Featured Panelist- Indigenous Feminist Movements Leading Climate Responses and Solutions – Evelyn Arriagada Oyarzún | June 7, 1:40 pm
IRES PhD student Evelyn Arriagada Oyarzún will be a featured panelist at The Together | Ensemble at UBC - Advancing the SDGs in BC which focuses on key cross-cutting themes relating to decolonization, climate justice, education, and just transition. Her talk will start at 1:40 pm
Forget herbicides. Sandblasting will whack those weeds
Claire Kremen discusses the need for substantive changes to accomplish agricultural sustainability and to think about the environmental costs of simplified solutions and systems
Nose for trouble: B.C. scientists brace for a deadly bat fungus
Aaron Aguirre discusses the deadly bat fungus that has up to a 95% mortality rate and why we should care about it.
Opinion: We must eliminate persistent, bio-accumulative and toxic plastics before it’s too late
Dr. Gunilla Öberg along with other experts shares her opinion that categorizing harmful plastics as PBT pollutants can help governments to control, or eliminate altogether, the creation and usage of toxic or otherwise harmful plastics. They hope the UN will make the right choice.
El Niño is on our doorstep, but not all are created equal. So what does it mean for Canada?
Dr. Simon Donner discusses El Niño, an unusual warming in the Pacific Ocean, that coupled with the atmosphere, can cause a rise in the global temperature. 🌍🌡
Metro Vancouver mulls Biorock for shore and habitat protection
Emma Gosselin's study proposes that Biorock could be used for shoreline restoration and is influencing Metro Vancouver.
Bats in Vancouver: The secret city nightlife
Dr. Matthew Mitchell (land and food systems) and Aaron Aguirre (Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability) discuss how they will spend the summer collecting data on bats in Metro Vancouver
How to Make Thoughtful Choices in a Complex World
Dr. Robin Gregory discussed how to foster critical thinking in a complex world using the Decision Playbook.
cosphere.net’s #SciOnEarthNet Initiative | May 9th at 1 pm
Are you interested in contributing your expertise to help change-makers combat the eco-climate crisis? Or to build a platform to enable other experts to do this, easily and enjoyably (but with professional credit)? Help shape #SciOnEarthNet, an initiative of EarthNet and Dr. Kai Chan’s project CoSphere. Learn more and give feedback Tuesday, May 9th at 1pm PST in AERL RM 419 (the Fishbowl) or online via the RSVP link.
Ethical Data Governance Workshop for Agriculture | May 10 – June 14
Join this workshop series organized by IRES grad student Sarah-Louise Ruder, from May 10 – June 14.
What is happy climate action? A B.C. academic’s plan to protect the planet and spread joy
Dr. Jiaying Zhao discussed why we should reframe the way we talk about climate change and the "happy climate approach."
Global food production may decline by 9% owing to climate change, says expert
A study conducted by IRES Director Dr. Navin Ramankutty found that staple crops like rice and wheat are under threat from climate change.
Is talking about climate change actually making it worse?
In Episode 6 of Planet Wonder, Dr. Jiaying Zhao discussed how the language we use about climate change affects our motivation to do something about it.
IRES students Jaden Phillips and Lea Anderson wrote an op-ed for the National Observer
“Inspired by high school climate strikes and building on the success of the university divestment movement, a new era of student organizers is turning its attention to Canada’s banks,” write the authors.
Debt, financial fears impacting Canadians’ mental health, survey finds
Dr. Jiaying Zhao of IRES and nursing professor Dr. Emily Jenkins explained the connections between poverty or financial stress and depression and anxiety.
What does Canada’s journey to net zero look like?
Dr. Simon Donner discussed Canada's journey to net zero.
Citizen-run conservation booms in South America, despite state neglect
PhD student Rocío López de la Lama discussed her study which concluded that the legal frameworks and support mechanisms for private land conservation in South America are insufficient, making it difficult for independent actors to protect and maintain conservation areas.
Messaging, visual cues can reduce the use of plastic produce bags, says study from UBC prof
Dr. Jiaying Zhao found that visual cues or motivational messages in grocery stores can reduce the use of plastic produce bags.
Yes, happiness and climate action can go together
Dr. Jiaying Zhao explained how we can use our understanding of behaviour to incorporate happiness into meaningful climate action.
Can the heat from running computers help grow our food? It’s complicated
PhD candidate Sarah-Louise Ruder co-wrote about the benefits and drawbacks of capturing the heat emitted by computing hardware and reusing it to grow crops indoors.