No pipeline to utopia: Ideology, disavowal and the politics of the trans mountain expansion

This article is drawn from an interview with Environmental Studies PhD candidate Isaac Thornley conducted and edited by Geography MA student Nikki Pagaling. It originally appeared as part of the Robarts Centre for Canadian Studies Reflections on Research Series, Issue 7, October 2023. This version has been slightly updated prior to being published as part

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Applications of Biocapacity to Saugeen Ojibway Nation’s land claim case

by Kaitlin Pal Biocapacity is a metric that can be used to quantitatively measure biologically productive lands that can sustain an Ecological Footprint and is measured in global hectares (gha). It consists of components that include cropland, grazing land, forest land, fishing grounds, and built-up land. It can also be applied in a legal context

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Land use/land cover dynamics and land surface temperature in the Humber River Catchment

by Jasper Wong The Humber River Catchment (HRC) is an essential area within Lake Ontario’s basin. Covering 900 km^2, it houses over 850,000 residents and stands as the largest area overseen by the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA). As urban development and population growth influence the HRC, its land dynamics and biophysical attributes transform,

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Tracking catastrophic drainage due to permafrost thaw in a small lake of the western Canadian Arctic using sediment records

by Rachel Pellegrino Global temperatures are rapidly increasing, with high-latitude regions like the Arctic warming four times faster than the global average. This phenomenon, called Arctic amplification, leads to various environmental changes including permafrost thaw. Permafrost is defined as ground that remains frozen for two or more years, and is essential for regulating global climate

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Bioindicators of legacy arsenic ecotoxicity in Yellowknife lakes impacted by historic gold mining operations

by Altrisha Rodrigues In the early 1950s, the City of Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories was the site of a booming gold mining industry. Giant Mine, located 5 km north of the city, produced thousands of ounces of gold by roasting vast amounts of arsenopyrite ore, resulting in the release of highly toxic arsenic trioxide

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Quantifying predator type and abundance adjacent to Common Tern nesting platforms at Tommy Thompson Park

by Jesse Hughes Common terns are a long-lived migratory waterbird whose population is declining on Lake Ontario. The Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) at Tommy Thompson Park (TTP) – designated an Important Bird Area – have used floating platforms for common terns as nesting sites for three decades. In my EUCURA project, I quantified

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Assessing changes in insect biomass and biodiversity at the Long Point World Biosphere Reserve (LPWBR)

by Summer Solmes Dynamism of the biosphere is considered to be achieved by virtue of the most diverse and ecologically significant group of living organisms, insects. Crop and wildflower pollination, organic decomposition, biological control, and food provisioning, are among the many recognized services that insects provide, reflecting their global economic and ecological importance. Unfortunately, insects

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Establishing a comprehensive database of green bonds

by Mariam Alam As the global focus on sustainability intensifies, green bonds have gained prominence as a financing tool for environmentally friendly projects. Green bonds offer private investors the opportunity to support projects with positive environmental impacts, while providing issuers with access to capital for sustainable initiatives. My summer research project centred on the establishment

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Decolonizing, Indigenizing, and Making Space for Indigenous Girls visiting York University

Sarah Flicker, Amanda Galusha, L. Anders Sandberg, Jennifer Altenberg and The Young Indigenous Women's Utopia in Girlhood Studies (2023) We examine the possibilities for Indigenization afforded by a visit from the girls’ group, Young Indigenous Women's Utopia (YIWU), to York University. Through classroom presentations, workshops, and a book launch, the girls shared their knowledge, perspectives,

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Oral history, food justice, and music making

Honor Ford-Smith, Lord-Emmanuel Achidago, Ruben Esguerra, Nasra Mohammed, Krystle Skeete, and Marvin Veloso What is this research about? “Food is a language we all speak, but not everyone has access to clean, affordable food. We are here to change that”. This statement by research participant Noel Livingston, sums up the goal of this research. We

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