Annual IRIS sustainability survey to examine volunteerism and engagement

Every year, graduate assistants working with the Institute for Research & Innovation in Sustainability (IRIS) do a campus survey on a sustainability theme. The first 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 second assessed the value of urban […]

Professor Lewis Molot on why Canadian phosphorus ban will help our lakes

Excessive phosphorus dumps have become a major problem for Canada’s waterways, says Professor Lewis Molot, an environmental scientist in York University’s Faculty of Environmental Studies, wrote the National Post Jan. 6 in a story about a little-known move by the federal government banning the substance: The federal government brought in new regulations last July effectively […]

Professor Dayna Nadine Scott: Chemical Valley compromises First Nation people's rights

The cumulative impact of the relentless release of pollutants into the air from Canada’s "Chemical Valley" affects the members of Aamjiwnaang in a way that is fundamentally unfair, and is now argued to be unconstitutional, wrote Dayna Nadine Scott, professor in York’s Osgoode Hall Law School and co-director of the National Network on Environments & […]

Call for papers: CERLAC Graduate Student Research Conference

The Centre for Research on Latin America & the Caribbean (CERLAC) is calling for papers for its second International Graduate Student Research Conference. The first conference attracted over 70 presenters from Canada, the United States, Europe and Latin America, who presented in 20 themed panels over a two-day period. Expert faculty members helped ensure rich […]

Professor Mark Winfield says Ontario needs new electricity plan to meet demand and develop renewable energy

Ontario’s electricity system will continue to lurch from crisis to crisis until a long-term strategy focused on environmental and economic sustainability is adopted, concludes a study led by York environmental studies Professor Mark Winfield. It was published in the international journal Energy Policy this month. The study finds that the conventional approaches to electricity system planning […]

Geography graduate student Elizabeth Miller wins northern research award

"It’s expensive doing research up there" in the High Arctic, says Elizabeth Miller. Flying all your equipment and four months’ worth of food and supplies costs thousands of dollars when you have to transfer three times en route from Toronto – via Ottawa, Iqaluit and Resolute – to get to Polar Bear Pass on Bathurst Island. Research […]

Professor Mark Winfield on eaked report blaming tank-to-tank propane transfer for Toronto's Sunrise explosion

A leaked report from the Ontario Fire Marshal’s Office on the eve of the second anniversary of the massive Downsview explosion at Sunrise Propane blames a tank-to-tank transfer of propane for the blast, wrote the North York Mirror Aug. 4: The transfer, which Sunrise had previously been ordered to cease performing, caused liquid propane to […]

Professor Mark Winfield speaks to Globe and Mail about local pushback to Ontario's green energy plans

Residents of Bala, located about a two hours drive north of Toronto, say they have nothing against hydro power, but fear the $23-million facility and its construction will destroy the tiny town’s main attraction: the falls that lure curious eyeballs and day-tripper cash, wrote The Globe and Mail Aug. 2: This is one local battlefield […]

Prof Gail Fraser raises new concerns for Canada's oceans after seeing Chevron's uncensored oil spill plans

The federal-provincial agency that regulates oil activity off Newfoundland is mulling changes to required oil spill plans as newly released documents raise safety questions, wrote The Canadian Press July 27: [The documents] include plans for Chevron Canada as it drills the country's deepest exploration well in 2,600 metres of water, about 425 kilometres northeast of St. […]

Professor Gail Fraser raises questions about Canadian oil spill response plans for Newfoundland-based drilling projects

Gail Fraser, a professor in York’s Faculty of Environmental Studies, spoke about concerns over an oil spill response plan for Canada’s deepest offshore well run by Chevron, on CBC TV’s “The National” and other news broadcasts across the country July 21. Her interview with the National is available on CBC.ca. It runs for approximately 2:30 […]