The environment and the current and future state of the planet are a key concern facing our society today. This fact was front and centre recently as more than 500 members of the Trent and Peterborough communities attended two dynamic sold-out events exploring the link between humans and our natural world.
The events, entitled People, Prosperity and the Natural World: Life Sustaining Life, were organized by Trent University in partnership with the Ministry of Natural Resources, in support of the International Year of Biodiversity. They featured internationally-renowned water scientist Dr. David Schindler, the Killam Memorial Chair and professor of Ecology and the University of Alberta. He was professor in Trent University’s Biology Department from 1966-68. As a limnologist, Dr. Schindler specializes in the study of freshwater ecosystems.
From Detergents to Tar Sands
“I didn’t start out thinking I would be a limnologist,” Dr. Schindler told an audience of 200 at the first event on March 23 at the MNR Ballroom. During the lecture, entitled “The Ebb and Flow of Science and Communication: From Detergents to Tar Sands,” Dr. Schindler discussed his experience with both government and academia on effectively linking science to sound environmental policies. His experiences range from banning phosphorus in detergents (to improve water quality), to curbing acid rain to his most current research on the environmental degradation from tar sands.
“It is a Guinness Book of Records black star project,” Dr. Schindler said about the tar sands in Alberta, pointing to the major environmental issues, such as air pollution, CO2 emissions, lack of reclamation, and biodiversity loss, that are the results of the controversial project. “This is a scar on our country that will be visible from space for all time. We have to do something about it.”
According to Dr. Schindler, scientists have a critical role to play in ensuring the world truly understands the environmental impacts of projects like the tar sands and of climate change in general. It is a role that is complicated, however, by the often tumultuous relationship between science and policy.
“Scientists are muzzled,” Dr. Schindler said, referencing the fact that many government scientists aren’t allowed or encouraged to speak to the public. “I think federal science has reached bottom and it’s time for a new model. We need strong links between the environmental sciences and policy in Canada. For informed decisions to be made, good science needs to be on the table.”
Science Meets Policy in the Environmental Age
The dialogue about the problematic relationship between science and policy continued during the second event, a panel discussion entitled “Two Worlds? Science Meets Policy in the Environmental Age,” held on March 24 in the Great Hall of Champlain College at Trent University.
More than 300 people came out to hear from a distinguished panel of experts, including Dr. Schindler, about the relevance of scientific research in everyday life and the means for scientists to engage with decision makers and the public in shaping our environmental future.
Joining Dr. Schindler on the panel was internationally-renowned activist and author Maude Barlow, Jon Grant, chair of the Ontario Biodiversity Council, and Dr. Stuart Pimm, one of the most cited scientists working in the field of conservation biology. The discussion was moderated by Alanna Mitchell, journalist and author of Sea Sick: The Global Ocean in Crisis.
“Here in this room tonight we have collected the great wisdom of our world,” Ms. Mitchell said in her opening remarks, referring to the experts on the panel as “some of our planet’s environmental prophets.”
The discussion began with each panel member telling a story or anecdote from their experiences attempting to marry science with policy. For the next hour a lively dialogue and debate ensued, during which the panel discussed everything from the importance of biodiversity and conserving our environment to the roles of the media and the general public in getting involved and making a difference.
“Canada is seen as an “eco-outlaw” in the international community,” said Maude Barlow, national chairperson of the Council of Canadians and the inaugural senior advisor on water to the president of the United Nations General Assembly. She spoke about the importance of her organization’s “citizen’s agenda” and the crucial role the public has to get involved and change the way Canada does things in terms of the environment.
Commenting on the delicate balance between economy and the environment, Jon Grant, former president and CEO of Quaker Oats, said, “As this economy grows and we pave over things like the Greenbelt, we have to protect what is there to drink, to breathe and to renew our souls. If we don’t we will be a poorer society, maybe not in dollars but concerning our own moral compass.”
A Question of Hope
Prior to opening the floor to questions, Ms. Mitchell ended with a question about hope, asking the panel, “From your position on the front lines of science, knowing the state of our planet, do you have hope?”
Dr. Pimm, Doris Duke Professor of Conservation Ecology at the Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences at Duke University in North Carolina, answered with a resounding yes. “Even in the darkest hours it’s amazing what concerted action and good science can do to protect biodiversity,” he said, adding that he finds comfort in knowing that “whenever we do save a species from extinction or save nature in general, we save it and preserve it for countless future generations.”
Ms. Barlow said “I believe with all my heart that hope is a moral imperative. We have the wherewithal to change things if we come together. You have to have faith that millions around the world do get it and are doing something about it.”
“This country is on the tipping point of greatness,” said Mr. Grant, pointing to the opportunity young people, including students, have to get involved and make a difference for the future.
For Dr. Schindler there is a greater sense of urgency. “I have faint hope,” he said, pointing to the fact that he has been working tirelessly in the field for over 40 years. “We are not going to come out of climate change unscathed. We are going to have to adopt. There will be suffering and some countries and communities we know today won’t exist at the end of the century. But my hope is that we will have a Berlin Wall-like revolution as a result. We are too apathetic. That has to change to make things more hopeful.”
These events were supported by an anonymous donor who created the first-ever endowed professorship at Trent University, valued at $1 million, in 2008. The David Schindler Endowed Professorship in Aquatic Science establishes a prestigious position at the University for a leading academic in this increasingly important field of aquatic science, a multidisciplinary study of aquatic systems, encompassing both freshwater and marine systems. A search is currently underway for the first holder of the professorship. For more information about the David Schindler Professorship in Aquatic Science at Trent University visit www.trentu.ca/aquaticscience.
