Sustainable Futures

With everything else going on, it’s easy to forget the climate crisis. Juan Moreno-Cruz, a researcher in the Faculty of Environment and a Canada Research Chair in Energy Transitions, has a not-so-gentle reminder.  

Juan Moreno-Cruz
Professor, Faculty of Environment 
> Canada Research Chair in Energy Transitions
> University of California, San Diego research collaboration

When a flood hits a Canadian community and rising waters wash out roads, governments at all levels respond with heroic evacuations of vulnerable residents and emergency food and shelter.  

Jason Thistlethwaite
Professor, Faculty of Environment 
> JBA Risk Management
> Climate Risk Research Group (CRRG)

Amelia Holcomb was working at one of the biggest tech firms in the United States after graduating from Yale University when she started to grow restless. “I found myself asking why I was doing what I was doing. If I succeed … how does that change the world?” 

Greenland is the world’s largest “non-continental” island, and about 80 per cent of this island is covered by the Greenland Ice Sheet. In recent years, however, the melting of this ice sheet has accelerated, leading to an increased contribution to rising sea levels. 

When Yimin Wu set his sights on finding a solution that would impact both sustainable energy and climate change, he turned to nature for his inspiration.

“Green house gases and CO₂ are a big problem that lead to climate change,” says Wu. “I looked at how we could mimic plants and nature. Plants absorb CO₂ and water and use sunlight to convert them to glucose — fuel for the plant. I wanted to look at the possibility of using a catalyst with CO₂ and water to convert into a useful fuel for human use.

Lauren Smith
Student, Faculty of Environment
> Co-founder, Polygone Technologies
> Alumnus, Collaborative Water Program (MES '17)
> Velocity Science
> Water Institute

When tossing in a load of laundry most of us have no idea that other people may unwittingly swallow tiny pieces of our yoga pants or bath towels.

Bronwyn Lazowski
Student, Faculty of Environment
> Research Fellow, Waterloo Institute for Sustainable Energy

The key to any healthy relationship is communication. The same can be said about our relationship to home energy use.