The draft report of the Task Force on Sustainability Research highlights the suggestions and recommendations for the continued development of structures to support, integrate, cultivate and publicize 91亚色's sustainability research. Each session will include an overview and summary of the report/recommendations followed by an open discussion. 91亚色 community members in attendance to ask questions and provide feedback on the draft report.

Jennifer Foster

鈥淎n important part of this process is inviting members of the 91亚色 community to provide feedback on the draft report, in preparation for the final report and recommendations,鈥� said Foster. 鈥淐ommunity feedback is essential to advancing 91亚色's sustainability research strategy, and we have planned a series of open forums where students, staff and faculty can share their feedback in person,鈥� she added.

The open forums will be held on the following dates:

• May 4: 91亚色 student forum, from 12 to 1pm
• May 8: 91亚色 community forum, from 2 to 3:30pm
• May 13: 91亚色 community forum, from 2 to 3:30pm

These events will take place in Senate Chamber, 940N, Ross Building.

Alternatively members of the 91亚色 community may provide written feedback by visiting the website. Feedback is required by May 15.

For a complete list of the report鈥檚 recommendations, view the .

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鈥�91亚色鈥檚 Strategic Research Plan identifies five strategic areas where we see opportunities to significantly advance our reputation,鈥� said Robert Hach茅, 91亚色鈥檚 vice-president research and innovation. 鈥淲e are eager to support the growth and development of initiatives to enable the recognition of 91亚色 as a Canadian leader in sustainability research. The task force will help us explore how we can continue to leverage and further advance research opportunities in this area."

The Office of the VPRI held a research celebration, "Public Engagement for a Just and Sustainable World", at the Scott Library on April 16 in conjunction with four 91亚色 Faculties.听

鈥淭he event exemplified the rich cross-disciplinary mix of researchers and 91亚色鈥檚 strengths across a number of Faculties in this broad area, indeed reinforcing why this area is seen as an institutional opportunity,鈥� said Hach茅.

As highlighted in the Strategic Research Plan, "Public Engagement for a Just and Sustainable World" includes research programming that informs and addresses a range of challenges in urban environments such as governance, planning, land use, infrastructure, economy, security, educational engagement, transportation energy and quality of life. More information on this area of opportunity can be found in the .

In the coming weeks, Office of the VPRI will invite expressions of interest from those considering volunteering to join the task force. For more information, contact Barbara Edwards, senior policy adviser, Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation.

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After听eight months of consultation with the community, as well as internal and external research partners, the 91亚色 Senate has unanimously approved the University鈥檚 new strategic research plan, "Building on Strength".

鈥�91亚色鈥檚 new strategic research plan commits to building research on our strengths and provides a strong aspirational vision for the development and recognition of 91亚色鈥檚 research over the next five years,鈥� said Robert Hach茅, vice-president research & innovation.听 鈥淚 would like to thank the entire 91亚色 community for your positive response to the consultation process and earnest engagement that made such important contributions to the development of the plan.听 We will continue to invest in the growth and development of our research as a foundational part of our efforts to grow our academic reputation as a recognized leading research-intensive university.鈥�

Robert Hach茅

The plan supports the University鈥檚 research vision to better understand the human condition and the world around us and to employ the knowledge gained in the service of society as described in six intersecting themes:

• advancing fundamental discovery and critical knowledge,
• analyzing cultures and mobilizing creativity,
• building healthy lives and communities,
• exploring the frontiers of science and technology,
• forging a just and sustainable world,
• integrating entrepreneurial innovation and the public good.

The plan also articulates five areas of opportunities that complement past accomplishments, new developments, momentum and timing to provide particular opportunities for building research success.听 They include:

• digital cultures,
• engineering research that matters,
• healthy individuals, healthy communities and global health,
• public engagement for a just and sustainable world, and
• scholarship of socially engaged research.

