UBC IRES

What is UP with all the construction on Broadway?! What do Vancouverites think about all these changes? If you’re curious what the research says (before forming your hot take 👀), Giulia Belotti’s latest work is a good place to start. Watch 👇 Research: doi.org/10.1177/2399...

BIG congrats to our 2026 Public Scholars, Tatiana and Lucas! This year, two of the three Faculty of Science awardees are ours! IRES is delighted to celebrate our grad student researchers, and hope you will join us in congratulating them.

How do claims about AI’s inevitability and importance become embedded in public policy? Dr. Van der Ven introduces the concept of “information laundering” to explain how techno-utopian narratives gain legitimacy and political influence. Click the link for more info! ires.ubc.ca/october-29-2...

IRES students (Sam Blackwell, Clare Price, Chloë Chang, Kevin Landrini, Sonali Singh, Marina Levy, Emma Jarek-Simard + more!), advised by Dr. Kai Chan, are working to collect signatures to help demonstrate public support for meaningful action on microfiber pollution. www.cosphere.net/plastic-sunset

Bees are essential to food production, yet both managed and native species are in decline. Join as Dr. Sokolov examines how disease evolution, breeding strategies, and modern agricultural practices shape pollinator health. Click the link below for event details! ires.ubc.ca/october-15-2...

Recent drops in Brazil’s deforestation are temporary relief, writes IRES PhD student Lucas Barros da Rosa. For lasting protection, Brazil need to extend effective enforcement to other biomes across the country. theconversation.com/brazil-has-m...

Explore how Yunfei Li leads Urban Future Walks. Developed with Simon Donner, the project explores whether experiencing climate solutions firsthand can shift people’s engagement with climate action. Learn more: www.cbc.ca/news/climate...

George P.R. Benson will explore how researchers can contribute to systems change, design projects with lasting societal impact, and build the relationships and skills that help ideas move beyond academia and into communities. ires.ubc.ca/october-8-20...

In this presentation, Connor McGookin will summarize his project's solar energy assessment and outline ongoing work to understand how these tools can support local government energy planning. Click the link for more info! ires.ubc.ca/october-1st-...

IRES's Mauricio Carvallo Aceves offers a description of coastal erosion due to the warming climate: the ocean will always win. Change is inevitable. More localized studies, in areas most vulnerable to coastal changes, can help people adapt to these changes: www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

The 18 new menus used more Asian- and Pacific Northwest-inspired dishes that patients reported were tastier than the default menu, which was typically a bland Western-style meal that included a lot of meat and highly processed food. vancouversun.com/news/ubc-res...

“So much old growth has been lost that any further loss is of concern throughout the whole world,” said Kai Chan, calling the continuing destruction of B.C.’s remaining old-growth forests “a dire situation.” thetyee.ca/News/2026/09...

Transparency is widely promoted in mining governance as a pathway to accountability, yet disclosure does not automatically produce these outcomes. Bulgan Batdorj draws on four transparency frameworks to show how interventions could be designed to support disclosure. ires.ubc.ca/september-24...

Professor Claire Kremen has been elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, one of the highest honours recognizing outstanding scholarly achievement in Canada. We are so pleased to share the news, and hope you'll join us in congratulating Claire! science.ubc.ca/news/2026-09...

Congratulations to Drs. Colin Brauner, Claire Kremen and Xin Li on being named fellows of the Royal Society of Canada. They join over 60 Faculty of Science researchers recognized by the RSC since 2000. @src-rsc.bsky.social @ubcbiodiversity.bsky.social @zoology.ubc.ca science.ubc.ca/news/2026-09...

🏘️💧 Community-led research in action! Dr. Bavisha Kalyan discusses a water monitoring project in Newark, NJ, exploring how environmental health research can center equitable partnerships. Seminar happening next week, on Sept 17th! ires.ubc.ca/september-17...

As carbon removal technologies continue to develop, how we measure their impacts matters. This new paper argues that research and monitoring for carbon removal technologies must account for the fact that measurement is never purely technical. 🔗 doi.org/10.1016/j.en...

Our alumna’s latest in @thelancetplanet.bsky.social shows how her team developed and implemented a new menu at VGH...cutting GHG emissions by 39% and land use by 51%, while keeping patients satisfied. A model for healthier, lower-carbon healthcare! Open access: www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

SFU is hosting the upcoming APRU Food Security & Agritech Conference (October 5–7, 2026)...and the conference features panel discussions by IRES’s own Hannah Wittman and alum Sarah-Louise Ruder! Register now at www.sfu.ca/internationa...

Think "do more of" rather than "stop doing". Instead of saying, "Eat less meat," say, "Eat more plants." When it comes to changing our climate habits, actions that make us feel better are more likely to be repeated. www.forbes.com/sites/kevink...

🌱 Thursdays = sustainability! Join us 12:30-1:20pm, starting Sept 17, for weekly seminars on community research, bees, mining, Ghana’s cocoa sector & more. Save the dates! We'll be updating this page frequently: ires.ubc.ca/seminar-series

After two B.C. vet clinics warned pet owners to watch out for bats, IRES alum Aaron Aguirre hopes the public won't demonize the whole species. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

This summer IRES grad student Charlotte Milne worked with the City of Surrey to scope out an integrated floodplain strategy for the Bridgeview and South Westminster neighborhoods. 🌊 🌧️ You can read the final UBC public report here: sustain.ubc.ca/about/resour...

While most climate change discourse is learned passively through media and news outlets, Yunfei Li explores new ways to engage people on climate change through Urban Future Walks. 🔗https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/can-a-walk-downtown-change-your-mind-on-climate/id1135887105?i=1000773961009

If you make joyful changes, other people will follow suit, quickly. This is just one insight from Dunn and Zhao's new book Leave the Lights On, outlining how so many environmentally friendly choices add joy to life! 😊💚 🔗 nextbigideaclub.com/magazine/hap...

