Angered staff at the University of Winchester now have to look at an almost £24,000 statue of Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg as they walk into the building after enduring years of budgetary cutbacks.
The bronze monument, which set the school back £23,760 ($32,700), is a tribute to Thunberg who became an international figure after cutting class to protest what she believes is inaction on the part of the global community to combat climate change. The staff at the university slammed the statue as a “vanity project.”
The Winchester branch of the University and College Union (UCU) said that although it “supports the role that Thunberg has played globally… This money should have been better used by preventing redundancies and other cuts at the university” after years of austerity.
“The university’s distinctive approach to commissioning pieces of art is to do so in unminuted meetings and/or avoid any committee scrutiny,” the union added facetiously.
“Not the ideal approach when spending university money.”
The university leadership, for its part, defended its expensive statue. “The university’s approach to art is to commission or purchase unusual and striking pieces which embody our distinctiveness and values,” pronounced Vice-Chancellor Joy Carter, insisting that “Greta is a young woman who, in spite of difficulties in her life, has become a world-leading environmental activist” and, “As the university for sustainability and social justice, we are proud to honour this inspirational woman in this way.”
With so many statues being torn down across Europe and America by Black Lives Matter groups, will Greta’s monument be the next target?
Bill Gates Wants Wealthy Countries to Eat Fully Plant-Based and Beef Should Be 100% Synthetic
Bill Gates was recently interviewed by MIT Technology Review where he argued that the world’s richest countries should stop eating beef and instead switch to a plant-based diet to help fight global climate change.
Gate’s believes that the “80 poorest countries” should still rely on eating real meat but plant-based should be the future for developed countries.
“I do think all rich countries should move to 100% synthetic beef. You can get used to the taste difference, and the claim is they’re going to make it taste even better over time. Eventually, that green premium is modest enough that you can sort of change the [behavior of] people or use regulation to totally shift the demand,” the Microsoft co-founder told the MIT Tech Review.
Gates addresses agriculture in his new book “How to Avoid a Climate Disaster” and details the measures needed to eliminate greenhouse-gas emissions. The billionaire software developer and philanthropist discusses policy changes and tech innovations needed to help curb industries with the largest carbon footprints, like steel, cement and agriculture, where a third of all greenhouse gas emissions — which trap heat and warm the climate — come from livestock production.
Gates noted it would be almost impossible to eliminate emissions from burping cows and fertilizer to reduce methane emissions, saying that plant-based beef options are the only viable option.
“There are all the things where they feed them different food, like there’s this one compound that gives you a 20% reduction [in methane emissions]. But sadly, those bacteria [in their digestive system that produce methane] are a necessary part of breaking down the grass. And so I don’t know if there’ll be some natural approach there. I’m afraid the synthetic [protein alternatives like plant-based burgers] will be required for at least the beef thing.”
Gates is a fan of Impossible Foods who makes plant-based burgers and other meat alternative products. Impossible Foods plans on cutting their prices for grocery stores by 20% throughout the U.S. with a suggested retail price of $5.49 for their burger patties.
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UW Student Govt Votes to Remove Lincoln Statue
The student government at the University of Wisconsin-Madison voted unanimously in favor of removing the campus’ Abraham Lincoln statue.
According to Campus Reform, students introduced a resolution to the student council which advocated for the removal and replacement of the school’s Lincoln statue because it “serve[s] as remnants of this school’s history of white supremacy.”
The resolution states, “In order to create an inclusive and safe environment for all students, campus fixtures with racist remnants should be reevaluated and then removed and/or replaced based on inputs from BIPOC [Black Indigenous People of Color] students.”
It also calls for a “permanent funding structure” for student groups centered around “predominantly marginalized groups.”
Thankfully, the university leadership hasn’t been completely engulfed in today’s woke cancel culture, and told Campus Reform that the statue will not be removed.
Nonetheless, the vote elicited a range of opinions amongst students.
Evan Karabas, A UW-Madison senior said that Lincoln’s statue was a “cherished symbol” and he didn’t want to see it removed.
“The statue has been a cherished symbol on campus for generations. Many would agree that the most significant part of President Lincoln’s legacy was securing freedom for the slaves, and we should celebrate that as a proud moment in our country’s history,” he said.
The main sponsor of the resolution, Crystal Zhao said Lincoln’s presence makes students feel uncomfortable.
“…Abraham Lincoln is a representation of ethnic cleansing of indigenous folks and the fact that UW-Madison stands on stolen land. Many students do not feel comfortable seeing him every day when we used to walk to classes. And his presence on Bascom shows that UW-Madison does not care about the ‘shared future’ plan we have with Ho-Chuck people and other first nations.”
If these students actually believe a statue of one of the greatest American presidents of all time is offensive and makes people feel “unsafe,” they are in for a rude awakening when they eventually leave their woke collegiate bubbles and enter the real world.
