environmental issues Archives | Research & Innovation /research/tag/environmental-issues/ Wed, 29 Jan 2025 19:48:13 +0000 en-CA hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 Chemical stress on Canada's water focus of Katz lecture June 29 /research/2011/06/27/chemical-stress-on-canadas-water-focus-of-katz-lecture-2/ Mon, 27 Jun 2011 08:00:00 +0000 /researchdev/2011/06/27/chemical-stress-on-canadas-water-focus-of-katz-lecture-2/ Non-ecologists, here is your word for the day: biome. It means a very large ecosytem, and the boreal biome comprises about 60 per cent of Canada‘s land area. It includes more than two million lakes and accounts for about 85 per cent of Canada's freshwater and some 25 per cent of global wetlands. Despite the magnitude of this resource, an increasing number of […]

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Non-ecologists, here is your word for the day: biome.

It means a very large ecosytem, and the boreal biome comprises about 60 per cent of Canada‘s land area. It includes more than two million lakes and accounts for about 85 per cent of Canada's freshwater and some 25 per cent of global wetlands. Despite the magnitude of this resource, an increasing number of environmental stressors – not least chemicals – have put it at risk.

The southern part of the biome, including both fresh waters and terrestrial ecosystems, has been affected by acid deposition for at least a half century. Contamination by mercury is widespread, and elevated levels of trace organic contaminants of many types are now measurable over much of the area.

For the 2011 Morris Katz Lecture, Trent University Professor Peter Dillon (left) will discuss biogeochemistry and how the movement of chemicals through the boreal environment can be used to assess the effects of these chemical stressors. Dillon will speak on Wednesday, June 29, at 2:30pm, in the Senate Chamber, N940 Ross Building. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Dillon specializes in the biogeochemistry of lakes and their catchments. He was the scientific leader of environmental research and long-term investigations carried out at the Dorset Research Centre in central Ontario for the past 25 years and still maintains a close association with the centre. 

He is currently the director of Trent University's Water Quality Centre. A member of the Royal Society, he recently won the Miroslaw Romanowski Medal for environmental science.

Much of his current research focuses on the cycling of elements, including sulphur, carbon, nitrogen, calcium and phosphorus, in catchments and in lakes, on the processes that control their fluxes and on the transformations of chemical species that occur during the movement of these elements through ecosystems.

In his lecture on Wednesday, Dillon will look at how contamination by other metals, once isolated to regions near mining and smelting activities, is more widespread. In the past few decades, climate change has come to the forefront, and it is clear that the boreal will be one of the more heavily affected parts of Canada. 

"Although climate change can directly effect the biological communities of the boreal, most effects will be mediated through alterations in environmental chemistry," says Dillon in his lecture abstract. "In addition, climate change can and is altering the response of lakes and their catchments to other stressors, for example, is reducing the rate of recovery of ecosystems from declining acid deposition rates.

"For an quantitative understanding of how the boreal biome responds to changes in the magnitude of stressors, it is critical to have measurements that go beyond simple description of ecosystem properties such as concentrations of various chemicals in different compartments." 

For more information on the Morris Katz Lectureship, contact Carol Weldon, Centre for Atmospheric Chemistry administration assistant, at ext. 55410, by fax at 416-736-5411 or by e-mail to cac@yorku.ca, or visit the ɱٱ.

Major contributions in support of this year’s lecture have been made by 91ɫ's Centre for Atmospheric Chemistry and Ontario’s Ministry of the Environment.

About Morris Katz

Morris Katz, 1901-1987, was an outstanding scientist. He spent 35 years in public service, where he pioneered air pollutant sampling and measurement methodology and was among the first to demonstrate the presence of ozone damage to vegetation in Ontario. He taught chemistry at 91ɫ until his death. He authored or co-authored more than 150 books and articles and was the recipient of numerous awards for his work.

The Morris Katz Lectureship was made possible by the establishment of an endowment fund created through contributions from his family, friends and colleagues, private companies, universities and government. Major contributions in support of this year's lecture have been made by 91ɫ's Centre for Atmospheric Chemistry and the Ontario Ministry of the Environment.

About 91ɫ's Centre for Atmospheric Chemistry

The Centre for Atmospheric Chemistry was established in 1985 in response to a growing public concern about the atmospheric environment. It offers programs that provide students with the necessary theoretical background and practical laboratory experience to enable them to make meaningful contributions to important environmental concerns upon their graduation. 91ɫ also offers MSc and PhD degrees in atmospheric chemistry.  