Improv meets climate action... 🌿🎭 IRES grad student Anaïs Pronovost-Morgan brought eco-improv to the UBC community! With 10+ years in theatre and now pursuing her second master's, Anaïs blends head, heart and hands to spark fresh perspectives on environmental challenges:

"Armed conflict pushes humanity even closer to the precipice of climate catastrophe and is an idiotic way to spend our shrinking carbon budget" - Dr. David Boyd, featured in the Extinction Rebellion Read more: xrpdx.org/war-genocide...

Public perception of different energy sources should be an input into any democratic energy decision. This study reveals that India’s public views nuclear energy as very risky, but this perception varies by region and is shaped by social, political, and developmental values doi.org/10.1088/1748...

IRES alum Bassam Javed explains why low speed vehicles (like electric carts) are becoming more common for industries such as aviation: www.cbc.ca/news/climate...

“Decision support” is a growing academic and professional field, said Simone Philpot, who led the UBC-NRC-Clear Seas research project team as a post-doctoral fellow at IRES. www.theenergymix.com/new-decision...

We are just before a new era of cases that use the new human rights approach to address the triple planetary challenge. The SDGs are based on a rock solid foundation of international human rights law says Prof David Boyd ( @ires.ubc.ca) @cisdl.bsky.social #SDLaw26

A few suggestions from Jiaying Zhao and Liz Dunn's new book on how to save the planet and make yourself happier at the same time! www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/sex-...

A more legitimate approach to compensating harms requires moving beyond improved methods toward rethinking the rules that frame the overall decision-making process. From IRES's Terre Satterfield & Robin Gregory, and U of Oregon's Paul Slovic: policyoptions.irpp.org/2026/06/eval...

The newly released draft strategy on environmental racism and justice fails to identify any practical actions, says IRES prof David Boyd. Unless strengthened substantially, it won't ensure that all Canadians can enjoy their right to a healthy environment. www.nationalobserver.com/2026/07/03/n...

John Driscoll and Edward Gregr, adjunct professors at IRES, on seaweed farming: this form of aquaculture has a lot of benefits but needs new regulations to manage potential environmental threats. thetyee.ca/News/2026/06...

The PNW faces immediate climate risks: sea level rise, extreme weather, infrastructure vulnerability. Resilience has become an operational necessity. IRES prof Amanda Giang will speak on a panel exploring what workforce skills are needed to execute resilience strategies at scale. luma.com/ej1efx9q

Shake up the Estab, led by IRES PhD Student Manvi Bhalla, is hosting an event where you'll learn about environmental racism and how it impacts your community. And, you’ll be given the opportunity to directly help shape Canadian policy on environmental racism and justice! TinyURL.com/SUTE-PNW-Event

Consultations on a draft Environmental Justice Strategy are now open. www.canada.ca/en/environme... @manvi.bsky.social explains why everyone should participate:

WorkSafeBC hasn't updated its extreme heat protections since 2005, and it’s not clear to employers when they're required to start adopting cooling measures—said Susanna Klassen and Anelyse Weiler. Read their op-ed in the Vancouver Sun:

A research report for a RES course last spring has flourished into a national campaign calling for lint traps on washers! Rockstar students Sam Blackwell, Chloë Chang, Kevin Landrini, and Clare Price, alongside Dr. Kai Chan, have been busy building support: ires.ubc.ca/qa-microfibr...

🏢 🚶‍♀️Yunfei Li, an IRES PhD student, explores new ways to engage people on climate change through Urban Future Walks! news.ubc.ca/2026/06/down...

🙃 Joy is a powerful climate strategy! 🌞 @jiayingzhao.bsky.social and Elizabeth Dunn's new book is out now...check it out: happyclimate.org

#UBCOceans announces the laureates of its 2nd cohort Africa-UBC Oceans and Fisheries Visiting Fellows: Dr. Rael Adhiambo (Kenya) - who will be working with @ires.ubc.ca's Leila Harris - and Dr. Ahmad Muhammad Talba (Nigeria) working @zoology.ubc.ca's Chris Wood oceans.ubc.ca/2026/06/15/s...

"You can't be saying these deals are still compatible with net-zero by 2050. They're not. The deal is not compatible with it. Just be honest with Canadians about this." said @simondonner.bsky.social @ubcgeography.bsky.social @ires.ubc.ca www.cbc.ca/news/politic... via @cbcnews.ca

Ottawa calls it co-operation. Climate scientist Dr. Simon Donner calls it math that does not add up. “If this wasn’t going to affect the system outside Alberta, fine. But when you add it all up, the emissions math just doesn’t work.” 🔗 www.bnnbloomberg.ca/business/202...

Today’s solution is for Canada to mandate laundry appliances include a built-in microfiber filter—like a lint trap that captures up to 90% of fibers at the source. Oregon, California, and Ontario have proposed legislation, and it's already law in France www.hilltimes.com/2026/06/04/p... @ires.ubc.ca

IRES students and CoSphere colleagues call for microfibre filter standards and bold biofibre investment, protecting oceans while creating economic opportunity for Canada. www.hilltimes.com/2026/06/04/p... @science.ubc.ca @ubcoceans.bsky.social

Jiaying Zhao and Elizabeth Dunn (@ubcpsych)'s new book earned praise from the New Scientist, which calls it a "counter-intuitive climate book" packed with practical, hopeful ways to help the planet and boost wellbeing. Woohoo! 🎉 www.newscientist.com/article/2528...