I admit that I get really irritated when I hear the ads from fossil fuel companies claiming that they are engaging in all these activities for a sustainable future. Ones like carbon capture and storage have not come close to meeting the need and others like hydrogen pipelines serve to maintain fossil fuel infrastructure “in … Continue reading
When I used to teach invertebrate zoology, I found a surprising number of studies where they exposed different invertebrates to different drugs. My favourite was the spiders on drugs. You can search it and find images of the webs they built after exposure to different drugs. Today, an article popped up about oyster larvae and … Continue reading
I have arachnophobia (fear of spiders). I’ve been working on it because I know it doesn’t make sense, and I would like to travel to some locations with more significant spiders without being terrified all the time that I will run into a spider. Therefore, I’m always intrigued by discussions of ways to help people … Continue reading
Most attention in biking research is on infrastructure for travel routes and increasingly on bike shares, but as a cycle commuter I can tell you that available bike parking makes a big difference on where I’m willing to bike. The security and protection from the elements, as well as walking distance to my destination (because … Continue reading
When I teach sustainability, I include culture and social justice. Therefore, I was interested to read a recent article by Demiralay, Kilincarslin, and Li (2025) on how LGBTQ+ workplace inclusion relates to corporate environmental performance. They looked at 893 US firms between 2010 and 2023. They considered the general political environment, specifically looking at whether … Continue reading
Okay, so I want to start this post by saying that we need to reduce plastic use overall and that the message in the research I’m going to discuss is not that recycled plastics are the problem. But there are consequences of viewing plastic recycling as the thing that will save us from our plastic … Continue reading
I woke up this morning to an air quality warning with levels at 10+ on the air quality health index. Sadly, with climate change, these warnings are becoming more frequent during the summer months where I live. You can’t plan for specific ones, but you do have to plan that they will happen. As an … Continue reading
I admit, I’m the person who wonders why we don’t put solar panels on school roofs and over parking lots. It seems like these would be prime places. I have thought less about mixing solar panels and agriculture, mostly because agriculture is not my area of expertise. However, some research by Sturchio and Knapp (2025) shows that … Continue reading
I have definitely had to put my bike away and take the car in response to events like wildfire smoke. I haven’t had to for extreme heat, but extreme heat where I am, while bad, isn’t the same as some other places in the world. But, as we approach summer, and remembering that last year … Continue reading
Wildfires are growing in size and intensity with climate change. Clearly the smoke from these fires has direct health consequences; however, some recent research shows that the concern goes beyond the smoke itself. Kelesidis and colleagues (2025) studied the impact of the 2023 Canadian wildfires on New York. They found that there were the expected … Continue reading