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In Remembrance of Adrian Semmelink
The IRES community is mourning the sudden passing of Adrian Semmelink, who did his Master’s with Kai Chan and Terre Satterfield from 2015-2018. Adrian was a warm, enthusiastic, empathetic person who seemed to set everyone at ease with his manner and his wonderful sense of humour. He brightened every room he walked in, and touched […]
Professor Navin Ramankutty Awarded the Wihuri International Prize
UBC Professor Navin Ramankutty — of the Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability and the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs — has been awarded the prestigious Wihuri International Prize in recognition of his long-standing work on sustainable global food systems. As Canada Research Chair in Global Environmental Change and Food Security, Ramankutty is […]
Camera traps show effects of outdoor recreation on B.C. wildlife
In southwestern B.C., all wildlife tend to avoid places that were recently visited by humans even if the recreational activity doesn’t involve motorized vehicles. This finding comes from a new study by IRES’s Robin Naidoo and Cole Burton in UBC Forestry, which was featured in UBC Science News, News 1130, CTV, CTV Vancouver and Radio […]
Expert Opinion: The Right To Breathe Clean Air
In the recovery from this pandemic, leaders gathering at the United Nations have the opportunity and duty to “simultaneously tackle the deadly pollution and work to achieve everyone’s right to breathe clean air,” urges IRES prof David Boyd. Boyd is the United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment, and presented a report […]
City Bar Association Urges UN to Formally Recognize Human Right to a Healthy Environment
The New York City Bar Association, a group of over 24,000 lawyers and law students, joins IRES prof David Boyd in pushing the United Nations to recognize the human right to a healthy environment by the end of this year. Among specifically listed goals, the bar association calls on the U.S. permanent representative to the […]
People don’t really grasp how their actions impact climate, study shows
A study led by IRES prof Jiaying Zhao and Simon Donner & Seth Wynes of UBC Geography looked at how well people understand the climate impact of individual actions. Unfortunately, balancing a carbon budget is not intuitive for most people. Consumers struggle to make tradeoffs between sets of different actions that impact climate.
Reintroducing sea otters is good for the environment and the economy, and both matter
A UBC study led by Edward Gregr, an adjunct professor at IRES, notes the economic costs and long-term benefits of sea otter recovery. While sea otters are detrimental to fisheries income, economic gains in other sectors outweigh these losses.
Think You’re Making Good Climate Choices? Take This Mini-Quiz
An intuitive questionnaire tests the user’s ability to make trade-offs that impact individual carbon emissions. The New York Times quiz is based on a study by researchers in IRES and UBC’s Department of Geography.
‘Non-union’ bees make blueberries thrive — but only if they have a home
Native bumblebees — as opposed to the semi-domesticated honeybees that farmers are increasingly reliant on — are better for many B.C. farming systems, observed Claire Kremen, prof at UBC in zoology and IRES.
Commentary: Road to recovery post-coronavirus paved with green bricks
In the aftermath of COVID-19, UBC IRES and IOF prof Kai Chan resists a return to our pre-pandemic practices that contribute to crises in climate and ecology by detailing transformative pathways towards a thriving, sustainable future.