Research Day
Research 2012:
WED APRIL 18, 2012
Time: 1:00 to approx. 4:00 p.m. (to be confirmed)
Location: FACULTY CLUB, 2nd floor, 41 Willcocks St. (east of Spadina Ave., north of College St.)
Free registration. Please visit this page in Spring 2012 for program information and online registration form. For enquiries, please contact Mona El-Haddad, 416-978-6526.
Research Day 2011 was held on Wed April 20, during Earth Week, and included eight research presentations by faculty and graduate students of the Centre for Environment followed by presentations of graduate students' awards.
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RESEARCH DAY 2011 PROGRAM SCHEDULE:
10:00 a.m.
DONALD JACKSON, Professor and Interim Director, Centre for Environment
Opening remarks
10:10
SCOTT PRUDHAM, Associate Professor, Dept. of Geography and Centre for Environment
Pimping Climate Change: Richard Branson, Global Warming, and the Performance of Green Capitalism (abstract and bio)
10:40
JENNIFER WEAVER, Ph.D. candidate, Dept. of Geography and Centre for Environment (Environmental Studies collaborative program)
Invasive Mute Swans in Ontario: Where Are They Located and Why Are They Here?
(abstract and bio)
11:10
KUNDAN KUMAR, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Geography and Centre for Environment
Democratic Forest Governance in India (abstract and bio)
11:40
GREG EVANS, Professor, Dept. of Chemical Engineering & Applied Chemistry; Full member, Centre for Environment graduate faculty
Every Breath You Take: The Impacts of Aerosol on Air Quality and Health (abstract and bio)
12:10 p.m. LUNCH
12:50
MOHINI SAIN, Professor, Faculty of Forestry; Full member, Centre for Environment graduate faculty
The Role of Renewable Bio-Products in Greener Automobiles (abstract and bio)
1:20
ALANA BOLAND, Associate Professor, Dept. of Geography; Full member, Centre for Environment graduate faculty
Public Participation in China's Green Communities: Mobilizing Memories and Structuring Incentives (abstract and bio)
1:50
SATYENDRA BHAVSAR, Research Scientist, Ontario Ministry of Environment; Adjunct Professor, Centre for Environment
Toxic Perfluorinated Compounds (PFCs) in Our Waterways and Our Fish: The Impact of Fire-Fighting Foam (abstract and bio)
2:20
BENITA TAM, Ph.D. candidate, Dept. of Geography and Centre for Environment (Environment and Health collaborative program)
The Effects of Climate Change on the Well-Being of Aboriginal Populations in Ontario (abstract and bio)
2:50 PRESENTATION OF GRADUATE STUDENTS' AWARDS
3:00 REFRESHMENTS
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ABSTRACTS AND BIOS:
SCOTT PRUDHAM, Associate Professor, Dept. of Geography and Centre for Environment
Pimping Climate Change: Richard Branson, Global Warming, and the Performance of Green Capitalism
On 21 September 2006, UK über-entrepreneur and Virgin Group Chairman Richard Branson pledged approximately 1.6 billion pounds, the equivalent of all the profits from Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Trains for the next ten years, to fighting climate change. Branson then reinforced his commitment to action on global warming via investment in technologies for sequestering carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. This presentation highlights views discussed in a paper for which Dr. Prudham won the Ashby Prize in 2010 for the most innovative paper published in the journal Environment and Planning A. The presentation will critically examine and engage with Branson's announcements as a specific entree into a dialog about so-called `green capitalism', in particular the role of entrepreneurialism in environmental policy and environmental action. There are glaring problems associated with green capitalism as a mash-up of environmentalism with capitalism. One of these is the tethering of environmentalism to a political economy whose mantra is growth for growth's sake, or, in Marx's terms, accumulation for accumulation's sake. This has been discussed by some as the problem of capitalism's ecological metabolism or `metabolic rift'. Yet, while accumulation for accumulation's sake may well be anathema to progressive environmentalism and sustainability, this presentation argues that this is not only an objective, quantitative problem but also one of the qualitative dimensions of produced nature and the cultural politics of environmentalism. The question, in other words, is not only about reducing material and energy throughput (i.e. responding to so-called "limits to growth"), but also taking into consideration the relationship between how innovation and decision-making are socially organized and the sorts of environmental policy solutions that result.
