October 4, 2018: IRES Student Seminar
Speakers: Johnnie Manson and Rainer Lempert

October 4, 2018: IRES Student Seminar
Speakers: Johnnie Manson and Rainer Lempert

 

IRES Seminar Series

Time: 12:30pm to 1:30pm (every Thursday)

Location: AERL Theatre (room 120), 2202 Main Mall

*********************************************************************************

Theories of “the land,” political consciousness, citizenship, and their implications for conducting research with urban Indigenous peoples.

 

Abstract:

Research on urban Indigenous peoples is burgeoning field encompassing a wide spectrum of theoretical perspectives. These social theories contain descriptive and normative components about the “natural” world, urban communities, and consciousness. As such, this presentation will critically engage with theories of political consciousness (ranging from Indigenous ontological to contractarian) to understand their claims about how the world operates causally. This presentation will demonstrate that the descriptive components of each theory of political consciousness is laden with dualist assumptions which impact the normative components of their theories. This presentation will also demonstrate that these theories contain key theoretical insights which demonstrate that the human social world is complex, dynamic, and subject to power relations. This presentation will conclude by using insights from these theories of political consciousness to develop an analytic framework – which I call traditional differentiation – for conducting research with urban Indigenous peoples.

*** VIEW SEMINAR HERE.

 

Johnnie Manson

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bio:

Johnnie Manson is a member of the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation. His current research is interested in urban Indigenous people, conceptualizations of nature, and conceptualizations of citizenship. Johnnie Manson is also a poet whose poetry has been published in numerous literary journals.

******************************************************************************************

Understanding Carsharing Demand: a lifestyle choice or an economic necessity?

 

Abstract:

Carsharing memberships have increased rapidly in the past decade. Municipal governments have supported this through various accommodations in the belief that they help address their key challenges related to mobility: e.g., reducing car ownership, VKT and GHG emissions. Here we provide findings from a 2017 survey providing further differentiation between one-way and two-way carsharing members in Vancouver, BC. One-way members take more than three times as many trips by private vehicle and twice as many trips by car share vehicle as two-way members, who inturn make more weekly trips walking and biking. Reported motivations for car share use correspond with these travel patterns. Two-way members preferentially view car-sharing as a way to live efficiently, save money, be environmentally friendly, and reduce their dependence on car ownership.

*** VIEW SEMINAR HERE.

 

Rainer Lempert

 

 

Bio:

Rainer is an MSc student at IRES under the supervision of Dr. Hadi Dowlatabadi. He studies sustainable transportation, using a data driven approach to determine policy or business innovations that result in positive social and environmental impacts. Rainer graduated from Amherst College in 2015 with a BA in Geology and Mathematics. He then spent two years working in Boston for an environmental consulting company. His experience in the consulting industry, which involved enacting solutions for predetermined policies, influenced his desire to do work that helps shapes policy.

 

 

Photo Credit: Graham McDowell, IRES PhD Candidate

 

October 11, 2018: IRES Student Seminar
Speakers: Abhishek Kar and Zachary Sherker

IRES Seminar Series

Time: 12:30pm to 1:30pm (every Thursday)

Location: AERL Theatre (room 120), 2202 Main Mall

*********************************************************************************

Is India’s Ujjwala program enabling a cooking energy transition? Analysis of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) purchase trends in rural India

***CLICK HERE FOR SEMINAR VIDEO***

 

Abstract:

Fifty million poor women in India adopted cleaner-burning liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) since May 2016 under an ambitious Indian government subsidy and loan program called Ujjwala. Analysis of the enrollment and purchase history of 25,000 customers from rural India provide three insights. First, Ujjwala beneficiaries and non-Ujjwala consumers used LPG for 25% and 50% of their cooking energy demand in the first year respectively. Second, as LPG consumption of pre-Ujjwala consumers does not change over the first few years, Ujjwala consumers would likely continue to depend heavily on polluting solid fuels in near future. Third, there is a strong seasonal variation in LPG consumption due to climatic and economic reasons. As the envisaged economic, ecological, societal and health gains from clean cooking are linked to usage, policies directed at incentivizing usage, including seasonal discounts, is needed. Ujjwala is only the first-step towards cooking energy transition.

 

Abhishek Kar

 

Bio:

Abhishek Kar is a Ph.D. Candidate in IRES at UBC and was a participant in the 2018 Young Scientists Summer Program (YSSP) at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA). He was previously a Research Fellow at the Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), an Indian think-tank.

