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Yearly Archives: 2011

The Waste Revolution

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On January 11, 2011 IRIS released a comprehensive report on its 2010 annual survey on waste. This was celebrated with the screening of the documentary: Garbage! The Revolution Starts at Home by Andrew Nisker, a York University graduate. Nisker’s film has been shown to more than 1,000 communities worldwide, at more than 200 schools and has been selected for various film festivals.

The inspiration for this film came from the 2002 garbage strike in Toronto. In order to deal with the abundance of garbage, people were throwing their waste into Nisker’s neighbourhood park. This led him to inquire: what happens to our garbage when we leave it on the curb, and what impact does this have on our environment?

Nisker, who suffers with asthma, became particularly interested in the effect that pollution has on our emotional and physical health. “Garbage is a common theme around the world,” said Nisker. This documentary explores the average family’s creation of waste and offers commentary from experts on the impacts that commonly used chemicals have on our bodies and the environment. The documentary focuses on family of five, who according to Nisker, have drastically changed their consumption patterns since the documentary. The family has sold their SUV and purchased a smaller car and eliminated their bottled water consumption.

Following the film, Meagan Heath Waste Management Supervisor at York University’s Waste Management Services, spoke about some of the waste initiatives that are being taken at York. For Heath’s PowerPoint presentation, please click here.

Are you too concerned about the environment, your waste and a sustainable future? For some great tips on how to ‘go green’ this year, read Dawn Bazely’s latest blog: Happy New Year... How to make good intentions sustainable.

Sociologists on the Environment workshop

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All are welcome to a Graduate Program in Sociology presentation on:

*Sociologists on the Environment*

with speakers Gerda Wekerle (Sociology) and Luz Vazquez (Sociology)

Monday, January 24th
11:30 – 2:30
2101 Vari Hall, the Sociology Common Room

Guelph Organic Conference

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YORK UNIVERSITY STUDENT, ARE YOU INTERESTED IN ORGANIC & SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE?
 
Check out the Guelph Organic Expo & Conference January 27-30, 2011, the largest organic gathering in Canada. Come explore all the issues around organic foods, farming, gardening and related ecological movements
 
For more info go to: www.guelphorganicconf.ca
 
To register go to: www.guelphorganicconf.ca/register/register-here/'
 
Expo admisison free - workshops are paid/student rates available

Missing the Boat on Invasive Alien Species: A Review of Post-Secondary Curricula in Canada

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THEME: Science Policy Gap

TITLE: Missing the Boat on Invasive Alien Species: A Review of Post-Secondary Curricula in Canada

AUTHOR(S):  Dawn R. Bazely, Andrea L. Smith, and Norman D. Yan

JOURNAL: Canadian Journal of Higher Education 2011. 41: 34 – 47

DATE: 2011

TAGS: Invasive Alien Species (IAS), ecological perspective, social, and economical problems with IAS, interdisciplinary approach

ABSTRACT: Invasive alien species (IAS) cause major environmental and economic damage worldwide, and also threaten human food security and health. The impacts of IAS are expected to rise with continued globalization, land use modification, and climate change. Developing effective strategies to deal with IAS requires a collaborative, interdisciplinary approach, in which scientists work co-operatively with social scientists and policy-makers. Higher education can contribute to this process by training professionals to balance the ecological, economic, and social dimensions of the IAS problem. We examined the extent of such training in Canada by reviewing undergraduate and graduate university curricula at all 94 member institutions of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada for IAS content.  We found that degree and diploma programs focusing on IAS issues are lacking at Canadian post-secondary institutions. Furthermore, few courses are devoted solely to IAS, and those that are typically adopt an ecological perspective. We argue that the absence of interdisciplinary university curricula on IAS in Canada negatively affects our ability to respond to this growing global challenge. We present several international educational programs on IAS as case studies on how to better integrate training on invasive species into university curricula in Canada.

LINKS: To view the entire publication, go to http://ojs.library.ubc.ca/index.php/cjhe/article/view/2174

COPYRIGHT: Copyright © 2011 Canadian Journal of Higher Education

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Bazely, D.R.; Smith, A.L.; Yan, N.D.; 2011. Canadian Journal of Higher Education, Vol. 41. “Missing the Boat on Invasive Alien Species: A Review of Post-Secondary Curricula in Canada.”