Dr. Scott Prudham is Associate Professor in the Department of Geography and the Centre for Environment at the University of Toronto. His research addresses, at the broadest level, the set of problems (political, economic, and ecological) arising from attempts to make discrete elements of nature circulate as capitalist commodities. This entails examination of nature-based capital accumulation, its regulation, and its contestation. His current research examines the inter-connected political, ecological, economic and cultural aspects of commodification in British Columbia's forest economy. His 2005 book, Knock on Wood: Nature as Commodity in Douglas-Fir Country (Routledge Press), examined the conversion of old-growth to young-growth forests in Oregon as a case study of capitalist nature.
JENNIFER WEAVER, Ph.D. candidate, Dept. of Geography and Centre for Environment (Environmental Studies collaborative program)
Invasive Mute Swans in Ontario: Where Are They Located and Why Are They Here?
Invasive species are an ever-present and growing issue in biogeography. While the relationship between invasive terrestrial birds and the landscape has been well established, few studies have explored landscape correlates of invasive aquatic birds. This study examines the relationship between the invasive mute swan and landscape structure in southern Ontario, specifically the role that urban land cover plays in influencing mute swan distribution. Using regression models and classification trees, the most important and significant landscape variables related to mute swan distribution in Ontario were ascertained. Three spatial scales reflecting mute swan ecology were used to examine the influence of scale on landscape correlates. Unsurprisingly, at all scales, percentage water is significantly correlated with the presence of mute swan. In addition, distance to urban land cover and longitude are significantly negatively correlated with mute swan presence, and are two of the most important landscape factors in relation to mute swan presence at all scales. In southern Ontario, mute swans are likely attracted to urban areas due to their plentiful food resources, moderated temperatures and lack of competition with native species. Other significant variables varied with scale, highlighting the different biological processes at play. The results indicate that urban waterfronts should be prioritized for mute swan management. Given southern Ontario's expected urbanization over the next few decades, and the impacts of climate change, these results raise concerns about the possibility for further mute swan range expansion.
Jennifer Weaver is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Geography and the Centre for Environment's collaborative program in Environmental Studies. Her research interests include the natural environment in urban areas and the distributions of invasive species. For Jennifer's NSERC funded doctoral research under the supervision of Professor Tenley Conway (Geography, U of T Mississauga) and Professor Marie-Josée Fortin (Ecology and Evolutionary Biology), she is examining the spatial distribution, landscape correlates, and potential for future range expansion of the invasive mute swan in southern Ontario. She completed an Honours Bachelor of Science at the University of Toronto (2005) and a Master of Environmental Studies at the University of Waterloo (2007). Her Master's thesis examined the spatial distribution of the invasive Norway maple in Kitchener's urban forest.
KUNDAN KUMAR, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Geography and Centre for Environment
Democratic Forest Governance in India
Forest dwellers and populations living adjacent to forests are amongst the poorest of the poor in India . They are subsistence cultivators and forest product gatherers, deeply dependent on land and forest resources for their livelihoods. Their rights and usage of forests have been expropriated and negated by both the colonial and the postcolonial state through the exercise of exclusionary colonial forest laws. The result has been widespread environmental and social injustice, exclusion and marginalisation of the poor. This presentation will examine the enactment of a recent Indian law, "The Scheduled Tribes and Other Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Rights) Act, 2006", as an example of democratisation of forest governance. The law was enacted in response to a nationwide mobilization of marginalized forest dwellers and their advocates who laid claim to rights on forests, including that of protecting the forests. This presentation will discuss how this law came to be enacted as a response to grassroots mobilisation, the provisions of this law, and how it can lead to greater democratisation on Indian forest governance.
Dr. Kundan Kumar has a joint Assistant Professor appointment with the Department of Geography and Centre for Environment at the University of Toronto. His major research areas are forest rights and tenure, democratization of environmental governance, environment and climate justice and social and environmental movements. He is currently working on a collaborative research project which examines how the recently enacted Forest Rights Act in India has impacted forest governance in the country, and its implications for the marginalised forest dwellers as well as the forests themselves.