Over the last ten years his multi-disciplinary research experience (and published work) spans aerosols, human behavior, and policy analysis related to household air pollution in specific and energy access in general. His doctoral dissertation entails application of classical behavior change theories in conjunction with large consumer behavior datasets to better understand clean cooking energy transitions.

******************************************************************************************

Pacific great blue herons may be impacting the recovery of threatened Pacific salmon

***CLICK HERE FOR SEMINAR VIDEO***

Abstract:

An array of opportunistic foragers (brown trout, sculpins, common mergansers, North American river otters, American mink, and Pacific harbour seals) are suspected of preying on juvenile salmon in rivers and estuaries—and may account for critical low numbers of Chinook salmon in British Columbia. However, there is another piscivore predator that has been left off the list of usual suspects—the Pacific great blue heron. We investigated the role that herons might be playing in the decline of salmon by estimating rates of mortality caused by herons on juvenile Chinook salmon tagged with PIT tags in 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 (~10,000 tags per year) in the Cowichan River on Vancouver Island. We scanned three heron rookeries located ~10, 20, and 30 km from the mouth of the river using a Biomark IS1001 mobile array, and found 410 tags in fecal remains under nests. Most of the tags (406) came from the closest rookery with ~100 nests, and the remaining few were from the two smaller more distant rookeries (7 nests, ~30 nests). Predation occurred primarily in the lower river and was higher during years of low water flow. Recovering so many tags at heron rookeries was unexpected, and indicates that blue herons are a major predator of juvenile Chinook.  The location of heron nests relative to the distance to salmon bearing rivers is likely a good predictor of the impact on local salmon runs, and a potential means to assess coast-wide impacts of great blue herons on salmon recovery.

 

Zachary Sherker

 

Bio:

Zachary is completing his MSc in the RES program at UBC investigating freshwater and estuarine predation on juvenile salmon during their out-migration from natal rivers. Prior to coming out west, Zach completed an interdisciplinary BSc in Aquatic Resources and Biology at ST. F.X. University in Antigonish, N.S. During his undergraduate degree, Zach ran field and lab experiments to explore predator-induced phenotypic plasticity in intertidal blue mussels exposed to the waterborne cues of a drilling predator snail. He also conducted biological surveys on lobster fishing boats and worked as a fisheries observer for offshore commercial snow crab fleet.

Photo Credit: Robin Harder, Postdoctoral Fellow at IRES

September 13, 2018: IRES Faculty Seminar
Speaker: Julia Baird (Brock University)

IRES Seminar Series

Time: 12:30pm to 1:30pm (every Thursday)

Location: AERL Theatre (room 120), 2202 Main Mall

*********************************************************************************

Understandings of water resource systems through a resilience lens

 

Abstract: Resilience has been identified as a promising concept for governance and management of social-ecological systems in the era of the Anthropocene. This extends beyond scholarship and into practice, with the term ‘resilience’ becoming increasingly common language in relation to goals of organizations, government agencies and other actors. Resilience scholars acknowledge the diverse ways in which we use ‘resilience’ and have spent considerable time reviewing the literature and developing typologies, however, the extent to which clarity around how resilience is being understood and used in society is unclear. I will describe some of the research I have been involved in over the past six years to assess how stakeholders and the public understand and think about their water resources, using a resilience lens. I will outline the main findings and some of the challenges of this line of research.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW SEMINAR

 

Julia Baird

Julia Baird, Professor and Canada Research Chair in Human Dimensions of Water Resources and Water Resilience at Brock University’s Environmental Sustainability Research Centre.

 

Bio: Julia Baird is an Assistant Professor at Brock University and a Canada Research Chair in Human Dimensions of Water Resources and Water Resilience. Her research interests and expertise include the structure, function and outcomes of water governance networks, perceptions and understanding of water resource systems, and social factors that enhance water stewardship and engagement. Her research has been conducted in Canada, the US, Europe and Australia. Julia received her doctoral degree from the School of Environment and Sustainability at the University of Saskatchewan, with a M.Sc. also from Saskatchewan and a B.Sc. from the University of Alberta.

