Institute for Research & Innovation in Sustainability (IRIS) Archives | Research & Innovation

Countdown to Earth Hour: IRIS' Old to Gold fashion show highlights sustainability

fmaquito — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 08:00:00 +0000

91��ɫ students, faculty and staff are getting a jump on Earth Hour 2011 with Earth Hour, Every Hour, a special event tomorrow evening, March 16, from 4:30 to 9pm in the Winters College Master's dining hall.

Hosted by the (IRIS) in collaboration with the Ecologically Conscious Organization and Schulich Net Impact clubs, the evening will feature an Old to Gold fashion show that features designs created by 91��ɫ students that use pre-loved clothing. Also featured in the fashion show are creations made from vintage clothing from Pre-loved, a fashion boutique located in downtown Toronto.

As part of the evening, (left), president & chief strategy officer at EC3, will deliver a special lecture on sustainability. Bowerbank is a respected authority on green buildings, sustainable development, industrial design and low-carbon economics. He regularly draws from his diverse background in efforts to engage industry leaders and support new business strategies in response to current energy and environmental issues. Bowerbank was the executive director of the World Green Building Council from 2007 to 2009.

The evening will conclude with a live music performance. The event is free and open to the community. The dress code is evening casual. As seating is limited, organizers request that those interested in attending this event should visit the website. RSVPs should be e-mailed to irisatyork@gmail.com. The menu will include vegetarian and vegan options in addition to traditional fare.

is an international event that asks individuals, families, businesses and public institutions, to turn off their lights and non-essential electrical appliances for one hour on the evening of March 26, from 8 to 9pm local time, to promote electricity conservation and lower carbon emissions.

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

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History graduate student Andrew Watson talks zombies with TVO's "The Agenda"

fmaquito — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 08:00:00 +0000

Andrew Watson, a 91��ɫ graduate student in the Department of History and the Institute for Research & Innovation in Sustainability, took part in a panel discussion about art and the science around zombies, on TVO’s “The Agenda” March 10. You can watch the clip on The Agenda's website. Braaaaaaaaaains! Posted by Elizabeth Monier-Williams, research communications […]

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Professors report back to Arctic communities on International Polar Year Research

fmaquito — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 10:00:00 +0000

For two weeks in January, two 91��ɫ professors bundled into parkas and flew to Arctic villages along the proposed Mackenzie Valley pipeline. They were delivering valuable cargo – the results of their International Polar Year (IPY) research.

Reporting back to the communities was a condition of receiving IPY research funding in 2007, and after three years ecologist and political scientist Gabrielle Slowey were ready to deliver. When the two arrived by bush plane, citizens in Fort Simpson and Inuvik crowded into local meeting halls to hear them. Some had helped do the research, all were curious to hear the results.

Right: Dawn Bazely in a plane back to Yellowknife from Fort Simpson

“They were never going to read a report. They need to hear things orally,” says Bazely, director of 91��ɫ’s Institute for Research & Innovation in Sustainability.

Bazely led the Canadian component of an IPY project called (GAPS), investigating the effect of oil and gas development on northern communities. She oversaw teams of natural and social scientists investigating invasive plant species, housing security and homelessness, mental health services and the advantages of self-governance in indigenous communities in the Yukon and Northwest Territories.

"What was really unique about our program was no other had natural and social scientists working so closely in tandem from the beginning," said Slowey. Oil and gas was the context, human security or the well-being of these communities was the framework. The collaboration worked really well and achieved real results, she said.

Above: Gabrielle Slowey in front of the igloo church, Our Lady of Victory, an Inuvik landmark

Normally, denizens of these northern communities pay little heed as scientists from the south come and go, and never return to share their findings, says Bazely. This time they were all ears. The research offers them a glimpse of what is in store for them and ways they can deal with change. “It’s empowering,” she says.

Slowey agrees. “We’re not just taking knowledge away, we’re giving it back and helping them.” She also presented her findings in Whitehorse.

