Rationally speaking, there is a broad scientific consensus on the human causes of climate change, yet we have not managed to deal with it in practical terms. There is a dismaying lack of progress on many environmental issues despite the passage of almost fifty years since the inception of the environmental movement.
In a World Water Day Op Ed article for The Globe and Mail, Sarah Wolfe wrote about the connection between emotions and water.
On June 8, another World's Oceans Day (WOD) came and went without a lot of fanfare. Even so, WOD’s a good reminder that Canada is an ocean nation. That might seem pretty abstract at times for those of us living in southern Ontario. With three oceans (*can you name them?) and the world’s longest coast - all 244,000 beautiful kilometres of coast - we owe it to ourselves to pay more attention to 'life below water'.
I should begin with a disclaimer, I did not have a one on one evening with Jane Goodall. It was more like me and a few hundred of my closest friends. But the entire evening had this intimate feeling and Dr. Goodall herself had a way of connecting with each and every person in the audience.
I love food. I am just as likely to get excited about Hallowe’en candy as I am about a home-cooked meal or trying a local specialty when travelling.
I’ve recently returned from a one-week workshop in Patagonian Argentina, and it’s been a source of reflection on what it is we do in SERS that seemed well suited to a “SERS Story”.
The most rewarding and impactful research of my career has been of this kind. When I’m lucky, I have the privilege to witness moments of transformative transdisciplinarity.
I joined SERS just over two years ago and before I had students to supervise, an office with a window, or a group of co-conspirators with (occasional) late-afternoon thirst, my office was overflowing with waterlogged—potentially mold-steeped—ancient wood.
SERS brings together a diverse group of people focused on tackling the profound ecological and social issues confronting humanity. We’re interested in different kinds of problems, but we all seem to like rolling up our sleeves and getting involved. As a result, we often find ourselves working with or alongside the people experiencing the problems we study, or implementing solutions.
Living beside a cemetery is never boring and, contrary to popular belief, it isn’t quiet. There are kids taking shortcuts on the walk to school, old married couples strolling and bickering, yappy dogs harassing squirrels, and teenagers – on dark summer nights – daring each other to do silly things.