UBC experts on Earth Day 2023

On April 22, the world will celebrate Earth Day under the theme “Invest in Our Planet.” UBC experts are available to comment.

Sustainable living

Dr. Alex Bigazzi
Associate Professor, Department of Civil Engineering
Email: alex.bigazzi@ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English

  • Cycling and e-bikes, active transportation, micro-mobility, GHG emissions from transportation

*available weekdays during work hours

Dr. Johan Foster
Professor, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering
Tel: 604-817-8882
Email: johan.foster@ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English

  • Bio-based polymers and composites, recycling of plastics, biodegradable materials and packaging

Robert Godin
Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry, UBC Okanagan
Tel: 250-807-8438
Email: robert.godin@ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English, French

  • Solar energy, green chemistry

*available April 19 from 1-4 p.m., April 20 all day and April 21 from 9 a.m.-12 p.m.

Dr. Emily Kennedy
Associate Professor, Department of Sociology
Email: emily.huddart@ubc.ca
Interview language (s): English

  • Sustainable and green consumption, alternative food initiatives, gender and politics in environmentalism

Dr. Gord Lovegrove (he/him)
Associate Professor, School of Engineering, UBC Okanagan
Tel: 250-808-9377
Email: gord.lovegrove@ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English

  • Sustainable transportation and planning, transportation demand management, social cost benefit analyses

Dr. Lorien Nesbitt (she/her)
Assistant Professor, Department of Forest Resources Management
Tel: 604-822-3482
Email: lorien.nesbitt@ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English, Spanish

  • Urban greening, urban forestry, environmental and climate justice

*available April 19-21 from 11 a.m.-1 p.m.

Environment and economy

Werner Antweiler
Associate Professor, Sauder School of Business
Tel: 604-822-8484
Email: werner.antweiler@ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English

  • Sustainability investments, electricity infrastructure, hydrogen, critical minerals, and electrification of mobility

Christie Stephenson (she/her)
Executive Director, Peter P. Dhillon Centre for Business Ethics, Sauder School of Business
Tel: 604-827-1783 / 778-918-332
Email: stephenson@sauder.ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English

  • Impact investing, socially responsible investment, sustainable development

*unavailable April 19 from 10:30 a.m.-noon and after 5 p.m., April 20 from 3-4:30 p.m. and after 5 p.m., April 21 from 10-11 a.m.

Dr. U. Rashid Sumalia (he/him)
University Killam Professor, Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries and School of Public Policy and Global Affairs
Tel: 604-351-7406
Email: r.sumaila@oceans.ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English, Hausa, Norwegian

  • Blue economy, sustainable and just ocean systems, fisheries economics

*available before April 21

Environment, society and governance

Jessica Dempsey (she/her)
PhD candidate, Department of Geography
Tel: 778-987-6480
Email: jessica.dempsey@geog.ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English

  • Political economy of biodiversity loss; environmental law and policy; international environmental agreements; financial mechanisms

Dr. Kathryn Harrison (she/her)
Professor, Department of Political Science
Tel: 778-968-4923
Email: kathryn.harrison@ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English

  • Getting off household gas, carbon pricing, environmental politics, climate change policy, greenhouse effect

Dr. Tara Ivanochko
Professor of teaching, Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences
Email: tivanoch@eoas.ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English

  • Climate studies and action certificate

*available April 19 from 10-11 a.m., April 20 from 11 a.m.-noon, April 21 from 2-4 p.m.

Dr. Daniel Steel (he/him)
Associate Professor, School of Population and Public Health
Email: daniel.steel@ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English

  • Ethics of climate change, and risks of societal collapse

David Tindall
Professor, Department of Sociology
Email: tindall@mail.ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English

  • Social aspects of the environment and climate change, public opinion on the environment and climate change, protest over environmental and climate change issues, environmental and climate justice

Environmental law

Natasha Affolder (she/her)
Professor, Peter A. Allard School of Law
Email: affolder@allard.ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English

  • International environmental law, climate law

Temitope Onifade (he/him)
PhD candidate, Peter A. Allard School of Law
Email: temitope@onifade.org
Interview language(s): English, Yoruba, English-based pidgin

  • Law, regulation and governance of low-carbon transition technologies, finance and impacts

Wildlife, biodiversity and conservation 

Peter Arcese (he/him)
Professor, FRBC Chair in Applied Conservation Biology, Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences
Tel: 778-350-9295 (email or text first)
Email: peter.arcese@ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English

  • Conservation, finance, biodiversity, forests, birds

Dr. Kai Chan (he/him)
Professor, Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability and the Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries
Canada Research Chair, Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services
Email: kaichan@ires.ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English

  • Wildlife, ecosystem services, climate change and its ecological impacts, human action and social transformation, environmental policy

Dr. Gabriel Reygondeau
Research Scientist, Institute for Ocean and Fisheries
Tel: 778-251-3759
Email: gabriel.reygondeau@gmail.com
Interview language(s): English, French

  • Marine biodiversity, marine protected area, blue economy, climate change, fisheries

*available April 19-21

Dr. John S. Richardson (he/him)
Professor, Faculty of Forestry
Tel: 604-822-6586
Email: john.richardson@ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English

  • Water, forests, and biodiversity

Dr. Sean Smukler (he/him)
Associate Professor, Faculty of Land and Food Systems
Director, Centre for Sustainable Food Systems
Tel: 604-728-2816
Email: sean.smukler@ubc.ca
Interview language(s): English

  • Agricultural adaption to and mitigation of climate breakdown

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