 

https://brocku.ca/esrc/julia-baird/

 

 

 

 

September 6, 2018: IRES Faculty Seminar
Speaker: Charlie Wilson
(First Seminar for Term 1)

IRES Seminar Series

Time: 12:30pm to 1:30pm (every Thursday)

Location: AERL Theatre (room 120), 2202 Main Mall

*********************************************************************************

 

Transforming Energy Demand to Meet the 1.5°C Climate Target and Sustainable Development Goals Without Negative Emission Technologies

 

Abstract:
Scenarios limiting global warming to 1.5°C describe major transformations in the energy supply and ever-rising energy demand. We provide a contrasting perspective by developing a narrative of future change based on observable trends which results in low energy demand. We describe and quantify changes in activity levels and energy intensity in the Global North and South for all major energy services consistent with our scenario narrative. We find that global final energy demand by 2050 reduces to 245 EJ, around 40% lower than today’s levels despite rising population, income and activity. We show how changes in the quantity and type of energy services drive structural change in intermediate and upstream supply sectors (energy and land use). Down-sizing the global energy system dramatically improves the feasibility of low-carbon supply-side transformation by renewables and electrification. Our scenario meets 1.5°C climate and other sustainable development goals, without relying on controversial negative emission technologies.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW SEMINAR

 

Charlie Wilson

Bio: 

Charlie Wilson is a researcher in the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research (UK), and a co-leader of its Accelerating Social Transitions research theme. He is also a Reader in the School of Environmental Sciences at the University of East Anglia where he teaches modules on energy and climate change, social research methods, and envi- ronmental field skills. Charlie’s research lies at the intersection between innovation, behaviour and policy in the field of energy and climate change mitigation, working at both a systems level and a micro level. Charlie was also a PhD student at IRES many moons ago.

Project website: http://silci.org/

 

Photo Credit: Madison Stevens, IRES PhD Student

Congratulations to our May 2018 RMES/RES graduates!

(from left to right)

 

 

Nicole Wilson (PhD)
Supervisor: Terre Satterfield

 

 

 

Mollie Chapman (PhD)
Supervisor: Kai Chan

 

 

 

Justin Ritchie (PhD)
Supervisor: Hadi Dowlatabadi

 

 

 

Arielle Swett (MA)
Supervisor: Hadi Dowlatabadi

 

 

Congratulations to all!

Congratulations to our May 2018 RMES/RES graduates!

(from left to right)

 
 

Michaela Neuberger (MSc)
Supervisor: Hadi Dowlatabadi

 
 

Michael Lathuillière (PhD)
Supervisor: Mark Johnson

 
 

Ada Smith (MA)
Supervisor: Charles Menzies
 
 

Kalifi Ferretti-Gallon (MSc)
Supervisor: Navin Ramankutty

 
 

Congratulations to all!

New environmental assessment law is an opportunity to put public trust back into the process

Rei Bertoldi

Rei Bertoldi

PhD Student
IRES Student Society PhD Students’ Representative, 2023-2024

Contact Details

rhbertol[at]student[dot]ubc[dot]ca

Bio

Rei Bertoldi is a PhD student supervised by Dr. Amanda Giang. Her research focuses on better estimating highly spatially and temporally complex environmental phenomena, like air pollution, for exposure assessment and policy decision making. She holds a MS in Public Policy from the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago and a BA in Science and Technology Studies from the University of California, Davis.

Damage from flooding doesn’t have to be inevitable

File 20180504 166877 10t9jng.jpg?ixlib=rb 1.1
Heavy rainfall triggered extensive flooding across the province of Alberta in 2013.
(Ryan L. C. Quan/Wikimedia), CC BY-SA

Alexa Tanner, University of British Columbia and Scott McKenzie, University of British Columbia

For the past five years the message has been the same — Alberta, specifically Calgary, needs flood mitigation, and there is no time to spare in taking action before the Bow or Elbow Rivers spill their banks again.

After all, there were only eight years between Calgary’s last two “100-year floods,” the most recent of which resulted in $6 billion in damages.

The increasing frequency and severity of flooding in Calgary is alarming. The city is built along two flood-prone river systems, and yet mitigation efforts are reactionary and piecemeal.

This is more than evident with flood events being reported across the country this spring, with hundreds of people ordered to evacuate in New Brunswick, Alberta and British Columbia. In New Brunswick, the flooding has been described as the worst in 80 years.

One way flood mitigation can be addressed is through system-wide regional planning that is shaped by public involvement within a transparent decision process. However, the complex nature of massive public works projects frequently results in inaction. Broader support is needed.

Recent research found that the public’s perceptions about the risk of flooding are slowing Calgary’s ability to take the steps it should to lessen the damage from future floods.

What Alberta — and the rest of Canada — needs is a justifiable decision process backed by increasing awareness of the impacts of climate change.

Fleeting experience

People’s perception of risk impacts their beliefs about flooding and their preferred methods to prevent floods.

For instance, after experiencing a flood event, people’s concerns about repeating the experience diminish over time. This makes sense. The motivation to prevent future disasters directly after an event is high, but it decreases as time elapses.