IRIS Speaker Series Presents… COP16 Debrief Panel

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When: Monday, January 17, 1 pm

Where: Student Centre Room 313


The event will explore the findings from this year’s COP, while critically analyzing the value of the annual conference.

York PhD candidate, Jacqueline Medalye, attended COP16 in Cancun, Mexico, this past December, and will provide firsthand insight into what went on at the global forum. The panel will also draw from other key researchers, including Kaz Higuchi, Brett Rhyno, Jose Etcheverry and Anders Sandberg. Open discussion, with contribution from the audience, will be encouraged.

The event is free and open to everyone. Light refreshments will be served. Hope to see you there!

Happy New Year… how to make good intentions sustainable

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Dr. Johnson is often miscredited with first writing that good intentions pave the way to Hell. Having said that, I am very fond of making lists of goals and New Year's resolutions. "Blog more frequently", is usually on my list, but my attempts usually follow the pattern of starting a diet or exercise regime - they start strong and trail off.

BUT, I think I finally came up with a way to sustain a year of regular blogging.Tracy Tanentzap, our IRIS Research at York Undergraduate Student gave me one of my favourite Christmas gifts: a 2011 365-day calendar with advice on how to Go Green. My only issue with the calendar, is that the tips are very much at the Introductory Level. I am doing nearly all of them already (I looked ahead).

So, what better inducement to blog regularly, than to provide the GOING GREEN 101 tip for you, plus a suggestion for how to upgrade it to a GOING GREEN level 201, 301 or 401 tip. The good folk at www.pappintl.com are very welcome to incorporate my ideas into their future calendars:

Jan 1: Make a New Year's resolution to 'go green'. If this is the Introductory course on Going Green, then the higher level course would be: GOING GREEN - UP YOUR GAME.

Jan 2: Get fit by jogging, running, biking, walking or skating outdoors. Time spent outdoors builds an appreciation for nature and the environment. Upgrade: Take the stairs at the office, not the elevator. OR, in my case - if you are working 60-70 hour weeks and your failed intentions to exercise  are paving the way to overweight hell, then call a personal trainer and support the local economy.

Jan 3: Wash your clothes in cold water. Upgrade: Wash fuller loads - combine clothes and reduce the total number of weekly loads.

Jan 4: Darn your socks, repair your clothes. Upgrade: Start a knitting or sewing club - for any age - as a social activity.

Jan 5: Drink tapwater, not bottled water. Lot's of good reasons to do this. Upgrade: We all have our own water  bottle, but if you are like me and forget to take it, then make sure that you have 3-4 bottles stashed in different strategic locations.

Jan 6: Use baking soda instead of chemical cleaners for the tub and toilet. Upgrade: Buy the book, Clean: The Humble Art of Zen-Cleansing by Michael de Jong. In fact, buy 10 and give them as gifts along with a Zen Cleaning Kit - lemon, white vinegar, baking soda, borax and salt.

Jan 7: Compost your kitchen and yard waste. Upgrade: Make your composter RAT-PROOF. Yes - your composter is an ideal home for Rattus norvegicus. Food rains down on their heads and they are very happy. We now have a rolling compost bin (available at Lee Valley Tools)  plus a raised metal bin on bricks with holes punched in the side and a huge, heavy lid. As much as I respect rats, I really do not want them living in my compost bin.

Jan 8: Buy local food produce, and buy organic (check out my blog on buying organic). Upgrade: Learn how to preserve and put up food. It has gotten easier to learn how to do.

Jan 9: When printing documents, use recycled, non-bleached paper. Upgrade: Set your printer to 2-sided printing. You will need to change the printer settings in your computer printer driver.

Jan 10: Use biodegradable detergents for your dishes and laundry. Upgrade: Learn about the Phosphorus run-off situation and the phosphorus by-laws in your region. It's actually more of an issue than you may think it is. I was surprised by what I found out.

Ok - so that's it for now. Let's see if I can keep the tips and the upgrades coming.