Republished courtesy of YFile– 91ɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

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Professor Laurence Packer to discuss why bees are at risk at tomorrow's Pollinators Festival /research/2011/06/24/professor-laurence-packer-to-discuss-why-bees-are-at-risk-at-tomorrows-pollinators-festival-2/ Fri, 24 Jun 2011 08:00:00 +0000 /researchdev/2011/06/24/professor-laurence-packer-to-discuss-why-bees-are-at-risk-at-tomorrows-pollinators-festival-2/ Celebrate the birds and the bees tomorrow at the Pollinators Festival. Learn why the bees are at risk with 91ɫ Professor Laurence Packer in the Department of Biology and about the social life of honey bees with the Toronto Beekeeping Co-operative. The Pollinators Festival, part of International Pollinator Week, will take place from 8am to […]

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Celebrate the birds and the bees tomorrow at the Pollinators Festival. Learn why the bees are at risk with 91ɫ Professor Laurence Packer in the Department of Biology and about the social life of honey bees with the Toronto Beekeeping Co-operative.

The Pollinators Festival, part of , will take place from 8am to 3pm at the Evergreen Brick Works, 550 Bayview Ave., Toronto. Pollinator Week is an international celebration of the ecosystem services provided by bees, birds, butterflies, bats and beetles.

There will be a presentation by Scott MacIvor of on “Wild Bees Using Toronto Green Spaces”, a tour by Sheila Colla, a 91ɫ PhD biology candidate, on “Meet the Bumble Bees: Why We Need Them and What They Do”, as well as a workshop on why bees are important to food production by . There will also be local and international honey for sale at the farmer’s market.

It is expected to be a day filled with educational and celebratory events about pollinators, featuring garden tours, honey tasting, hands-on workshops, arts and crafts, speakers, panel discussions and more. 91ɫ Faculty of Environmental Studies student Madeleine Lavin was this year’s assistant organizer for the festival.

For more information, visit the website.

Republished courtesy of YFile– 91ɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

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Professor Peter Victor appointed to lead Ontario’s Greenbelt Council /research/2011/06/01/professor-peter-victor-appointed-to-lead-ontarios-greenbelt-council-2/ Wed, 01 Jun 2011 08:00:00 +0000 /researchdev/2011/06/01/professor-peter-victor-appointed-to-lead-ontarios-greenbelt-council-2/ 91ɫ Professor Peter A. Victor has been appointed chair of Ontario’s Greenbelt Council, which makes recommendations for the protection of more than 1.8 million acres of agricultural and environmentally sensitive land in the Greater Golden Horseshoe. “Dr. Victor brings a wealth of knowledge, experience and insight to the Greenbelt Council,” said Minister of Municipal […]

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91ɫ Professor Peter A. Victor has been appointed chair of Ontario’s , which makes recommendations for the protection of more than 1.8 million acres of agricultural and environmentally sensitive land in the Greater Golden Horseshoe.

“Dr. Victor brings a wealth of knowledge, experience and insight to the Greenbelt Council,” said Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Rick Bartolucci, who announced Victor’s appointment Tuesday. “I look forward to working with Dr. Victor and Council as they provide advice on the ongoing implementation of the Greenbelt.”

A professor in the Faculty of Environmental Studies at 91ɫ, Victor is an economist who has worked on environmental issues for 40 years as an academic, public servant and consultant. He was Dean of the Faculty of Environmental Studies from 1996 to 2001, following several years as an assistant deputy minister in Ontario’s Ministry of the Environment. Prior to that he worked in the private sector, where he undertook many policy-related economic studies in Canada and abroad.

“I look forward to working with the Council as we consider and make recommendations to the Minister,” said Victor. “We have come to understand economies as subsystems of the biosphere and realize that a healthy environment and a strong economy go hand in hand.”

Victor continues to provide public, private and non-governmental organizations with technical advice on air pollution and health, emissions trading, emerging issues and full cost accounting at national and corporate levels. He is author of .

By Janice Walls, media relations coordinator.

