancouver won a C40 Cities award - given in recognition of cities that demonstrate world-leading sustainability initiatives. Vancouver was recognized as the fourth greenest city in the world according to the 2014 Global Green Economy Index.

References