Updated: SFU experts available for Earth Day April 22

CONTACT:

Melissa Shaw; Communications and Marketing, 236.880.3297, melissa_shaw@sfu.ca

Shradhha Sharma; Communications and Marketing, 604.202.2504,  shradhha_sharma@sfu.ca
 

April 22 marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, with its theme of climate action and a developing focus on environmental resilience-focused recovery from the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Simon Fraser University has a number of experts focused on topics related to the environment, global sustainability and our world in the midst of this ongoing pandemic.
 

CLIMATE POLICY

Nancy Olewiler, economist, nancy_olewiler@sfu.ca

• Carbon taxes
• Policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
• How valuing ecosystem services can improve both the environment and the economy

*Mark Jaccard, director of resource and environmental management, mark_jaccard@sfu.ca (fluent in French)


• Impact of falling oil prices on Canadian climate policy and clean energy sector

ENVIRONMENT & COVID-19

Maya Gislason, health sciences, maya_gislason@sfu.ca

• The social and ecological drivers of COVID-19
• Climate change, mental health and children
• Climate change communication
•  The public health impacts of intensive resource extraction on Canadian populations
• How equity, diversity and inclusion can be applied to thinking about community and environmental health

Deborah Harford, executive director, adaptation to climate change team (ACT), dharford@sfu.ca


• Impact of COVID-19 on environmental resilience, equity and sustainability

Kirsten Zickfeld, geography, kzickfel@sfu.ca

• Parallels between COVID-19 and climate change
• The effects of the slowdown of many activities on greenhouse gas emissions and climate

A member of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Zickfeld was an author of its 2018 special report on global warming.

ENIVRONMENTAL EDUCATION

David Zandvliet, education, david_zandvliet@sfu.ca, 604-219-0362

• Environmental education
• Experiential learning
• Sustainability
• Ecological literacy
• Science and technology

HEALTH IMPACTS

Ryan Allen, health sciences, ryan_allen@sfu.ca

• Health effects of air pollution and air pollution assessments in a changing world
  

Tim Takaro, health sciences, ttakaro@sfu.ca

• Health effects of climate change, links between human exposures and disease
• Determining public health based preventive solutions to such risks

SUSTAINABILITY

Meg Holden, urban studies and geography, meg_holden@sfu.ca, 604-839-9794

• Urban resilience and social sustainability
• Optimal urban density and diversity
• Opportunities for climate change policy in an emergency

Andreanne Doyon, resource & environmental management, andreanne.doyon@sfu.ca, 403-707-7141

• Urban density and sustainable housing
• Urban planning and urban resilience

Sean Markey, resource & environmental management, sean_markey@sfu.ca

• Sustainable planning and infrastructure
• Sustainable rural communities and resource regions

Tammara Soma, resource & environmental management, 604-655-5434, tammara_soma@sfu.ca

• Food waste, food loss, food security
• Food access, food system planning, food resiliency
• Waste management, youth and food

Birute Galdikas, archaeology, drbirute@gmail.com

• Galdikas can talk about her life’s work among the world’s orangutans and the challenges faced by the species in today’s world

A documentary film about the work and lives of Galdikas, Diane Fossey and Jane Goodall, She Walks with Apes, will be screened on Earth Day at 9 p.m. on BBC America.

Ken Lertzman, resource & environmental management, kenneth_lertzman@sfu.ca

• Forest fires, fire ecology and climate
• Forest ecology, conservation and management
• Climate change and the impacts on forest ecosystems
•  Resilience of forests to disturbances
• Temperate rainforests of B.C.

*Anil Hira, political science, anil_hira@sfu.ca

• Climate change in a global context
• The move to a clean energy economy and promotion of renewable energy sources
• Promoting renewable energy sources for First Nations’ communities

*Indicates added

View details of Simon Fraser University's recently released five-year sustainability plan.