GREG EVANS, Professor, Dept. of Chemical Engineering & Applied Chemistry; Full member, Centre for Environment graduate faculty
Every Breath You Take: The Impacts of Aerosol on Air Quality and Health
People inhale millions of aerosol particles with every breathe they take. Though microscopic in size, these tiny particles may have large impacts on our environment and health. The scientific understanding of the underlying mechanisms is still in its infancy. Only recently have novel instruments and inter-disciplinary collaboration offered the opportunity to make progress in this field. This talk will provide an overview of current knowledge and issues, and some of the methods being used to study atmospheric aerosol. Recent field measurements from urban and rural sites in Ontario will be presented to illustrate ongoing investigations into the origins, characteristics and impacts of atmospheric aerosol.
Dr. Greg Evans is a Professor in the University of Toronto Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry. He is the Director of the Southern Ontario Centre for Atmospheric Aerosol Research and Co-Director of the Canadian Aerosol Research Network. He is also the Co-Director of the Engineering faculty's student leadership development program. He was recently awarded the 2010 Engineers Canada Medal for Distinction in Engineering Education and the 2009 Ontario Professional Engineers Award: Engineering Medal- Research and Development.
MOHINI SAIN, Professor, Faculty of Forestry; Full member, Centre for Environment graduate faculty
The Role of Renewable Bio-Products in Greener Automobiles
Traditionally, the automotive industry has relied heavily on petroleum based chemicals and plastics for numerous applications. The unprecedented use of fossil fuels has led to global climate change and severe weather patterns observed in recent times. There is now consensus among stake holders that global warming is the most pervasive and real threat to our delicate ecosystem. The automobile industry is also seen as one of the major contributors of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions related to the manufacturing and use of automobiles. All of these factors have led to a high level of consumer awareness and stringent environmental legislations in most parts of the world which have further substantiated the need for an urgent transition from a petroleum dependent economy to a more sustainable approach of relying on abundant bio-based feedstocks.
Auto manufacturers vying for renewable materials like biopolymers and natural fibers to produce various interior and exterior auto parts could have a significant environmental impact. In recent times North American and European car manufacturers in collaboration with research institutes have launched various initiatives to incorporate emerging state-of-art manufacturing technologies into synthesis of novel bio-products based on soybean foam/plastics, polylactic acid (PLA), polyhydroxy-butyrate (PHB), and a variety of natural fibres derived from hemp, flax, jute, bamboo, kanaf etc. The biobased polymers and composite products can help not only to shelter plastic industries from rising oil prices but also to create environmentally friendly "building blocks" for better performing consumer products with a huge export potential.
Dr. Mohini Sain specializes in advanced natural fibre and wood composites and bio-nanocomposites at the University of Toronto, Faculty of Forestry. He is also cross-appointed to the Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry at U of T. Dr. Sain and his collaborators have received a $15 million infrastructure fund from Canadian Foundation for Innovation, Ontario Innovation Trust, Ministry of Economic Development and Trade, and other industry partners to establish a unique prototype natural fibre composite manufacturing facility at U of T, the first phase of which has been in operation since September 2006. He also has an $18 million collaborative research grant on biocar and bark biorefinery from the Ontario Research Fund and is the project leader of the AUTO21 Renewable Materials project. Dr. Sain has several patents in the area of natural fibre and composites and has formed a new spin-off company manufacturing natural fibre composite molded products. He has published more than 200 refereed journal papers and approximately 230 conference papers.
ALANA BOLAND, Associate Professor, Dept. of Geography; Full member, Centre for Environment graduate faculty
Public Participation in China's Green Communities: Mobilizing Memories and Structuring Incentives
In recent years, there has been heightened interest in creating more environmentally sustainable forms of urban development in China. Central in these greening initiatives has been increased attention on promoting public participation in community-based environmental activities. Focusing on China's green community initiatives, this study examines the production and effects of participation in a state-led development program. The analysis considers how incentives for program organizers and participants are structured by broader political and economic imperatives facing Chinese cities. What influence China's history of neighbourhood-based mobilization campaigns has had on the meanings and methods of participation in green communities is also considered. To understand how the broader urban development processes and memories of mobilization influence participation at the local level, two examples of the community greening process from the city of Guangzhou are presented, comparing policy outcomes between a new and older neighbourhood. This study seeks to demonstrate that the participatory processes associated with such an urban environmental initiative cannot be adequately understood without reference to earlier participatory practices and broader policy priorities guiding development in Chinese cities. This study was done in collaboration with Professor Jiangang Zhu of the School of Sociology and Anthropology, Sun Yat-sen University.