For the past three years, Slowey has been comparing the ability of self-governing versus non-self-governing indigenous communities to cope with change wrought by oil and gas development and exploration. After surveying residents, community leaders and industry officials, she found self-governing communities, such as Old Crow, have more control over what happens to them. They can make their own decisions and negotiate directly with the territorial government over oil and gas development. Non-self-governing communities such as Tuktoyaktuk must deal with multiple levels of government to get anything done. “Self-government removes all those layers and gives more local empowerment.”

Left: Gabrielle Slowey

After her presentations in Whitehorse and Inuvik, people in communities such as Pelee Crossing, Yukon, and Sachs Harbour, Northwest Territories (NWT), sought Slowey's advice on how to proceed given mining exploration or oil exploration occurring in their area. "I highlighted not just onshore but offshore oil and gas development. It’s going to be huge."

Folks in the NWT were also curious about the potential impact of devolution (downloading of jurisdiction from Ottawa to the territories) on their self-government agreements and future development. It's a hot topic in the North and Slowey has pointed out in newspaper editorials how Ottawa bureaucrats are ill-prepared to make decisions about the North because they have no understanding of what life is like for the people who live there.

Moreover, she says, “we tend to think of people in the North as victims of policy instead of agents of change. I’m telling them they’re on the right track by pursuing self-government.” Do it now, she’s saying, before the territorial government embraces devolution. Yet it's not so easy, as local indigenous leaders scramble to keep up as Ottawa keeps changing the rules of the game.

Over the past three years, Bazely and her students have looked for evidence of invasive plant species in settlements from Fort Simpson, gateway to the Nahanni and home of the caribou, north to Norman Wells, Fort Good Hope and Inuvik. Oil and gas exploration and development has brought outsiders to the area and with them a foreign fungus that has infected the grass that caribou eat. Not good news for people whose diet depends on caribou meat. Bazely advised communities to revegetate the ground along the pipelines and roads with local seeds, not imported seeds. Doing so could lead to local – and sustainable – business opportunities, she told in Fort Simpson.

Above: The frozen Mackenzie River

The will be published in peer-reviewed academic journals, presented at conferences and spawn graduate theses, says Bazely. But the best value, she believes, comes from sharing it directly with local policy-makers and citizens.

By March, IPY research will be completed and next year the results will be shared at a Montreal conference, .

Bazely is editing a book, Environmental Change and Human Security in the Arctic, to which Slowey is contributing a chapter. By this fall, Slowey expects to finish editing a book, Rethinking Public Policy in the Northwest Territories, highlighting each of the Canadian GAPS subprojects.

The biologist and political scientist have embraced the IPY imperative to report back to the communities. They plan to share their IPY research findings with indigenous groups in northern Ontario and local groups in Pennsylvania, who are faced with shale-gas development.

By Martha Tancock, YFile contributor

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

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Work in a Warming World project to host discussion panel on green jobs January 20

fmaquito — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 10:00:00 +0000

‘Green jobs’ have been increasingly touted as the solution to job loss and environmental crisis. Will Canada transition to a cleaner economy that reduces greenhouse gas emissions and employs a new generation of workers? Are green jobs the only link between environmental policy and employment policy?

Defining green jobs raises further questions. What is a green job? Do we need new green jobs or greener jobs? Who will benefit in the transition towards a low-carbon economy? What strategies do we need to transition to greener workplaces?

The panel discussion will explore these challenging issues on Thursday, January 20, 2011 beginning at 3 pm in Room 100A of the Jackman Humanities Building, located at , Toronto, ON.

Participants include expert activists, academics and policy makers:

John Cartwright, president, Toronto and 91��ɫ Region Labour Council
Tony Clarke, director, Polaris Institute of Canada
Clare Demerse, associate director of the Climate Change Program, Pembina Institute
Marjorie Griffin Cohen, professor, Department of Political Science, Simon Fraser University
Sara Letourneau, director, Labour Climate Project, BlueGreen Alliance (US)
, principal investigator, Work in a Warming World (W3) and professor, Department of Work and Labour Studies, 91��ɫ University

Green/ing Jobs is organized by (W3). The $1-million project, funded by the , is addressing climate change's challenge to Canadian employment and work, and the ways in which the work world can contribute to the struggle to slow global warming. W3 is affiliated with the (IRIS).

