Silly sweaters, serious subject

Brittany Maguire (far right) fights over a particularly silly sweater with Dalhousie staff Trisha Dempsey, Mateo Yorke and Melissa MacKay (Bruce Bottomley photo)

What’s your silliest sweater? Is it a Christmas one? Was it a gift from a relative who wildly missed the mark? Is it well-worn? Torn?

This Thursday, Dalhousie’s Office of Sustainability wants you to break out that sweater and turn down the thermostat just three degrees to help combat climate change.

Dalhousie is one of five campuses the World Wildlife Fund has partnered with across Canada to promote National Sweater Day. The Office of Sustainability is inviting students, faculty and staff to pledge to take part in the campaign by commenting on its post at Dalhousie's Sustainability News blog, rewarding the faculty/department earning the most support for the campaign with a pizza party.

"Three degrees may not seem like much, but it can make a big difference," explains Brittany Maguire, campus outreach assistant with the World Wildlife Fund. "If every Canadian kept their thermostat to that level all winter, it would save the same amount of carbon dioxide as taking 350,000 cars off the road."

As for the sweaters, Ms. Maguire says it’s about doing something quirky. "It’s an upbeat, fun way to start the conversation. People can see how easy it is, and that three degrees is not that big of a deal."

The Office of Sustainability hopes the event also gets faculty and staff thinking about where their thermostats are set at work. They’re presently working on a temperature policy for the university, consulting with Facilities Management on preferred thermostat settings for both daytime and nighttime across campus.

The day will close with a celebration at the Grad House, featuring musicians Nick Everett and Ben Caplan and DJ TheJuice. Admission is free, and there will be prizes for particularly awful sweaters.

For more on National Sweater Day, visit the WWF website.