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PhD student Tanya Gulliver: Can Canada handle a Gulf-style oil disaster? /research/2011/05/03/phd-student-tanya-gulliver-can-canada-handle-a-gulf-style-oil-disaster-2/ Tue, 03 May 2011 08:00:00 +0000 /researchdev/2011/05/03/phd-student-tanya-gulliver-can-canada-handle-a-gulf-style-oil-disaster-2/ If a monster iceberg (like those now being formed from the melting of the Greenland ice shield) was to collide with the Hibernia platform, says Michael Klare, a noted American oil expert, author and academic, it could prove to be far more devastating than last year’s BP spill, which dumped almost five million barrels into […]

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If a monster iceberg (like those now being formed from the melting of the Greenland ice shield) was to collide with the Hibernia platform, says Michael Klare, a noted American oil expert, author and academic, it could prove to be far more devastating than last year’s BP spill, which dumped almost five million barrels into the Gulf of Mexico, wrote , a PhD candidate in 91ɫ’s Faculty of Environmental Studies, in :

That’s because Hibernia – one of the world’s largest drilling platforms, weighing over a million tonnes – is located in one of the most inhospitable environments on the planet, rife with high waves, fog and violent storms. The disaster would push cleanup crews to the absolute limit; plugging the leak might be nearly impossible.

Are we prepared? Hardly. Most Canadians still don’t see Canada as an oil-producing nation, even though this country is the seventh-largest producer of crude oil in the world: We produce 2.8 million barrels a day, a number that is expected to grow to 4.3 million barrels a day by 2025.

As a result of this perception, many are clueless about the risky oil exploration and production activities occurring here every day. And without the drama of a catastrophe or heartbreaking images of oil-covered birds, it’s all too easy for Canadians to remain blissfully unaware.

I know this because until recently, I was one of those Canadians. I consider myself an environmentalist, but also a realist. I recycle and turn off lights, and I drive a car and eat processed food. I understand that we can’t live without oil – at least not right now. Furthermore, as a researcher studying disasters, vulnerability and risk at 91ɫ’s Faculty of Environmental Studies, I thought I was fairly informed about the risks stemming from offshore drilling.

But travelling around New Orleans after last year’s Deepwater Horizon explosion exposed me to the impact that spills can have on land, people and wildlife. It wasn’t pretty, and it inspired me to dig deeper into the dangers back home. What I discovered scared me.

Between 1999 and 2009 there were 156 oil spills (totalling over 2,600 barrels) off the coast of Newfoundland. The Terra Nova platform, 350 kilometres southeast of St. John’s, was responsible for 36 of them, including an incidence of equipment malfunction in 2004 that led to Canada’s worst offshore oil spill to date—1,000 barrels of oil gushed into the Atlantic Ocean, with high waves and bad weather impeding cleanup.

. . .

Let’s be frank. Clean energy solutions that would reduce our dependence on oil are still a ways away. But being realistic means recognizing that short of imposing a moratorium on offshore drilling (not a bad idea), we need to ensure that our technologies, teams and training are tough enough to prevent a Deepwater Horizon-style spill from happening in Canada.

And at the moment, they’re not.

Gulliver's complete article is available on .

Posted by Elizabeth Monier-Williams, research communications officer, with files courtesy of YFile– 91ɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

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City Institute researcher Simon Black on urban youth and the federal election /research/2011/05/02/city-institute-researcher-simon-black-on-urban-youth-and-the-federal-election-2/ Mon, 02 May 2011 08:00:00 +0000 /researchdev/2011/05/02/city-institute-researcher-simon-black-on-urban-youth-and-the-federal-election-2/ Which party speaks for urban youth this federal election? Over the past few weeks, media commentators have pointed to two important trends, wrote Simon Black, a graduate student researcher at The City Institute at 91ɫ, in the Toronto Star April 28: Polling suggests young people favour the Greens, Liberals and New Democrats: parties that […]

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Which party speaks for urban youth this federal election? Over the past few weeks, media commentators have pointed to two important trends, wrote Simon Black, a graduate student researcher at The City Institute at 91ɫ, in the :

Polling suggests young people favour the Greens, Liberals and New Democrats: parties that have demonstrated some commitment — however limited — to urban issues in this campaign. A politically engaged youth is thus important for the civic and social health of our urban regions. But as comedian Rick Mercer has quipped, “as far as any political parties are concerned,” young people “might as well be dead.”

As any political scientist will tell you, in a pluralist liberal democracy, those who make the most noise — by voting, organizing, lobbying — are more likely to have their issues addressed by government. Pluralism implies many groups of relatively equal power jockeying for position and influence in political life.