By Sabreena Delhon, W3 project coordinator.

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Annual IRIS sustainability survey to examine volunteerism and engagement

fmaquito — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 10:00:00 +0000

Every year, graduate assistants working with the (IRIS) do a campus survey on a sustainability theme.

The survey in 2006, asked students what they knew about climate change and resulted in more environmentally friendly course kits (see YFile, April 2, 2008); the assessed the value of urban forest on Keele campus; and the surveyed students about their food choices and needs.

This year's survey looks at volunteerism and engagement on campus. The theme arose following an open space event held during Earth Hour 2010, where community members expressed a desire to explore campus volunteerism and engagement as a means to improve campus sustainability. IRIS researchers felt that people would engage in initiatives that they care about, and by exploring the community’s values, interests and current involvement, a better sense could be achieved on how to structure and focus University initiatives.

91��ɫ students, staff, librarians and faculty will have an opportunity to voice their opinions on volunteerism and engagement via the IRIS survey. To participate, look for IRIS survey stations at the Keele and Glendon campuses, pick up the link from posters around campus, or visit the website. The survey closes Friday, Jan. 21.

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

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November is Research Month: 91��ɫ celebrates with a series of events

fmaquito — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 08:00:00 +0000

Research Month celebrates the achievements and diversity of 91��ɫ’s research community.

Throughout November, the Vari Hall Rotunda will play host to displays and demonstrations featuring our faculty and graduate researchers. Drop by between 10 am and 2 pm each Wednesday to learn what 91��ɫ's researchers are doing.

The Research Month index on 91��ɫ's Research website contains complete information about the researchers, research centres and research support groups participating in the event.

Social sciences and humanities research – Nov. 3

Confirmed participants include:

Institute for Science & Technology Studies
91��ɫ Centre for Education & Community

Science and engineering research – Nov. 10

Confirmed participants include:

Health research – Nov.17

Confirmed participants include:

Professor Joseph DeSouza, Faculty of Health, Department of Psychology
Professor , Faculty of Health, School of Nursing
Professor Jennifer Kuk, Faculty of Health, School of Kinesiology & Health Science
Professor Gail Mitchell, Faculty of Health, School of Nursing
Professor Jennine Rawana, Faculty of Health, Department of Psychology
Professor Rose Steele, Faculty of Health, School of Nursing
LaMarsh Centre for Research on Violence & Conflict Resolution
91��ɫ Institute for Health Research

Fine and performing arts research — Nov. 24

Confirmed participants include:

Want to participate?

Do you have completed works, prototypes, technology, or works in progress that you could demonstrate? Do you have graduate/undergraduate students working with you who could assist and help talk about the work? If you have other ideas, we would love to hear about them.

Interested faculty members or research centres should contact Elizabeth Monier-Williams in the Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation at ext. 21069 or eamw@yorku.ca. Please note that space is limited and allocated on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Other research-related events

These research-related events will also be running in November:

Nov. 6 – , featuring Professor Poonam Puri from Osgoode Hall Law School and Professor Steven Gaetz from the Faculty of Education among other speakers.
Nov. 10 – Toward a Behavioral Neuroscience of Parenting, sponsored by the Department of Psychology in the Faculty of Health.
Nov. 24 & 25 – at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre (by invitation only).
Nov. 26 – Campus visit from Suzanne Fortier, president of the .
Nov. 30 – Campus visit from David Malone, president of .

