Sustainability

Hiding behind multiculturalism

I remember the multicultural day in school. For one day in the year, my classmates got to share parts of their culture and for the rest of the time we studied the Western science, grammar, music, art, and history. This day showed that we were better than many other countries because we embraced other cultures. … Continue reading →

The future of snow sports

If you’ve been watching the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics you have likely heard about their use of artificial snow. The reality is that many places that once had pretty reliable snow conditions are suffering in the face of climate change. If I look around where I live, we had the best snow I think we’ve … Continue reading →

Communities for Sustainability

I’ve worked with many different communities in the past, both communities made up of people who live near each other and those that are centered around common interests. Both types share common characteristics or interests among the members. The interesting thing is that there seem to be communities of interest that will rise up with … Continue reading →

Sustainability needs diverse groups of experts to solve climate change

I teach a course on sustainability challenges. Students work in groups to help community partners with projects relating to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The students come from many different areas of study and collaborate on developing meaningful projects. According to a recent report by Cole et al (2022) working with diverse teams is … Continue reading →

The climate anxiety is real

In one week this year I have skied at lower than -30°C and higher than 0°C. We have what I’m sure is the best snow base in years, but it’s layered with freezing rain. We’ve had record breaking cold. And this past summer we had record breaking heat. Even without there being a global pandemic … Continue reading →

Does changing one food item a day make any difference?

In the past few years I have changed my diet to be (mostly) a weekday vegetarian. If I’m honest this change was aided by also switching to one of the weekly meal kit boxes. I signed up for the vegetarian box and through it gained many delicious vegetarian recipes. Vegetarian on its own isn’t automatically … Continue reading →

What does “green infrastructure” actually mean?

I hadn’t really given this question any thought if I’m honest. I assumed green infrastructure included things like street trees, parks, stormwater retention facilities, and probably green roofs. As it turns out, I’m a little more inclusive in my definition compared to many and I may have thought about it more than many US municipalities. … Continue reading →

Trees store air pollutants

I’ve written before about the role of urban trees. They contribute to a number of positive outcomes. A newer area of research is whether the trees actually absorb air pollutants. Klingborn et al (2022) examined the levels of a specific type of pollutant in both deciduous (leafy) trees and coniferous (cone bearing) trees. They found … Continue reading →

When it’s -40 is a heat island a good thing?

We are having some extreme cold temperatures this week, with wind chills consistently sitting between -30 and -40°C. This is warmer than it is in the surrounding rural areas thanks to the urban heat island effect (UHI). UHI is typically discussed when we think of warm temperatures. Basically, the impact of heat leaking from buildings … Continue reading →

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