We live, however, in a country of great social and economic inequality where money and power, two things youth lack, go a long way to securing an audience with the governing classes. Young people have power in numbers, but organizing and exercising that power around common interests is never easy. Through advocacy groups and party politics, seniors have flexed their political muscle this election, pushing the parties to address their immediate concerns, from home care to public pensions; youth have yet to flex theirs.

Urban youth have their own issues: environmental sustainability and the livability of cities are major concerns. The young are more frequent users of public transit and would benefit from a federal role in building the green transportation infrastructure our country so desperately needs. Funding for the arts and athletics are also a priority of urban youth, who recognize their value in facilitating creative expression and promoting social cohesion in the highly diverse landscapes of Canadian cities.

Then there are the myriad social problems facing many of today’s urban youth, problems the political parties have failed to highlight this campaign. For instance, in Toronto 40 per cent of black students do not graduate from high school. Drug-addicted youth in Vancouver’s downtown east side struggle to secure housing and access to services. Racialized youth face discrimination and outright racism in urban labour markets and in their contact with police and the criminal justice system. The young are disproportionately represented in the ranks of our cities’ precariously employed; those workers struggling to make ends meet working temporary, part-time or multiple jobs with low wages and few benefits. And there are the extremely high rates of poverty and incarceration of young aboriginal people in cities such as Winnipeg and Regina.

As in any federal system, politicians will squabble over whose jurisdiction these issues fall under. It’s time to move beyond these squabbles and recognize that urban youth, and our cities in general, would benefit from a strong federal urban presence and the development of a federally-led urban strategy. Stephen Harper explicitly opposes such a notion; he’s committed to a model of governance in which the feds do not “interfere” in the business of the provinces and municipalities.

But a top-down, one-size-fits-all approach from the feds is not desirable either. Municipal governments are best placed to evaluate the needs of local populations, including youth. Cities have been important drivers in the design and innovation of Canadian social services and social programs. Any federal urban strategy with a youth component should recognize this and respect the diversity of Canadian cities. For instance, a program to address street gangs (with gang-exit and gang-intervention initiatives) in a city such as Regina in which aboriginal youth are disproportionately involved in gang life will necessarily take a different form than programs in Montreal or Toronto.

In any progressive era of Canadian politics, the federal government has exercised its federal spending power to alter Canada’s approach to issues that were essentially within provincial jurisdiction. In the fields of education, welfare and health care, the feds have influenced provincial and municipal policies and program standards.

Beyond providing necessary funding to cash-strapped cities, a federal urban youth strategy could establish principles that govern access to programs and services without becoming excessively involved in their design and delivery. Pairing universal programs with targeted investments based on the social citizenship, social rights and democratic participation and engagement of young people is vital to building such a strategy.

But an urban youth strategy is not likely to emerge unless it is fought for and demanded by young people themselves. In urban centres across our country, many youth are active in civic life, but often in ways that don’t conform to the politics-as-usual of parties and elections. Other youth speak the language of distress and despair, with gunshots or requests for spare change on our city streets. Whatever the manifestation of their voice, politicians ignore urban youth at our cities’ peril.

Posted by Elizabeth Monier-Williams, research communications officer, with files courtesy of YFile– 91ɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

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Professor Timothy Leduc to discuss climate refugees at film screening April 29 /research/2011/04/28/professor-timothy-leduc-to-discuss-climate-refugees-at-film-screening-april-29-2/ Thu, 28 Apr 2011 08:00:00 +0000 /researchdev/2011/04/28/professor-timothy-leduc-to-discuss-climate-refugees-at-film-screening-april-29-2/ Environmental studies Professor Timothy Leduc (MES ’01, PhD ’07) will be part of a panel discussing the environment, following a free screening of the documentary film Climate Refugees. The screening will take place Friday, April 29, from 6:30 to 8pm in Room 2158 JJR MacLeod Auditorium, Medical Sciences Building, 1 King’s College Circle, University of […]

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Environmental studies Professor Timothy Leduc (MES ’01, PhD ’07) will be part of a panel discussing the environment, following a free screening of the documentary film Climate Refugees.

The screening will take place Friday, April 29, from 6:30 to 8pm in Room 2158 JJR MacLeod Auditorium, Medical Sciences Building, 1 King’s College Circle, University of Toronto.