By Elizabeth Monier-Williams, research communications officer

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Professor Dawn Bazely, director of IRIS, on climate change and Hamilton-area deer populations

fmaquito — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 08:00:00 +0000

An expert in forest ecology is likening an animal rights group’s claim that deer aren’t a threat to Iroquois Heights Conservation Area to those who still deny climate change is underway, wrote the and the Ancaster News Oct. 14:

, director of 91��ɫ’s (IRIS), also dismissed as “rubbish” assertions by the Animal Alliance of Canada that non-lethal interventions like discouraging feeding and erecting better fences have successfully cut problem deer numbers at the Sifton Bog in London, Ont.

A biology professor in 91��ɫ’s , Bazely said London politicians backed down from a deer hunt favoured by neighbouring residents last year after a councillor and opponents denounced shooting deer as barbaric and “worse than abortion.”

She accused Animal Alliance of exploiting the “Bambi” emotional factor and ignoring the damage deer are doing at Iroquois Heights, where an aerial survey in January of last year counted 102 in a 66-hectare section, 90 more than considered healthy.

“Why aren’t they campaigning for cockroaches?” said Bazely, who outlined the impact deer have on forest ecology and biodiversity to a Hamilton Conservation Authority committee that is considering how to deal with the deer population. “We exterminate other single species. Where’s the campaign for rats? Where’s the campaign for raccoons?”

During her presentation, Bazely said it’s “not debatable” that deer populations of more than 10 per square kilometre kill future trees because they eat any new growth up to two metres above ground. They also devour native plants like trillium, allowing invasive plants to take over, she said. “The entire middle layer of the forest, it’s not there any more,” she said.

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

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IRIS launches book calling for systemic changes to fight climate change

fmaquito — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 08:00:00 +0000

It's not enough to plant trees in exchange for carbon emissions in the fight to mitigate climate change, say 91��ɫ environmental studies Professor Anders Sandberg and 91��ɫ environmental studies master’s student in their new co-edited book Climate Change – Who’s Carrying the Burden?: The Chilly Climates of the Global Environmental Dilemma.

Nor is it enough to set up a supposed green company in the Global South to offset the spewing emissions of companies in the Global North. Without a substantial system change, an alternative way of living, climate change will continue unabated, says Anders Sandberg. “I don’t see any change, frankly. Carbon emissions are still increasing dramatically.”

When carbon emissions are traded or bought for offsets, such as planting trees, they are done so at the end of the carbon change cycle, rather than at the beginning. A lot of money continues to go into the development of more carbon sources. “From my perspective it’s not very positive,” says Sandberg. Much of the offset purchasing is by large multinationals in the Global South, where they set up green companies to offset pollution in the United States, but by doing so they displace many of the local people and their economic livelihoods.

In the book, the Sandbergs write, “The concept of climate change itself can be an oppressive force…hiding the historical connections of the carbon economy to colonialism, capitalism and rampant and exploitive resource extractions."

“We’re asking people to look at the climate change issues from a broader perspective, which could bring forth more ideas,” says Sandberg.

In , the third volume in the Our Schools/Our Selves book series, 2010, published by the , the Sandbergs look at who is most affected by climate change and the need for systemic change beyond capping and trading carbon emissions.

They don't believe that free markets, new green technologies and international agreements are enough to alleviate climate change. Despite green technologies, levels of consumption will likely remain high. Even if all the cars are electric, there will still be suburbs, roads and gridlock, potentially leading to an increase in the amount of electricity used and the building of more hydroelectric dams, which then affects the environment and the people who use it. “I think we need to look at and imagine other ways of living,” says Anders Sandberg.

Left: Anders Sandberg

Although climate change is a global issue, the solutions are not. What’s needed is a closer look at the origins of climate change and the areas it most impacts, he says. Areas such as the Tar Sands of Alberta, the Gulf of Guinea in West Africa, the Canadian north, the coastal regions of Bangladesh and the island states of the Pacific.

“We have to look at the people on the ground who are harmed by this. What we are trying to do is turn the prism from the global to the local. But we’re not just looking at the horror stories; we’re also looking at the hope and resiliency of these communities and whether they might have some answers to the climate change problem.” For one thing, it’s important to understand the vulnerabilities that have built up in these communities, explore their origins, call for reparations from those who are responsible and build on the resiliencies that remain.