The events, entitled People, Prosperity and the Natural World: Life Sustaining Life, were organized by Trent University in partnership with the Ministry of Natural Resources, in support of the International Year of Biodiversity. They featured internationally-renowned water scientist Dr. David Schindler, the Killam Memorial Chair and professor of Ecology and the University of Alberta. He was professor in Trent University’s Biology Department from 1966-68. As a limnologist, Dr. Schindler specializes in the study of freshwater ecosystems.
From Detergents to Tar Sands
“I didn’t start out thinking I would be a limnologist,” Dr. Schindler told an audience of 200 at the first event on March 23 at the MNR Ballroom. During the lecture, entitled “The Ebb and Flow of Science and Communication: From Detergents to Tar Sands,” Dr. Schindler discussed his experience with both government and academia on effectively linking science to sound environmental policies. His experiences range from banning phosphorus in detergents (to improve water quality), to curbing acid rain to his most current research on the environmental degradation from tar sands.
“It is a Guinness Book of Records black star project,” Dr. Schindler said about the tar sands in Alberta, pointing to the major environmental issues, such as air pollution, CO2 emissions, lack of reclamation, and biodiversity loss, that are the results of the controversial project. “This is a scar on our country that will be visible from space for all time. We have to do something about it.”
According to Dr. Schindler, scientists have a critical role to play in ensuring the world truly understands the environmental impacts of projects like the tar sands and of climate change in general. It is a role that is complicated, however, by the often tumultuous relationship between science and policy.
“Scientists are muzzled,” Dr. Schindler said, referencing the fact that many government scientists aren’t allowed or encouraged to speak to the public. “I think federal science has reached bottom and it’s time for a new model. We need strong links between the environmental sciences and policy in Canada. For informed decisions to be made, good science needs to be on the table.”
Science Meets Policy in the Environmental Age
The dialogue about the problematic relationship between science and policy continued during the second event, a panel discussion entitled “Two Worlds? Science Meets Policy in the Environmental Age,” held on March 24 in the Great Hall of Champlain College at Trent University.More than 300 people came out to hear from a distinguished panel of experts, including Dr. Schindler, about the relevance of scientific research in everyday life and the means for scientists to engage with decision makers and the public in shaping our environmental future.
Joining Dr. Schindler on the panel was internationally-renowned activist and author Maude Barlow, Jon Grant, chair of the Ontario Biodiversity Council, and Dr. Stuart Pimm, one of the most cited scientists working in the field of conservation biology. The discussion was moderated by Alanna Mitchell, journalist and author of Sea Sick: The Global Ocean in Crisis.
“Here in this room tonight we have collected the great wisdom of our world,” Ms. Mitchell said in her opening remarks, referring to the experts on the panel as “some of our planet’s environmental prophets.”
The discussion began with each panel member telling a story or anecdote from their experiences attempting to marry science with policy. For the next hour a lively dialogue and debate ensued, during which the panel discussed everything from the importance of biodiversity and conserving our environment to the roles of the media and the general public in getting involved and making a difference.
“Canada is seen as an “eco-outlaw” in the international community,” said Maude Barlow, national chairperson of the Council of Canadians and the inaugural senior advisor on water to the president of the United Nations General Assembly. She spoke about the importance of her organization’s “citizen’s agenda” and the crucial role the public has to get involved and change the way Canada does things in terms of the environment.
Commenting on the delicate balance between economy and the environment, Jon Grant, former president and CEO of Quaker Oats, said, “As this economy grows and we pave over things like the Greenbelt, we have to protect what is there to drink, to breathe and to renew our souls. If we don’t we will be a poorer society, maybe not in dollars but concerning our own moral compass.”
A Question of Hope
Prior to opening the floor to questions, Ms. Mitchell ended with a question about hope, asking the panel, “From your position on the front lines of science, knowing the state of our planet, do you have hope?”
Dr. Pimm, Doris Duke Professor of Conservation Ecology at the Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences at Duke University in North Carolina, answered with a resounding yes. “Even in the darkest hours it’s amazing what concerted action and good science can do to protect biodiversity,” he said, adding that he finds comfort in knowing that “whenever we do save a species from extinction or save nature in general, we save it and preserve it for countless future generations.”
Ms. Barlow said “I believe with all my heart that hope is a moral imperative. We have the wherewithal to change things if we come together. You have to have faith that millions around the world do get it and are doing something about it.”
“This country is on the tipping point of greatness,” said Mr. Grant, pointing to the opportunity young people, including students, have to get involved and make a difference for the future.
For Dr. Schindler there is a greater sense of urgency. “I have faint hope,” he said, pointing to the fact that he has been working tirelessly in the field for over 40 years. “We are not going to come out of climate change unscathed. We are going to have to adopt. There will be suffering and some countries and communities we know today won’t exist at the end of the century. But my hope is that we will have a Berlin Wall-like revolution as a result. We are too apathetic. That has to change to make things more hopeful.”
These events were supported by an anonymous donor who created the first-ever endowed professorship at Trent University, valued at $1 million, in 2008. The David Schindler Endowed Professorship in Aquatic Science establishes a prestigious position at the University for a leading academic in this increasingly important field of aquatic science, a multidisciplinary study of aquatic systems, encompassing both freshwater and marine systems. A search is currently underway for the first holder of the professorship. For more information about the David Schindler Professorship in Aquatic Science at Trent University visit www.trentu.ca/aquaticscience.
Posted on Thursday, March 25, 2010.