Right: Timothy Leduc

Following the film, Leduc, author of , will be joined by University of Windsor Professor Emerita Laura Westra (BA ’76, PhD ’05), author of Globalization, Violence and World Governance (Brill, 2011), and Alfredo Barahona, program coordinator of Migrant and Indigenous Rights at KAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives and member of the World Council of Churches' Global Ecumenical Network on Migration.

The panel will discuss the issues raised by the film and engage in a discussion with the audience.

Climate Refugees looks at those who have been displaced by a climatically induced environmental disaster, resulting from both incremental and rapid ecological change. This can result in increased droughts, desertification, rising sea levels and more frequent extreme weather events, such as hurricanes, fires, mass flooding and tornadoes. These environmental disasters are causing mass global migration and border conflicts.

Republished courtesy of YFile– 91ɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

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Four researchers to offer fresh ideas at Saturday's 91ɫ Circle event /research/2011/04/28/four-researchers-to-offer-fresh-ideas-at-saturdays-york-circle-event-2/ Thu, 28 Apr 2011 08:00:00 +0000 /researchdev/2011/04/28/four-researchers-to-offer-fresh-ideas-at-saturdays-york-circle-event-2/ From the ‘burbs to birds and from social justice to Olympic poetry, the next installment of the 91ɫ Circle’s popular Lecture & Lunch series returns on Saturday, April 30. It promises plenty of new ideas for inquiring minds. As with previous 91ɫ Circle Lecture & Lunch events, organizers have planned a full day of inspiring lectures […]

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From the ‘burbs to birds and from social justice to Olympic poetry, the next installment of the 91ɫ Circle’s popular Lecture & Lunch series returns on Saturday, April 30. It promises plenty of new ideas for inquiring minds.

As with previous 91ɫ Circle Lecture & Lunch events, organizers have planned a full day of inspiring lectures by some of the University’s leading thinkers. For full details, download a PDF of the 91ɫ Circle schedule.

In her lecture, “The Bird Detective: Investigating the Private Lives of Birds”, 91ɫ Professor Bridget Stutchbury (left), Canada Research Chair in Ecology and Conservation Biology, will explain why some birds readily divorce their partners, why females sneak out to have sex with neighbouring males and why some mothers sometimes desert their babies. Based on her book (2010), this lecture promises to raise the blinds on the secret lives of birds.

On a more serious note, Stutchbury will examine whether bird behaviour can help species adapt to the drastic changes humans are making to the environment. Since the 1980s, Stutchbury has studied the ecology and conservation of migratory songbirds. In addition to The Bird Detective, she is author of the book (2007) – a finalist for a Governor General’s Literary Award.

"The Interesting Life of Olaudah Equiano, the African, and the Abolition of the British Slave Trade" is the intriguing title of the presentation by 91ɫ history Professor Paul Lovejoy (right), Canada Research Chair in African Diaspora History and director of the . In his lecture, Lovejoy will explore the pivotal role of Gustavus Vassa, better known by his African name, Olaudah Equiano (c. 1742-1797), in advancing the abolition of the British slave trade. Many scholars consider William Wilberforce (c. 1759-1833) and Thomas Clarkson (c. 1760-1846) to be the pioneers of the British abolitionist movement, but Lovejoy posits that it was Equiano who was the seminal influence in advocating the abolition of slavery and the emancipation of those in slavery.

Lovejoy is a member of the executive committee of the UNESCO “Slave Route” Project, co-edits African Economic History and Studies in the History of the African Diaspora – Documents (SHADD), and is research professor and associate fellow of the Wilberforce Institute for the Study of Slavery and Emancipation at the University of Hull in the United Kingdom.

Acclaimed Canadian poet and 91ɫ Professor (left) will discuss her experiences as Canadian Athletes Now Fund’s first poet-in-residence during the 2010 Vancouver Olympic and Paralympic Games. In her lecture, which is aptly titled, "My Gold Medal Experience: Olympic Poetry", Uppal will describe how she celebrated with the Canadian athletes and their families by writing poetry about winter sports, the games, and the personalities and performances that captured a nation’s imagination.

How she designed and then “trained” for her position, how the athletes responded to daily poetry readings, and other initiatives she’s undertaken to bridge the sometimes separate worlds of sport and art, will all be addressed. In addition, Uppal will read a short selection of the some of the 50 poems written at the games and recently collected in the book Winter Sport: Poems (2010).

