By: Virago

There was a time when reading the words "Ce véhicule roule au biodiésel" on the Nova Bus ahead of me put a smile on my face. The STM's pride rubbed off on me as I considered this biodiesel initiative the first significant step towards the eco-conscious model my city was finally becoming. Although this was definitely a good start, just how significant a step it was is debatable. An entire decade has passed since the original kick-off of the famous Biobus project, and yet they're still only using a measly 5% biodiesel mixed with 95% regular diesel - an important detail strangely omitted from their ever-present and self-congratulatory bumper stickers. There appears to be quite a disconnect between the STM's projected green image and the reality of their efforts that is worthy of examination. Temperature, cost and accessibility, their usual given excuses for not using a higher amount of biodiesel are easily discredited by facts.

The woman who follows the crowd will usually go no further than the crowd.
The woman who walks alone is likely to find herself in places no one has ever before.
Albert Einstein

By: Irene Armitt

When we learned about feminist art in my Fine Arts class, the lecturer asked the audition to speak about what feminism meant to them, a room that was normally so talkative, went relatively quiet. Only two people responded, one a young woman who responded, "Isn't that in the past already? Who even cares about feminism anymore?" And a young man who said, "I think the world was a better place when woman used to stay at home and make the beautiful tea cossies and embroidery that my grandma used to do." Although many would like for us to believe that feminism no longer has a place in our modern society and may even be a bad word, the simple truth is that Canadian women are far from equal in wage or job opportunity, making feminism just as relevant and important as ever.

I know many women of my generation get uncomfortable at the mention of the word "feminism." There's this picture that comes to mind of a crazed, hairy arm-pitted, bra burning, man hating feminist who just won't quit harping about women's issues. I think back on a time when even myself, a proud feminist, thought women needed to move past talking about equality issues and just start being equal, enough with the feminist rhetoric. Unfortunately, there is a large portion of our society that believes the feminist movement is reponsible for the destruction of the sanctity of marriage and the breakdown of the nuclear family. Many more feel that the feminist movement is irrelevant now that women have "equal' opportunity. Women of all generations need to take back the word feminism and embrace it for all its glory; because without it, we revert back 100s years when we were listed beside the cattle as a possession on our husband's tax returns. My generation, born after the 1970s, have little knowledge of what feminism means and are, therefore, prone to take an indifferent stance on the subject.