Dr. Alana Boland is an Associate Professor in the Department of Geography and Program in Planning at the University of Toronto. Her research focuses on the changing relationship between the economy and environment in China, and how this has influenced the management of resources and governing of spaces. Past projects have included a study of the legal construction of water markets and examination of the ideological foundations of water supply privatization. Her current research includes the study of state regulatory initiatives aimed at improving urban environmental conditions in contemporary China, particularly at the community-level. She has also been conducting archival based research on the economic-environment nexus in Chinese cities during the 1950s and 60s.
SATYENDRA BHAVSAR, Research Scientist, Ontario Ministry of the Environment; Adjunct Professor, Centre for Environment
Toxic Perfluorinated Compounds (PFCs) in Our Waterways and Our Fish: The Impact of Fire-Fighting Foam
This research study examines the spatial and long-term concentrations of PFCs (perfluorinated compounds) found in nearby creeks one decade after two incidents caused the discharge of fire-fighting foam at Toronto Pearson International Airport: in 2000 due to a malfunction of a fire alarm at an airline hanger and in 2005, to extinguish the fire caused by Air France flight 358 overrunning the runway. The majority of the foam applied was washed into Moore's Creek by the diluting water and heavy precipitation. The study examined spatial and long-term (9-year) temporal trends of PFCs in water, sediment, fish and fish liver collected in 2003, 2006 and 2009 from 10 locations stretching approximately 20 km in Etobicoke and Spring Creeks, into which Moore Creek flows. Fire-fighting foam is of concern because it is a major source of PFCs in the form of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS). PFCs are a family of fluorine-containing chemicals with unique properties to make materials stain and stick resistant as well as surfactant (to enhance foaming). They have been used since the 1950s in a wide array of consumer products such as popcorn bags, non-stick frying pans, outdoor clothing, stain-resistant carpet, and certain firefighting foams. Because these compounds are extremely resistant to breakdown, they are turning up in unexpected places around the world including the arctic region. Over the last decade, scientists have found that PFCs may cause long-lasting environmental contamination, including accumulation in humans.
Dr. Satyendra Bhavsar is Adjunct Professor at the Centre for Environment; Adjunct Professor at the Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research, University of Windsor; and a Research Scientist with the Sport Fish Contaminant Monitoring Program of the Ontario Ministry of the Environment. He represents the Ministry at various provincial, national and international committees on contaminants. He is a Professional Engineer and received his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering and Environmental Engineering from the University of Toronto. Dr. Bhavsar's research focuses on studying contaminant fate‐transport, food web dynamics and exposure to humans through fish consumption. The overarching goal of his work is to guide policies and management actions regarding contaminants in environment, specifically for safe human consumption of fish. He is the chair of the Chemical Institute of Canada Toronto Section and an executive member of the Brampton Chapter of the Professional Engineers of Ontario.
BENITA TAM, Ph.D. candidate, Dept. of Geography and Centre for Environment (Environment and Health collaborative program)
The Effects of Climate Change on the Well-Being of Aboriginal Populations in Ontario Within the context of the intense interest in the world's warming climate, how climate change impacts the health of the human population is of value, as it may have detrimental effects on quotidian or everyday existence. This doctoral research study examines the relationship between climate change and health, focusing specifically on vulnerable populations such as Aboriginal populations. Vulnerable populations are subgroups of people with common social status and life trajectories that make them more susceptible to risks. There is an injustice for vulnerable populations to cope with climate change, as they are already afflicted with limited resources, financial issues and greater health disparities. First Nations may be more vulnerable to climate change because Aboriginal health, culture and land use practices are so closely intertwined with the environment. The main purpose of this study is to understand how climate change may directly and/or indirectly impact the wellbeing of Aboriginal populations in Toronto and Fort Albany, Ontario. This presentation will focus on the methodology and preliminary results of the study.
Benita Tam is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Geography and the Centre for Environment's collaborative program in Environment and Health. Her research interests include climate variability, climate modeling, Aboriginal health and risk and vulnerability assessments. Under the supervision of William A. Gough (Dept. of Physical and Environmental Sciences, PES, U of T Scarborough), her research focuses on how climate change affects the health of Aboriginal populations in Ontario. Under the supervision of Dr. Monirul Mirza (Environment Canada at PES), Benita is also working on a project for Environment Canada where she is downscaling temperature data from various stations in the Greater Toronto Area using a statistical downscaling model (SDSM) and global climate model scenarios.