Your Custom Text Here
Why Every Degree Should Include Climate Literacy - Climate change isn’t just an environmental issue and it’s dangerous to think of it that way. It’s a global crisis that affects everyone, regardless of their field, age, or demographic.
It is no secret that the pharmaceutical industry in Canada is a thriving business. In 2021, the total value of pharmaceuticals sold reached $34.1 billion, with roughly 33,000 people employed in manufacturing these drugs (Government of Canada, 2024). Many of us rely on these medications, whether you are popping an Advil for that annoying headache, or reaching for the antihistamines for those seasonal allergies. But have you ever wondered where these consumed medications go after they’ve done their job? You might assume they’re completely used up by your body to cure your ailments, but that’s not always the case.
When you think of CRISPR, the gene-editing tool, you might picture a dystopian future with designer babies, or perhaps a sci-fi scenario like Peter Parker gaining superpowers from a spider bite that alters his DNA. But in reality, CRISPR is far from either of those extremes (sorry to anyone hoping to become the next Spiderman). Instead, it's becoming one of the most promising breakthroughs in medicine, and it's all happening right now.
Black Mirror is a popular Netflix show that showcases instances of futuristic applications of technology. It is unsettling and eerie and yet, we have already experienced some of the examples shown in Black Mirror. As we advance in technology in innovative and beautiful ways, its use for sinister and heinous motives also surfaces.
Climate change is a pressing issue that is continually on the rise. It is also, unfortunately, a highly politicized topic. The climate crisis is often discussed in a silo; disconnected from other pervasive issues like physical/mental health and the economy. The environment and the economy are not independent, nor is one more important than the other. Prioritizing one over the other is going to have devastating effects, some of which we already have begun to see such as increased cost of living, loss of resources, and increased frequencies of natural disasters.