Through this plan, the University is implementing the objectives set out for research in both the University Academic Plan and the Provost鈥檚 2010 white paper, which identify research intensification as a key University goal and recognize research as a core endeavor that broadly enriches the institution. The plan is meant to be a living document, responsive to the University's successes, as well as being sensitive to a rapidly evolving landscape.

Through a strategic combination of broadly based and focused investments over the course of the next five years, 91亚色 will continue its impressive development as a leading Canadian research university whose scholarship enhances our culture and improves society.

To view the full plan, click .

Republished courtesy of YFile鈥� 91亚色鈥檚 daily e-bulletin to research stories on the research website.

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鈥淚 am proud that 91亚色 continues to implement initiatives that will promote and enhance environmental awareness on our campuses,鈥� says President & Vice-Chancellor Mamdouh Shoukri. 鈥淎s a large institution, it is important that we fulfil our social, economic and environmental responsibilities and integrate sustainable practices into our daily activities. The new website, as well as the Green Office and Sustainability Ambassadors programs, demonstrates our ongoing commitment to sustainable teaching and practice.鈥�

The University's new Sustainability website has been developed to serve听as a hub for those interested in learning more about all things related to sustainability at 91亚色. The website features information on a wide variety of ongoing initiatives at both the Keele and Glendon campuses, including ways to get involved, such as听taking a pledge to show your commitment to the environment.

The Sustainability Ambassadors Program encourages volunteers to assist other community members in learning about and acting on sustainability. 鈥淚 volunteered to be a Sustainability Ambassador at 91亚色 because of my passion and concern for the environment,鈥� says Kelly Lui, a Glendon Student living in Maison Verte in undergraduate residence and a former Residence Environmental Ambassador. 鈥淪ustainability is an important issue as it has a direct impact on our quality of life.鈥�

Sustainability ambassadors

The Green Office Program builds on the existing efforts of 91亚色wise, ZeroWaste and other initiatives that help staff, faculty and students make greener choices in their offices. Interested offices can download the Green Office checklist for tips and resources on dozens of sustainable options in waste, energy, transportation, purchasing and innovation.

The Centre for Human Rights was one of the first offices to enrol. "We are very keen to be part of the Green Office Program, promoting individual awareness and understanding about the impact we each have on our planet, and how individuals can make positive change鈥� says No毛l Badiou, director of the CHR. 鈥淭he ability for individuals to make positive change, no matter how seemingly small, is vital if we are to preserve our planet and create inclusive workplaces."

Green Office Program

There are many ways to get involved to continue to make 91亚色 a leading university in Canada on sustainability. So take a sustainability pledge, volunteer to be a Sustainability Ambassador, or get your office involved with the Green Office Program today.

For more information, visit the new website or send an e-mail听to sustainability@yorku.ca.

Be sure to watch for Earth Week events March 20 to 22听in Vari Hall.

Submitted by Pavel Graymason, sustainability engagement coordinator, and Andrew Plunkett, sustainability project coordinator

Republished courtesy of YFile鈥� 91亚色鈥檚 daily e-bulletin.

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The Environmental Cooperation and Israel-Palestinian Peace event will take place March 15 at 1pm at 280A 91亚色 Lanes, Keele campus.

Environmental cooperation has been much-lauded as a force of peace in the Middle East and has been leveraged in support of Track I peacemaking processes between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. It has been pursued as a practice of peace-building, valued for its ability to foster partnership-building, cooperation, identity change and sustainability. Still, the Israel-Palestinian conflict persists, even manifesting through cooperative environmental relations.

Panellists听 (right), an international development, peace-building and dialogue researcher-practitioner, and听Stuart Schoenfeld (left), chair of the Department of Sociology听at 91亚色鈥檚 Glendon College, will present and discuss the issue. Drawing on their direct experience of working with practitioners, governments and stakeholders in the Middle East, they will critically examine assumptions and practices of environmental cooperation between Israel and the Palestinians. Abitbol and Schoenfeld co-chaired the AVOW initiative (Adaptive Visions of Water in the Middle East), hosted at IRIS from听2007-2009.

