global warming Archives | Research & Innovation

Earth Hour involving younger environmentalists, part of larger demographic trend

fmaquito — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 08:00:00 +0000

This is a period marked by distinct shifts in demographics and attitudes when it comes to the environment, said Mark Winfield, a professor in 91��ɫ’s Faculty of Environmental Studies (FES), in a story about Earth Hour in the Toronto Star March 25:

For one thing, those most heavily engaged in environmentalism have become significantly younger – from middle-aged mothers with higher incomes and education in the ’90s, to adolescents and university students today, Winfield says. And that means increased involvement in an age bracket where traditionally there has been little. “This constituency is very important because it’s a whole new generation that is carrying these values forward.”

It’s in part because of this that Earth Hour has become an international phenomenon since launching in 2007 in Australia.

This year will be another record-setting event for organizers, as 1,100 cities in 110 countries have signed on to the event – 100 cities and 22 countries more than last year. It’s a testament to how broad-based support has become for the environment, experts say.

So much so that sorting our garbage in several ways has become part of our normal, everyday routine in Canada – an act of “complex social behaviour” that amazes visitors from other countries, Winfield says. “What’s happening with each successive wave is that the environment is becoming more embedded in our public consciousness.”

To knowingly pollute and show little concern for the environment has become a secular sin, Winfield says. As former US vice-president Al Gore preached in An Inconvenient Truth, it has now become a moral imperative to take care of the planet.

You see it in grocery store lineups, where customers with reusable cloth bags are slowly outnumbering those without. It’s a subtle shift, driven by peer pressure. “These values have become so deeply embedded that if you’re not recycling, your neighbours will look down on you,” Winfield says. “Those are very powerful drivers.”

Similarly, while the environment traditionally falls off the radar during economic downturns, polls show it has endured as a priority during the latest recession.

But the current wave of public support doesn’t impress Professor Catriona Sandilands, Canada Research Chair in Sustainability & Culture in FES. It means little if it doesn’t translate into constructive public policy, she says. “There’s public anxiety over global warming, but the question is, will this mean any long-lasting presence? I’m less optimistic.”

The climate change talks in Copenhagen were a dismal failure, she says, and Canada has been rebuked globally for being an environmental laggard and an obstacle to progress. Moreover, there’s been no movement to curtail the tar sands, which she calls a gargantuan blight on our environmental record.

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

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How has global warming affected Arctic permafrost?

fmaquito — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 10:00:00 +0000

On Monday, northern researcher Chris Burn comes to 91��ɫ to talk about the impact of climate change on permafrost in Canada’s western Arctic.

For almost 30 years, has closely observed changes in the frozen terrain around Mayo, in central Yukon, and in the Mackenzie River Delta. At Mayo, he is examining the "drunken" forest, where trees tilt as the permafrost thaws below them. In the outer Mackenzie Delta, he has obtained substantial evidence of permafrost thaw due to climate warming. There he is investigating ground deformation near ice wedges, and ground movement during permafrost development in drained lakes, including the growth of frozen mounds called pingos.

Burn holds a Natural Sciences & Engineering Research Council of Canada Northern Research Chair in the Department of Geography & Environmental Studies at Carleton University. He is a vice-president of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, and currently serves as chair of the society’s Research & Grants Committee.

His research involves collaboration with the First Nation of Na-Cho Nyak Dun in central Yukon, and federal and terrritorial governments.

The 91��ɫ Geography Alumni Lecture Series has invited Burn to speak on March 8 at 5:30pm in 304 Accolade Building West.

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

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Prof receives $1 million from SSHRC for climate change project

fmaquito — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 10:00:00 +0000

Carla ��-�ѳܳ��é, professor of work and labour studies in 91��ɫ's Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies and research fellow in 91��ɫ’s , has received $1 million over six years from the (SSHRC).

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The award will fund an international project to study the challenge climate change presents to Canadian employment and workplaces. ��-�ѳܳ��é will examine seven Canadian employment sectors to seek policy, training, employment and workplace solutions to effectively assist Canada’s transition to a low-emission economy. By combining research, workplace education, policy recommendations and pilot projects in transnational work adaptation, her project will allow Canada to re-enter the international debate about how best to engage the work world in the struggle to slow global warming.

“We need to know more about the chain of processes that comprise work, employment and training in key Canadian industries and professions – and how their decision-makers understand and respond to the challenge that global warming poses to these processes,” says ��-�ѳܳ��é. “Our second goal is to engage community partners active in the work world and the environmental community in research that identifies critical spaces for adaptation, drawing on their hands-on experience and linking it to the expertise of the academics.”

(CURA) awards, among the largest awarded by SSHRC, bring postsecondary institutions and community organizations together as equal research partners to jointly develop new knowledge and capabilities, provide research training opportunities, and enhance the ability of social sciences and humanities research to build knowledge in areas that affect Canadians and their changing communities.

“This award is the latest in a series of funding successes that reflect 91��ɫ’s leadership in national and international collaborative research projects,” said Stan Shapson, vice-president Research & Innovation. “Climate change is one of the biggest challenges of the 21st century and climate research and innovation are priorities for 91��ɫ. Our researchers are working with industry, government at all levels, academia, and the community to find ways to address the complex issues it raises.”

��-�ѳܳ��é’s research team includes nationally- and internationally-based climate scientists, senior labour market actors and academics from a wide range of disciplines. A total of 23 researchers, 20 partners, and 10 universities in three countries will participate, including 91��ɫ Professors David Doorey, , , Jan Kainer, John-Justin McMurtry, and Steven Tufts.

Gary Goodyear, Minister of State (Science & Technology), announced the funding yesterday in Kitchener, Ont. Lipsig-Mummé’s project is one of 20 large-scale research projects funded through SSHRC’s CURA program.

“These grants highlight the excellence of our country’s talented researchers and recognize the importance of fostering collaboration to keep Canada at the leading-edge of research, development and innovation in the 21st century,” said Chad Gaffield, president of SSHRC.

For a complete list of CURA awards, visit Web site.

Project Partners:

Canadian Steel Trade and Employment Congress
Canadian Union of Postal Workers
Centre for Labour Studies
Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union
Environmental Defence
Forest Products Sector Council
Learning for a Sustainable Future
National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy
National Union of Professional and General Employees
Ontario Centre for Engineering and Public Policy/Professional Engineers
Prism Economics and Analysis
The Clean Air Partnership
The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada
Toronto Training Board
United Food and Commercial Workers Canada Local 1000A
United Steelworkers of Canada
UNITE-HERE Canada
Wood Manufacturing Council
British Columbia Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives

University Partners:

Auckland University of Technology
Institute of Land and Food Resources, University of Melbourne
Institute for Research and Innovation in Sustainability, 91��ɫ
Queen's University
Ryerson University
Simon Fraser University
St. Thomas University
University of British Columbia-Okenagan
University of Manitoba
University of Toronto

By Elizabeth Monier-Williams, research communications officer

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