In March 2024, York University's Organized Research Units (ORUs) host the third annual Climate Change Research Month with a series of events aimed at generating awareness of climate change research and mobilizing the campus community to take action.
Climate Change Research Month supports the University's commitment to climate change action through the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Throughout the month, a wide range of activities, including seminars, workshops, panel discussions and more, will take place both in-person and virtually, offering opportunities for meaningful engagement and dialogue.
Make sure to visit this page regularly to stay up-to-date with the latest information about upcoming events.
Events
Share the event on social media and retweet @YUResearch with the hashtag #YUResearch #YorkUSDGs.
[Postponed] Wednesday, March 6, 2024
1 – 2 PM
Virtual
Dahdaleh faculty fellow Jeannie Samuel, in collaboration with Benilda Batzin and Karin Slowing from Guatemala, will discuss their action research and national data analysis project which explores community-engaged emergency response to extreme weather events in the northern province of Alta Verapaz, Guatemala.
This is a mountainous, economically poor, and predominantly Indigenous province where storms, floods, and landslides are becoming common occurrences. Their work in this region points to a worrying predicament experienced in some climate-affected areas, where communities may face a dangerous confluence of climate vulnerability, social exclusion, and state neglect that imperils human health. In this talk, they share insights from experiences in Alta Verapaz to shed light on these interconnected problems and how they are being confronted. In particular, the Guatemalan case suggests that technical solutions are important but insufficient responses. Forms of community-led advocacy vis-à-vis the state, as practiced in struggles for health rights, may provide important tools in helping to address the challenges these communities face.
[Postponed] Friday, March 8, 2024
12 – 1:30 PM
Kaneff Tower, 7th Floor Lounge, York University, Keele Campus
The CITY Institute at York University is pleased to host the upcoming Research Seminar Series titled “Greening the Grey,” a panel discussion about transforming cities from input (raw materials) to operational energy (redesign energy demand) to output (green infrastructure). This event will put planners, engineers, economists and environmentalists into conversation to explore infrastructural solutions to the climate crisis. See the attached poster for more details.
This panel discussion will feature talks by Dr. Liam Butler an Associate Professor of Structural and Materials Engineering, Dr. Lina Brand Correa an Assistant Professor of Ecological Economics, and Dr. Usman T Khan an Associate Professor of Civil Engineering. Mike Layton, York University's Chief Sustainability Officer, will facilitate the discussion.
Registration is limited, secure your spot by March 1st.
[Postponed] Wednesday, March 13, 2024
1 – 2:30 PM
Hybrid
Please join the Rooted and Rising Lab (R+R Lab) for a reflection on co-developing a new and unique kind of education for youth climate leadership. As we collectively spiral deeper into climate and ecological collapse, a global movement is taking place, often inspired and led by youth, to make way and spiral out into just, thriving, and joyful climate futures (now). Amidst this dual spiral of collapse and regeneration, we contemplate: what might education for climate change leaders look like? How might we co-create education as a set of knowledge, practice, and relationships to reach those desired futures now?
Thursday, March 14, 2024
12 PM
Virtual
Faith-based organizations promoting an environmental agenda emerged in Israel over the last two and a half decades. These NGOs are rooted in, or guided by, Jewish values and Jewish traditions. While this myriad of organizational actors might share common environmental agendas and goals, they still come from very different, and often conflicting, theological frameworks. This reality poses a major hurdle to aligning a system of shared values. Our goal is to understand whether shared values that motivate environmental engagement exist among the different organizations and communities in Israel that work towards sustainable lifestyle solutions based on Jewish traditions.
Thursday, March 14, 2024
3 – 4:30 PM
TBD
"From Sewers to Science: Uncovering Public Health Insights through Wastewater-Based Epidemiology"
In this talk, the innovative field of wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) and its transformative impact on public health surveillance will be explored, including how scientists are turning sewage systems into vast data sources, detecting everything from viral outbreaks to antibiotic resistance trends. By analyzing the genetic material found in wastewater, researchers can gain invaluable insights into the health status of entire communities, often before clinical cases are reported. This presentation will cover the principles of WBE, showcase cutting-edge research findings, and discuss how this approach is revolutionizing public health responses to disease. Attendees will leave with a deeper understanding of how the unlikeliest of sources is providing a powerful tool for early detection, intervention, and prevention of diseases on a global scale.
Wednesday, March 20, 2024
1 – 2 PM
Virtual
In this seminar, Professor Godfred Boateng and Dr. Gabriel John Dusing will discuss their latest research findings analyzing extreme heat events which are increasing in frequency and intensity, and impacting the health of older adults. Their study explored the relationship between temperature, sleep quality, and cognitive function in Ghanaian adults over the age of 50, particularly women.
Thursday, March 21, 2024
1 – 2 PM
Hybrid
This lecture is hosted by Emeritus Research Fellow Terry Cannon from the Institute of Development Studies at University of Sussex, UK Honorary Professor at University College London.
The climate crisis is at the intersection of two sets of injustice. The first is the obvious one concerning the businesses and governments (historically in the West) that have caused the majority of carbon emissions. These affect the majority of people in the world who have played little or no part in causing it yet experience the worst of its impacts – the first injustice. The second injustice is strangely less obvious and hardly discussed. Most of those same people who are badly affected by climate change are already poor and vulnerable. Climate change has not caused that poverty, so why is this ignored?
Event Submission
You can submit your event for this year's Climate Change Research Month
Climate Change Research
Indigenous Sovereignty, Climate Justice and Water Protectors
Climate Change and Joyful Possibility
The Planetary Health Advocacy Framework and the Importance of Dialogue
Fighting Climate Change: From the Global to the Individual and Back Again (2024)
Plan a CCRM at your institution
You can start a Climate Change Research Month event in your own institution. York offers a step-by-step guide to support you in your journey.
What are Organized Research Units (ORUs)
Organized Research Units are centres of research excellence at York University. ORUs bring together experts from across all Faculties to conduct interdisciplinary and collaborative research on critical issues.