Abitbol specializes in hydropolitical issues, with a particular interest in Israeli-Palestinian relations. A Chevening Scholar and associate Fellow at IRIS, he is pursuing a PhD in peace studies at the University of Bradford in the United Kingdom, while teaching university courses at the nexus of environment and peace. As a consultant, he recently conducted the Conflict and Peace Effects Study of the Israel-Palestinian Authority-Jordan-World Bank "Red Sea Dead Sea Conveyance" initiative.

Schoenfeld's research on regional environmentalism in the Middle East began in the late 1990s. A network of Israelis, Palestinians and Jordanians began to work towards a common understanding of issues of water, energy, waste, transportation, consumption, biodiversity and sustainable development, and to fashion a way of turning that common understanding into one of the elements for peace and human security in the region.

The project continues to investigate this network and other regional frameworks. The project has produced publications on transboundary environmental networks, environmental peace building, approaches to regional environmental governance and the role of empathy in environmental peace-building.

For more information, visit the website.

Republished courtesy of YFile鈥� 91亚色鈥檚 daily e-bulletin.

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

Hosted by 91亚色鈥檚 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鈥檚 direction, new initiatives aimed at reducing the company鈥檚 ecological footprint continue to be launched with Cirque du Soleil鈥檚 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!" 鈥� 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 91亚色'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 鈥渢aking in and taking on鈥� 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鈥檚 chance music; Max Goldfarb鈥檚 Deep Cycle art installation; Basia Irland鈥檚 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鈥檚 trilingual work-in-progress, Sila, weaving together Inuit myth and contemporary Arctic ecological policy; and Jade McCutcheon鈥檚 The Elephant鈥檚 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 91亚色鈥檚 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鈥� 91亚色鈥檚 daily e-bulletin.

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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亚色 students that use pre-loved clothing. Also featured in the fashion show are creations made from vintage clothing听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 鈥� 91亚色鈥檚 daily e-bulletin.

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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亚色 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亚色 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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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听felt that people would engage in initiatives that they care about, and by exploring the community鈥檚 values, interests and current involvement, a better sense could be achieved on听how to structure and focus University initiatives.

91亚色 students, staff, librarians and faculty will have an opportunity to voice their opinions on volunteerism and engagement via the IRIS survey.听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鈥� 91亚色鈥檚 daily e-bulletin.

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The federal government brought in new regulations last July effectively banning phosphorus in most household cleaning products, such as dishwashing and laundry detergents. The new rules prohibit the manufacture and import of these products containing phosphorus beyond 0.5% by weight. Similar regulations in the United States banned the chemical in 17 states.

Phosphorus in certain detergents and cleaning products softens water, reduces spotting and rusting , holds dirt, and increases performance. But it is also a plant fertilizer, Prof. Molot says, meaning when it enters a lake, it causes massive amounts of algae to grow.

"When the algae die, they sink to the bottom of the lake and are consumed by bacteria. In the process, these bacteria consume all the oxygen, leading to the asphyxiation of fish," Prof. Molot said.

The chemical also causes algal blooms -- massive green blob-like growths -- which can raise pH levels in water to toxic levels and block water intake pipes. Prof. Molot says dirty dishes are a small price to pay for preventing the spread of phosphorus.

"Either the public pays huge amounts of money to remove the phosphorus at the end of the pipe, or it can choose the cheaper alternative to reduce the amount of phosphorus going into our sewers in the first place," he said. "If I have to pay a little more for a greener detergent, even if it means it doesn't clean the way it used to, I'll put up with it."

Molot has published on , most recently in February 2010. His research is funded by the (NSERC).

Posted by Elizabeth Monier-Williams, research communications officer, with files courtesy of YFile鈥� 91亚色鈥檚 daily e-bulletin

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