"A World of Suburbs? Finding the Heart of the Urban Century in the Periphery" with 91ɫ environmental studies Professor Roger Keil (right) will offer 91ɫ Circle members insights into urbanization. The 21st century has been heralded as an urban century. Indeed, urbanization is now the most tangible shared experience of humanity. Keil will explore what is behind the story of the "urban revolution". He will uncover an important and perhaps astonishing truth: Most urban dwellers now live in the periphery. From the squatter settlements of the Global South to the wealthy gated communities of North America, from the tower block peripheries of Europe or Canada to the newly sprawling cities of Asia, a common theme emerges: where cities grow, they grow at the margins.

Keil is the director of the City Institute at 91ɫ and professor in the Faculty of Environmental Studies. Among his publications are In-Between Infrastructure: Urban Connectivity in an Age of Vulnerability (2010) and The Global Cities Reader (2006). Keil’s current research is on global suburbanism and regional governance. He is the co-editor of the International Journal of Urban and Regional Research and a co-founder of the International Network for Urban Research and Action.

This free series includes two events annually – in the spring and fall each year – and provides opportunities for learning and networking in a relaxed environment.

Lecture & Lunch events are open to members of the 91ɫ Circle and their guests, each of whom are offered a complimentary lunch sourced from 91ɫ Region as part of the day.

The 91ɫ Circle receives generous support from 91ɫ's Alumni Office (program partner) and the Toronto Community News and Metroland Media Group 91ɫ Region (print media sponsors).

Republished courtesy of YFile– 91ɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

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Researchers, presenters to explore how artists can reduce their carbon footprints April 20-22 /research/2011/04/06/researchers-presenters-to-explore-how-artists-can-reduce-their-carbon-footprints-april-20-22-2/ Wed, 06 Apr 2011 08:00:00 +0000 /researchdev/2011/04/06/researchers-presenters-to-explore-how-artists-can-reduce-their-carbon-footprints-april-20-22-2/ Artists of all stripes from around the world are reducing their carbon footprint in creative ways. Many prominent ones – including the Cirque de Soleil’s Gil Favreau – are coming to 91ɫ this month to share how at a conference on sustainability and the arts. Hosted by 91ɫ’s Faculty of Fine Arts, Staging Sustainability: Arts, […]

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Artists of all stripes from around the world are reducing their carbon footprint in creative ways. Many prominent ones – including the Cirque de Soleil’s Gil Favreau – are coming to 91ɫ this month to share how at a conference on sustainability and the arts.

Hosted by 91ɫ’s Faculty of Fine Arts, will bring together more than 100 presenters from all corners of the globe April 20 to 22. They will discuss the challenges of creating environmentally sustainable arts practice and performance. And they will tackle the question of sustainability from two vantage points: cultural and ecological.

Keynote presenters will share practical measures and radical rethinking about sustainability:

David Buckland, founding director of , London

  • Artists, Scientists and the Environment: For nearly a decade, Cape Farewell has been in the vanguard of an impetus to rethink climate change as an opportunity for cultural reorientation. Buckland illuminates how scientists and the creative community have joined forces to envision and work towards delivering a sustainable future.


Above:
Michael J. Morris, Theresa May, Ian Garrett, David Buckland

Gil Favreau, director of social action and responsibility,

  • Cirque du Soleil: Creator, Performer and Citizen: In 2006 Cirque du Soleil adopted a proactive environmental policy based on sustainable development. Under Favreau’s direction, new initiatives aimed at reducing the company’s ecological footprint continue to be launched with Cirque du Soleil’s inimitable creativity.

Ian Garrett, executive director of , Los Angeles

  • The Performing Arts and their Carbon Footprint: Shows can live long lives: The Phantom of the Opera became the longest-running Broadway musical at its 7,486th performance in 2006. But of 14,000 non-profit productions in the US that year, the average ran for less than 13 performances. While rapid creation and disposal are at odds with sustainability, this cycle is also an opportunity to reinvent the process and redefine theatrical production. Garrett explores available resources and best practices to enable more conscious choices while maintaining artistic excellence.

Theresa May, Department of Theatre Arts, University of Oregon; artistic director of

  • "This Is My Neighborhood!" – Community Identity, Ecology and Performance: In two indigenous performances, May explores how local identities and economies are linked to global challenges, and how global ecological issues are etched in the lives of people and the land they call home.