One of the contributors to the book, 91��ɫ environmental studies master's student Jelena Vesic (BES Spec. Hon. '08), points to the polar bear as a symbol and a victim of climate change. There is now a threat to First Nations who harvest them because they are considered endangered, yet a closer look reveals that in some regions the polar bear is holding its own. Banning their harvest would affect First Nations communities that have hunted polar bears as part of their culture for centuries. The ban would also affect the local economy and the resiliency that’s built into the particular relationship between the Inuit and the polar bear.

Right: Tor Sandberg

Climate Change – Who’s Carrying the Burden? contains a collection of papers from prominent people such as Stephen Lewis, Canada's former ambassador to the United Nations, who looks at the health impact of global climate change; author and journalist Naomi Klein, who talks about paying the climate debt; and scholar and activist Vandana Shiva on the G8/20 summit and climate change. Green Party of Canada leader Elizabeth May explores shrinking ecological footprints and expanding political ones, while visiting Fulbright scholar at 91��ɫ Professor Noël Sturgeon challenges the family values and environmental practices that are tied to the carbon economy.

The majority of articles, however, are written by junior scholars and graduate students in 91��ɫ’s Faculty of Environmental Studies who are passionate about climate justice. They write on a range of topics, including the recent climate-focused conferences in Copenhagen and Cochabamba, climate change-induced migration, Hurricane Katrina, the Niger Delta, the First Nations youth adoption of hip hop music to fight HIV/AIDS. the largest squatter settlement in Europe (the free town of Christiania in Copenhagen) and food policy in the Greater Toronto Area.

The Sandbergs discuss what they see as the dominant story – cap and trade and offsets –and the alternative story that calls for systemic change and climate justice, which emerged at the 15th United Nations conference on climate change they attended last December in Copenhagen.

Anders Sandberg is currently using Climate Change – Who’s Carrying the Burden? in his course – Environmental Studies 1200, Taking Action, Engaging People and the Environment.

The book will be officially launched by 91��ɫ’s (the Sandbergs were part of the institute's delegation to the climate change conference in Copenhagen) on Wednesday, Oct. 20, from 3 to 4:30pm at 305 91��ɫ Lanes, Keele campus.

The themes of the book will also be featured in a session titled “Climate Change, Climate Justice and Human Rights” during 91��ɫ’s Inclusion Day – Dialoguing Across Differences tomorrow.

For more information on the book, visit the website.

By Sandra McLean, YFile writer

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

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Interdisicplinary symposium focuses on education and climate change

fmaquito — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 08:00:00 +0000

Today, the shared experiences of those working in education and climate change is the central theme of a one-day symposium taking place at 91��ɫ.

Organized by the , the (IRIS) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific & Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Chair for Reorienting Teacher Education Towards Sustainability, the Leadership for Sustainable Communities Symposium will focus on learning, leadership and climate change.

Leading experts from Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom will gather at 91��ɫ’s Keele campus for the symposium. They will share their experiences and expertise in the area of climate change with students enrolled in summer courses that address issues of sustainability. The focus of the symposium will be a shared dialogue to examine the intersections between education, leadership and climate change.

91��ɫ Faculty of Education Professor Charles Hopkins (right) will open the conference. As the UNESCO Chair for Reorienting Teacher Education Towards Sustainability , Hopkins has developed and continues to coordinate an international network of institutions from 38 countries working on the reorientation of teacher education towards the issues inherent in sustainable development. Hopkins is also an adviser to both UNESCO and the United Nations University regarding the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development, which began in 2005 and continues until 2014. A major contributor at previous UN summits on sustainability in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1992 and in Johannesburg, South Africa in 2002, he authored Chapter 36 of Agenda 21 of the Rio Earth Summit Action Plan on Education, Public Awareness & Training. Previously, Hopkins was a superintendent with the Toronto Board of Education.