Happy New Year,

Dawn R. Bazely

Let’s Get Wasted!

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When: Tuesday, January 11, 12-2pm

Where: 305 Founders College, Senior Common Room

Join the Institute for Research and Innovation in Sustainability (IRIS) for a screening of Garbage: the Revolution Starts at Home (http://www.garbagerevolution.com/). Following the film there will be a Q&A with the filmmaker Andrew Nisker, a York Alum.

The event will also include:
-FREE food!
-The release of the 2010 IRIS Campus Sustainability Survey: Waste on Campus Report
-Campus Services and Business Operations (CSBO) presenting York’s newest initiatives to tackle campus waste! For the presentation, please click here: Waste Management at York U

We hope to see you there!

Design, Installation and Management of Rain Water Harvesting Systems

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When: February 9, 2011, 8:30 am to 4:00 pm

Where: Earth Rangers Building, The Living City Campus at Kortright, Vaughan, ON

Cost: $300 + HST (includes lunch and a copy of the Guidelines and Design Tool Software)

This one-day course will focus on the regulatory and technical aspects of RWH systems for both residential and ICI (Industrial, Commercial, Institutional) buildings. The course is targeted at contractors, builders, designers, architects, regulators or anyone interested in learning about the design, installation and management of RWH systems. Participants attending the course will be provided with a copy of the Ontario Guidelines for Residential Rainwater Harvesting Systems and a copy of the Rainwater Harvesting Design Tool software. Download a copy of the course outline here.

This course is generously sponsored by the International Erosion Control Association (IECA). Members of IECA will receive a $25.00 discount off the registration fee. To learn more about IECA, or to become a member, please visit www. ieca.org.

To register, click here.

Latest Issue of Canada Watch Available

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The latest issue of Canada Watch, "A Remarkable Turning Point: Post-neoloberal Latin America and the Shadow of Obama" is now available. The issue is edited by Daniel Drache, Associate Director, Robarts Centre for Canadian Studies and Diana Tussie, head of the Latin American Trade Network at the Latin American School of Social Sciences (FLACSO), Argentina.

The issue features:

Editorial

Daniel Drache: The remarkable turning point: Out from under Washington’s long shadow

The Risks and Opportunities of Fundamental Political Change

John W. Foster: Obama, Canada and civil society: South and North

Jorge Heine: A historic electoral triumph: Why now?

Jean Daudelin: U.S. policy in Latin America and the Caribbean: Where have all the Yankees gone?

Post-Neoliberal, Macro Economic Fundamentals and New State Practices

Ed Dosman: Raoul Prebisch: A man of our times

Kathryn Hochstetler: Brazil’s GINI coefficient: Can it be beaten?

Pía Riggirozzi: Regionalism in Post-neoliberal Latin America

The New Framework: Beyond Pragmatism and Realism

Sean Burges: The odd couple? Lula and Obama

Laura Macdonald and Arne Ruckert: The post neoliberal mix: New state practices in Latin America’s big three

Pablo Heidrich: Short on vision: Canada’s foreign policy for the new Latin America

Public Policy Pitfalls and Other Disasters

Albert Berry: The natural resource curse in 21st century Latin America

Eduardo Bianchi: Income distribution, export patterns and poverty alleviation

Marcelo Saguier: Natural disasters: A fresh look at corporate accountability

New Security Threats and the Military

Rut Diamint: Defence is a civil matter first and foremost

Francisco Rojas Aravena: Impunity and Violence in Central America

The Regional Imperative for Political Co-operation

Josette Altmann: The Bolivarian Chavez effect: Worth a second look

Doris Osterlof: A tepid partnership: Free trade and labour rights in Central America

Teresa Gutiérrez Haces: New barriers to investor state relations post-NAFTA

Beyond Traditional Ideas About Macro Economic Stability and Political Change

Celso Amorim: A new world map and Brazil’s foreign policy

Federico Merke: Argentina’s turnaround

Pablo Trucco and Diana Tussie: When the IMF is not longer the epicenter the hemisphere breathes a little easier

Check it out at:

http://www.yorku.ca/robarts/projects/canada-watch/pdf/Canada_Watch_Fall_2010.pdf

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