Above: Catriona Sandilands, Colette Urban, Gil Favreau and Katherine Knight

Catriona Sandilands, Canada Research Chair in Sustainability & Culture in 91ɫ's Faculty of Environmental Studies; and Michael J. Morris, choreographer and ecosexuality scholar at Ohio State University

  • Eco Homo? Queering Bodies, Queering Sustainability: This textual/choreographic conversation/dance takes aim at assumed understandings of the human body in popular and policy discourses of sustainability. It presents an imaginative-performative “taking in and taking on” of the other, as opposed to a version of sustainability built on corporeal closure and defence.

Performance artist Colette Urban and filmmaker Katherine Knight

  • : Directed by Katherine Knight, this film explores art and place, presenting Colette Urban's enigmatic art performances set against the rugged beauty of rural Newfoundland. It received special mention at the 2010 Ecofilm Festival in Rhodos, Greece.

More than 20 panels will explore topics such as the sustaining, imaginative and parasitic potential of the ruins of human habitation; the ecological ethics of John Cage’s chance music; Max Goldfarb’s Deep Cycle art installation; Basia Irland’s river restoration art actions; and sound-walking.

Other highlights include practical workshops on sustainable stage production practices and technologies, and staged readings of two plays: Chantal Bilodeau’s trilingual work-in-progress, Sila, weaving together Inuit myth and contemporary Arctic ecological policy; and Jade McCutcheon’s The Elephant’s Graveyard, a consideration of the public and political implications of aging and scientific attempts to cure the "disease" of death.

The conference concludes with a roundtable discussion by leading Greater Toronto Area artists and arts administrators on the role of sustainability and the arts in a major urban centre.

Staging Sustainability is produced and presented by 91ɫ’s Faculty of Fine Arts with the support of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

Registration is $80 to $100; students $20 to $30. For program information and online registration, visit the website.

Republished courtesy of YFile– 91ɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

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Osgoode faculty discuss global legal challenges in India /research/2011/04/04/york-in-the-world-osgoode-faculty-discuss-global-legal-challenges-in-india-2/ Mon, 04 Apr 2011 08:00:00 +0000 /researchdev/2011/04/04/york-in-the-world-osgoode-faculty-discuss-global-legal-challenges-in-india-2/ Eight faculty members of 91ɫ’s Osgoode Hall Law School recently visited India, where they continued a conversation with their counterparts that began last year on governance in a rapidly globalizing world and the impact on social justice, human rights, international trade and foreign investment, and environmental law. Right: Professor Sanjeev Purshotam Sahni (left), head of […]

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Eight faculty members of 91ɫ’s recently visited India, where they continued a conversation with their counterparts that began last year on governance in a rapidly globalizing world and the impact on social justice, human rights, international trade and foreign investment, and environmental law.

Right: Professor Sanjeev Purshotam Sahni (left), head of strategic human resources and assistant dean of Research & International Collaborations at Jindal Global Law School, and Osgoode Hall Law School Dean Lorne Sossin

Osgoode is leading the way among Canadian law schools in this kind of research-driven collaboration in India and in thinking creatively about how to engage legal educators and the legal profession in both countries to achieve mutually beneficial results, says Lisa Philipps, Osgoode associate dean research, graduate studies & institutional relations.

The delegates found the trip valuable both for their current research on transnational legal issues and for the development of Osgoode’s institutional relationships and collaborative programs in India.

“As this Osgoode trip to India vividly demonstrated to those who participated, we have much of value to learn from India, and much to share as well,” says Osgoode Dean .

Above: Professor Charles D. Maddox, assistant director of the Centre for Global Corporate & Financial Law & Policy, Professor Vikramaditya Khanna, visiting faculty at Jindal Global Law School, and Philipps, associate dean research, graduate studies & institutional relations at Osgoode, discuss issues at the symposium in India

Sossin and Philipps were among the Osgoode delegates to attend a two-day joint symposium, , with faculty and graduate students from Jindal Global Law School at O.P. Jindal Global University. The symposium explored issues ranging from access to justice and legal regulation of sexuality to the tax treatment of foreign investment.