Following Hopkins' opening comments, David Greenwood (left), a professor in the Department of Teaching & Learning at Washington State University, will deliver the keynote address, titled “Nature, Empire, and Paradox in Environmental and Sustainability Education”. Greenwood conducts research on the relationship between environment, culture, and education; environmental, place-based and sustainability education; and alternative education. He has published widely in journals such as: Harvard Educational Review, Educational Researcher, American Educational Research Journal, Curriculum Inquiry, Educational Administration Quarterly, Environmental Education Research, Canadian Journal of Environmental Education and a host of other publications. Greenwood is working on his second book, which will examine place and education.

After Greenwood's address, a panel of scholars from IRIS, the Faculty of Environmental Studies and will present their work as it relates to climate change.

Particpating in the panel are:

(left) is a professor of biology in 91��ɫ's , an ecologist and the director of IRIS. Bazely has conducted field research in many ecosystems, including arctic tundra, sub-arctic and temperate salt-marshes, deciduous forests, temperate managed grasslands and prairies, and her research findings on white-tailed deer and lesser snow geese have informed wildlife and conservation management in Canada. In 2003, she published a book on the ecology and control of invasive plants with Professor Judy Myers of the University of British Columbia. She is currently leading an interdisciplinary project based in Canada, Norway and Russia on human security in the Arctic, specifically the impact of oil and gas development on people and ecosystems.

Patricia (Ellie) Perkins (right) is a professor and program coordinator for the Faculty of Environmental Studies at 91��ɫ. An economist who is concerned with the relationship between international trade, the environment and local economies, Perkins is interested in globalization and how local economies may grow as an antidote to international trade. She also looks at international means of controlling air pollution in the Arctic and at the metals and minerals resource industries. Perkins is the primary investigator of a (SSHRC) funded research project titled "Collaborative Research for Equitable Public Participation in Watershed Governance: Canada, Brazil, Mozambique, South Africa, Kenya". In 2008, she was awarded the 91��ɫ Knowledge Mobilization Course Release for Community Engagement Award. Currently, she is editing a book on feminist ecological economics.

Professor (left) is director of Osgoode Hall Law School’s Mooting Program as well as its LLB/MES Program. He is actively involved in the work of the Standards Council of Canada and the International Organization for Standardization in the field of environmental management standards. He has published on numerous topics related to environmental and international affairs, including the ISO 14000 environmental management standards, global environmental governance, sustainability, regulatory reform, corporate social responsibility, Canadian forest law, international relations theory and international fisheries regulation. His current research focuses on the role of voluntary standards for environmental management and corporate social responsibility in the governance of corporate conduct.

In the afternoon, 91��ɫ film Professor Brenda Longfellow, award-winning filmmaker, writer and theorist, will screen her 2008 feature-length documentary Weather Report to symposium participants.

As the world reels from a series of unprecedented weather events, it is clear that climate change is forcing a fundamental re-evaluation of our most basic assumptions about energy, progress and values. Produced with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and the National Film Board of Canada, looks at the dramatically evolving impacts and social implications of climate change. Travelling through North America, the Canadian Arctic, India and China, the film explores how the battle against climate change is implicated in the larger movement for sustainability and global justice.

Winner of the Sundance Channel's Green Award and the Bronze Remi Award at the 2008 WorldFest-Houston Independent International Film Festival, Longfellow's film has earned high praise from climatologists, educators and others in the field.

"Weather Report is a beautifully filmed documentary that travels the globe and is one of the first films to put a human face on the myriad impacts of climate change. Highly recommended," said Professor Anthony Leiserowitz, director of the Yale Project on Climate Change in the School of Forestry & Environmental Studies at Yale University.