Since personal memories and emotions from large-scale events come and go, many studies have suggested that if we can change the underlying belief systems that drive people’s actions, we would encourage proactive steps to prevent future flooding.

One way to do this is to strengthen people’s awareness of the link between climate change and flood risk. Once the public recognizes that extreme weather, including flooding, is scientifically attributed to climate change, subsequent events reinforce this concern and a desire to take mitigation steps.

After the 2013 flooding in Calgary, a survey found people grasped the future risk of flooding in the short-term (five-year), but not for long-term (100-year).

Longer-term flood risk remains abstract to most because it is less personally or directly relevant. People have trouble imagining how flood risks will play out over generations in the future, let alone the sorts of actions they should take now to meaningfully reduce these impacts.

Next steps

As painful memories of stressful times fade, so too does the motivation to take actions that reduce risks, which, in turn, increases one’s susceptibility to future flood damages. However, boosting people’s knowledge about climate change elevates their perception of risk, and may overcome the limitations of fading memories.

That said, raising climate change awareness is no easy task. One’s beliefs towards climate change reflect one’s broader worldview rather than ephemeral emotional responses.



Read more:
Why some conservatives are blind to climate change

However, once climate change lines up with one’s worldview, concern stabilizes. This is great news for making the long-term changes we need for flood mitigation.

For policy makers, increasing climate change knowledge among citizens may be enough to shift perceptions of flood risk and garner support for flood mitigation.

Flood mitigation across Canada

There are some great examples of how communities have adapted in response to natural disasters, but also many concerns.

After Hurricane Hazel moved through Ontario in 1954, the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) was established to manage river systems and their floodplains across the Greater Toronto Area. The province purchased land in high-risk flood zones, created parks and constructed flood mitigation infrastructure.

However, many Canadians remain at risk of flood damages. In 2016 alone, Canadians paid $600 million in out-of-pocket expenses to repair flood damages to their property.

With aging infrastructure and the increasing risk of extreme weather due to climate change, these costs are likely to increase. Research out of the University of Waterloo found that less than 30 per cent of Canadians who lived in high-flood risk regions had taken action to protect their property, and had minimal interest in purchasing flood insurance.

So where does this leave large-scale flood infrastructure projects?

Debating Calgary’s future

In Calgary, five years after the last flood, there is still persistent and vocal debate around flood mitigation.

Flood mitigation can take many forms, from low-cost education programs to high-cost — and controversial — projects. Those in favour of large-scale mitigation cite the need for infrastructure projects that can manage the risk of flooding without behavioural change. Those against these large-scale mitigation projects, on the other hand, favour making room for the river, and limiting development on high-risk lands.

Looking downtown from Riverfront Ave. in Calgary during the 2013 flood.
(Ryan L. C. Quan/Wikimedia), CC BY-SA

Neither side is right or wrong; both have strong arguments.

The latest example is the controversial Springbank Off-stream Reservoir. Despite support from the Alberta Minister of Transportation and Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi, progress has been stymied by concerns around inappropriate public consultation, incomplete environmental assessments and the underlying hope that flooding will not recur any time soon.

The disjuncture in support for flood mitigation underpins the need for a deliberate flood mitigation strategy that stands up to close scrutiny in Alberta and across Canada.

Without further flood mitigation actions, the risk of extensive damage is ever present. As time passes, and without renewed flood experience, support for all mitigation options will likely decrease.

The ConversationWe shouldn’t be reliant on individual actions or personal experience to motivate risk management. Time is of the essence to increase climate change awareness across Canada and make justifiable flood mitigation decisions.

Alexa Tanner, PhD student, University of British Columbia and Scott McKenzie, PhD Candidate, Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability (IRES), University of British Columbia

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.  It was subsequently published in the National Post and the Weather Network.

Hummingbirds ‘sing’ with their tail feathers to impress the females

IRES MSc student Emily Mistick was recently featured in a CBC Radio interview to discuss her research on Costa’s hummingbirds and their unique dive trajectory during courtship.

Most other species of hummingbirds attempt to court females by dive-bombing directly down at them.  This allows them to take advantage of the Doppler shift, making them sound faster and therefore much more attractive.

Costa’s hummingbirds, however, dive towards the side of females, meaning they are unable to take advantage of the Doppler shift.  To compensate for this, Costa’s hummingbirds twist half of their tail vertically during their dive, aiming the sound sideways towards the female.

Listen to Emily’s CBC radio interview here.

Paper in Current Biology here.

 

Male Costa’s hummingbirds, like the one shown here, court females using a high-speed dive in which they sing with their tail feathers. (Photo Credit: Christopher Clark, UC Riverside)