Left: From left, Arun Khatri, Jindal Global Law School research associate, with Dayna Scott, Lorne Sossin and Allan Hutchinson of Osgoode

It was a continuation of last year’s symposium at 91ɫ, funded by the Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council of Canada and Osgoode's , which included a delegation from India (See YFile, Oct. 25, 2010).

“This two-part conference was designed to establish an Indian-Canadian conversation on issues of pressing mutual interest,” says Philipps. “Indeed, too often, a separation of opinions between elements of the global North and global South is presumed insurmountable on issues ranging from climate change to development. In the last five years, from Hong Kong to Copenhagen, critical global issues have been mired in a difference in perspective between nations.”

Right: From left, Philipps; Professor Y.S.R. Murthy, assistant dean of projects & institutional development and executive director of the Centre for Human Rights Studies; and Charles D. Maddox

Through research and collaborations, such as the one with India, “We can facilitate discussions about innovative solutions to local and global policy issues,” she says. “Canada and India have the possibility to play bridge-builders in this North-South dialogue. It is believed that a Canadian-Indian dialogue can adopt a more sober, and potentially incisive, outlook on a range of global policy issues that simply cannot be ignored as yet another decade draws to a close.”

One of the benefits of the collaboration is a Memorandum of Understanding between the two law schools, which is currently being developed to include JD and graduate student exchanges and continued faculty visits. Discussions are underway toward a variety of joint teaching and research initiatives. Osgoode also renewed its student exchange agreement with the National Law School of India at Bangalore and strengthened relations with other law schools, including the National Law University in Delhi.

Left: Professor François Tanguay-Renaud (left), acting director of the Nathanson Centre on Transnational Human Rights, Crime & Security, and Sanjeev Purshotam Sahni

“Osgoode faculty, staff and students have expressed both interest and excitement to develop more exchanges, internships, joint conferences, research projects and collaborative pro bono projects, just to scratch the surface,” says Sossin.

In addition, Osgoode faculty met with Supreme Court justices, government ministers, independent think tanks, non-governmental organizations and leading members of the legal profession.

A selection of the best new research coming out of this collaboration will be published in an upcoming peer-reviewed special issue of the .

Republished courtesy of YFile– 91ɫ’s daily e-bulletin

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CC-RAI research partnership to host Canadian premiere of 'Sun Come Up' April 1 /research/2011/03/30/cc-rai-to-host-canadian-premiere-of-sun-come-up-april-1-2/ Wed, 30 Mar 2011 08:00:00 +0000 /researchdev/2011/03/30/cc-rai-to-host-canadian-premiere-of-sun-come-up-april-1-2/ The Climate Consortium for Research Action Integration (CC-RAI) will host the first Canadian screening of the Oscar-nominated documentary, Sun Come Up – A story of the world’s first climate change refugees, at 91ɫ’s Keele campus on Friday, April 1. Students interested in how climate change will affect people in Canada and abroad are welcome […]

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The (CC-RAI) will host the first Canadian screening of the Oscar-nominated documentary, Sun Come Up – A story of the world’s first climate change refugees, at 91ɫ’s Keele campus on Friday, April 1.

Students interested in how climate change will affect people in Canada and abroad are welcome to attend this free event. You can on CC-RAI's website.

Sun Come Up follows the relocation of some of the Carteret Islanders, a peaceful community living on a remote island chain in the South Pacific Ocean, and now, some of the world’s first environmental refugees.

When rising seas threaten their survival, the islanders face a painful decision: they must leave their beloved land in search of a new place to call home. The film follows the group, who are led by Nick Hakata, as they search for land in Bougainville, an autonomous region of Papua New Guinea 50 miles across the open ocean.

The premiere of Sun Come Up is made possible by . Formed through a partnership between 91ɫ and the (TRCA), CC-RAI stimulates research and action around climate change and provides resources to help communities become more sustainable.

“CC-RAI aims to engage students, faculty and the wider public in meaningful dialogue around climate change,” said Stewart Dutfield, program and communications manager for CC-RAI. “We support researchers who are exploring climate change’s implications from both a natural and social science perspective. Since both TRCA and 91ɫ are committed to addressing global issues at the local level, CC-RAI is a natural extension of their partnership.”

When: Friday, April 1, 2011 at 4pm

Where: Nat Taylor Cinema, N102 Ross Building (#28 on the 91ɫ U map), Keele Campus, 91ɫ

Tickets: Free, provided you online

Visitor parking is available at the Student Services Parking Garage (#84)

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