Left: Brenda Longfellow

"Weather Report masterfully accomplishes something scientists have not been very good at – putting a real, human face on the consequences of global warming and the resulting climate change," said Cindy Parker, co-director of the Program on Global Sustainability & Health in the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Following the screening, there will be an informal round-table discussion on climate change and education with a focus on translating knowledge into action. The discussion will feature contributions from:

Professor Tony Shallcross is a visiting scholar from Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU). Shallcross is teaching ecology, ethics and education in the Graduate Program in Education Summer Institute at 91��ɫ. He has more than 20 years of experience working in schools and is a former deputy head and head of department. Before taking up his post at MMU, he was a lecturer in environmental studies at the University of Edinburgh.

is a professor in 91��ɫ's Faculty of Education where he coordinates the 91��ɫ/Seneca Institute for Mathematics, Science & Technology Education and the Graduate Diploma in Environmental/Sustainability Education. Alsop has taught in primary and secondary schools in inner-city London and coordinated the Centre for Learning & Research in Science Education at the Roehampton Institute at the University of Surrey. He has published widely in science and technology education and his recent books include and [co-edited with Larry Bencze and Erminia Pedretti]. He holds affiliated scholarly positions at the Universidad Autonoma de Baja California, Mexico; the Roehampton Institute; and the Centre for Science, Mathematics &Technology Education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto. He is associated with a number of activist organizations including The Project for Altruistic Science and Technology Education.

Soni Craik is the acting executive director of EcoSource and has worked for the organization for over four years to extend its educational programming. Craik links her academic background with her interest in education for sustainability through child rights. She has worked for the International Institute for Child Rights & Development and the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade in South Africa as a facilitator of a participatory programs evaluation, specializing in working with elementary-aged children. Craik has also worked as an environmental education consultant for the Packard Foundation in Ethiopia and for the Child Welfare League of Canada in Cuba on a joint study of Havana’s social systems.

Rebecca Houwer is a doctoral candidate in the Faculty of Education at 91��ɫ. Prior to returning to university, she worked for several years with community-based organizations committed to educating youth. Her academic interests include: ethics and critical place-based education in urban contexts; participatory action research as praxis; ethical community-university relations; ecology without nature; and, collaborative place-making and place-recovery with, and by, forced migrants. She is a research assistant for the $1-million Community-University Research Alliance (CURA) grant by SSHRC led by 91��ɫ social work Professor in the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies.

The symposium will conclude with a wrap-up and pledge that will be delivered by Hopkins.

For more information, visit the Web site.

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

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Osgoode professor launches book on imbalances in globalized governance

fmaquito — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 08:00:00 +0000

A Perilous Imbalance: The Globalization of Canadian Law and Governance, a new book co-authored by Osgoode Hall Law School Professor Stepan Wood, shines an urgent light on the dangerous imbalances in contemporary forms of globalized governance.

The book will launch Wednesday, April 7, from 12:30 to 2pm in the Private Dining Room of the Executive Learning Centre in the Seymour Schulich Building, Keele campus.

Co-author and political economy Professor Stephen Clarkson of the University of Toronto, a senior fellow of the Centre for International Governance Innovation, will join Wood, a core faculty member of the (IRIS), in introducing .

Left: Stepan Wood

The book advocates for a revitalization of the Canadian state as a vehicle to pursue human security, ecological integrity and social emancipation, and to create spaces for alternative forms of law and governance.

As citizens of a middle power, Canadians know how it feels to be objects of global forces, but they are also agents of globalization who have helped build structures of transnational governance that have highly uneven impacts on prosperity, human security and the environment, often for the worse. A Perilous Imbalance argues that these imbalances need to be recognized and corrected. It situates Canada’s experience of globalization in the context of three interlinked trends, the emergence of a global supraconsitution, the transformation of the nation-state and the growth of governance beyond the nation-state.

Jinyan Li, interim dean of 91��ɫ’s Osgoode Hall Law School; Stan Shapson, vice-president research & innovation; and 91��ɫ Professor Dawn Bazely, director of IRIS; will give the opening remarks, followed by commentary by Osgoode Professor Craig Scott.

Lunch will be served. For more information, contact Joanne Rappaport, Osgoode research coordinator, at jrappaport@osgoode.yorku.ca.

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

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