E-EnviroNews

E-Environews is an electronic newsletter featuring news of the Centre for Environment and the University of Toronto environmental community.  Please also visit the Centre's news webpage for other news articles.  To receive email notification of future issues, please email Mona El-Haddad.

Pdf download of January 2012 issue.

Previous issues of E-Environews.

January 2012 Issue
  

RESEARCH AND NEW PUBLICATIONS

LAVAL PROFESSOR VISITS U OF T TO SHARE HIS WORK ON SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORTATION
In November and December, 2011, the Centre for Environment was pleased to host the sabbatical visit of Dr. Jean Mercier, professor of environmental policy at Université Laval's Political Science Department in Québec City. His current research compares urban transportation policy in the city of Toronto with other transit cities of the Americas. READ MORE...

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FORESTRY BIO-BASED TECHNOLOGIES IN AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY ON DISPLAY AT OTTAWA MUSEUM
A new exhibit showcasing new bio-based technologies in the automotive industry, From the Farm to the Freeway, is currently on display at the Canada Science and Technology Museum in Ottawa until June 10, 2012.  The exhibit will take viewers through the process of turning raw plant materials into auto parts by showcasing the work of Professor Mohini Sain of U of T's Faculty of Forestry and other researchers at AUTO21 Network of Centres of Excellence.  READ MORE...

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GEOLOGY PROFESSOR SERVES ON OIL SANDS ADVISORY PANELS WITH TASK OF RECOMMENDING MONITORING PROGRAMS

Professor Andrew Miall of U of T's Department of Geology served on a federal Oil Sands Advisory Panel and Alberta Environmental Monitoring Panel which were tasked with recommending and designing an effective oil sands monitoring, evaluation and reporting system that address all environmental media - air, land, water and biodiversity.  Dr. Miall will present a seminar on the work done by the panels on February 8, 2012 as part of the Environment Seminar Series presented by the Centre for Environment (see below).  READ MORE AND READ FINAL REPORTS RELEASED IN 2011...

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PHYSICIST PART OF NASA-LED STUDY THAT FINDS UNPRECEDENTED ARCTIC OZONE LOSS LAST WINTER
U of T physicist Professor Kaley Walker was part of an international team in a NASA-led study which found an unprecedented depletion of the Earth's protective ozone layer above the Arctic last winter and spring caused by an unusually prolonged period of extremely low temperatures in the stratosphere. READ MORE...

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THE NATURAL CITY: NEW BOOK FEATURES ARTICLES ON HOW TO INTEGRATE THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT INTO URBAN CENTRES

This new book, edited by former Centre for Environment (CFE) Director Professor Ingrid Leman Stefanovic and Professor Stephen Scharper (Anthropology UTM and CFE) explores how to integrate the natural environment into healthy urban centres from philosophical, religious, socio-political, and planning perspectives.  The book will be launched at the special event at Toronto City Hall on January 26.  READ MORE...

CAMPUS

U OF T TO PHASE OUT BOTTLED WATER SALES
During this academic year, bottled water will no longer be available at the majority of locations on the St. George campus. Sales at U of T Mississauga and U of T Scarborough will be phased out during the next three years.  The ban is the culmination of a campaign begun about three years ago by the Public Water Initiative, a campus student group committed to the issue for environmental and social justice reasons.  READ MORE...

STUDENTS

CENTRE FOR ENVIRONMENT'S LATEST GRADUATE ALUMNI CONVOCATE IN NOVEMBER
The Centre for Environment congratulates its most recent graduate alumni who convocated this month after completing the collaborative program in Environmental Studies or Environment and Health.  VIEW FULL LIST OF NOVEMBER ALUMNI AND THEIR RESEARCH TOPICS...

OUTREACH

U OF T SCARBOROUGH PARTNERS WITH PARKS CANADA ON ROUGE NATIONAL URBAN PARK

In an historic agreement with Parks Canada, the University of Toronto Scarborough has taken a leading role in the transformation of the Rouge Valley into Canada's first national urban park.  At 47 square kilometres, the Rouge is ten times larger than New York's Central Park and is located on the border of Scarborough and Pickering.  A Memorandum of Understanding was signed in early November 2011 which establishes UTSC as the primary research and education partner with Parks Canada as the agency launches the planning process for the new Rouge National Urban Park.  READ MORE...

RECENT PAST EVENT

NEW PROFESSIONAL PROGRAM IN WATER FINANCE STARTS WITH WORKSHOP IN FALL 2011
The Centre for Environment's Professional Development Program introduced a new Water Finance Executive Development Program in 2011-12 with a workshop held September 20-21, 2011 in Toronto. It was intended for professionals who work indirectly and directly with the water industry with the aim of enabling them to understand, frame and act on the issues of water's financial value, scarcity and quality within fragmented and localized markets.  READ MORE...

UPCOMING EVENTS
 

• Mondays, 3:00 pm: Collaborative Challenges for the Climate Change Research Community. Weekly series presented by the Department of Computer Science and the Centre for Environment. Starts January 16, 2012; Bahen Centre 1220, 40 St. George St.
• Tuesdays, 3:30 pm: Distinguished Lecture Series. Presented by the Centre for Global Change Science. Spring series resumes January 10, 2012; Sidney Smith Hall 2117, 100 St. George St. (seminars also held at UTSC and UTM.)
• Wednesdays, 4:10 pm: Environment Seminar Series and Memorial Lecture Series. Presented by the Centre for Environment. Spring Environment series resumes February 1, 2012, Bahen Centre 1190, 40 St. George St.. (Memorial Lecture series to be announced; details forthcoming.)
• Thursdays, 4:10 pm: Environment and Health Seminar Series. Presented by the Centre for Environment. Spring series resumes January 26, 2012, Bahen Centre 1170, 40 St. George St.
• Fri March 2, 2012: Environmental Career Day, 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., Great Hall, Hart House: Free to all university and community college students registered in 2011-12 academic year and includes a career expo and speaker series.
• Wed April 18, 2012: Centre for Environment Research Day: 1:00 to 4:00 pm (tentative), Faculty Club, 2nd floor, 41 Willcocks St. This annual event is held during Earth Week and includes research presentations by faculty and graduate students of the Centre for Environment followed by presentations of graduate students' awards. Details forthcoming.
• May 8-9, 2012: Sustainable Information Technology workshop. The Centre for Environment, in partnership with IT in Canada, is presenting a 2-day workshop to provide managers (IT and Non-IT) with the tools to plan and implement a decisive sustainable IT strategy.  Location: Hart House, University of Toronto.