Obiter Dicta Issue 12 - March 10, 2014 | Page 15
page 15
A R T S & CU LT U RE
Avant garde volume 4: Bart Danko
MARIE PARK
Layout Editor
Thinking green is becoming more elusive
to the Canadian public, as the day-to-day tasks
of life preoccupy our minds and influence our
every action. It seems that being environmentally conscious in our lives has become something
that must be an active and deliberate choice, as
opposed to a way we carry out various aspects of
our daily lives on a constant basis. For instance,
the purchase of a hybrid car is not a default option
and, with a significant price difference, is largely
inaccessible to the middle-class income earner.
Even for policymakers and city planners, environmentally conscious choices must necessarily be
weighed against competing financial restraints.
But, with a dismal report card in commuting
times for the average Torontonian and a patchy
waste management system, there is an urgency to
inform the public to rethink the way we approach
“thinking green” and that there are new ideas that
benefit both the environment and economy. One
Osgoode student is doing just that - educating
the public about an innovative take on the way we
think about the physical places we occupy.
Bart Danko is a Master of Environmental
Studies and Juris Doctor (MES/JD) student at
Osgoode, living in the rapidly expanding city
of Brampton which lies north of campus. After
studying psychology and sociology at the University of Toronto, he first undertook the MES
portion of his dual degree; this background in
environmental studies gave him the backdrop to
ground the law school courses that soon followed.
“That year at MES was huge in directing my
future interests and research plans, which quickly
became to challenge traditional legal academia in
every way,” Bart said. “Throughout the process,
my appreciation for the law, and its ability to elicit
actual social change, has only grown.” Not only
has his understanding of the intersections of the
law, social, and environmental change developed,
but his creativity shines through his art of filmmaking.
Just this past January, Bart’s filmmaking
debuted at the Focus on Sustainability Film Festival. His film revolves around the idea of the
“commons,” the belief in reclaiming space in
favour of the public benefit. Terra Communis is
Latin for “land belonging to all people.” The film
explores the idea of green roofs, which have been
increasingly implemented in urban development
projects for their multiple benefits, but have been
slow on the uptake due to the lag in the necessary changes in government policies and attitudes
towards the idea.
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