Laurier expert alert: Earth Day

April 20, 2020
For Immediate Release

Waterloo – Earth Day is Wednesday, April 22. Wilfrid Laurier University has several experts available to speak about topics related to the environment, climate change, environmental policy and citizen engagement, among other topics.

Hind Al-Abadleh is a professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. She is an expert on air pollution, aerosols and climate change, as well as arsenic and phosphorus in the environment. In 2018, she was named Fullbright Canada Research Chair in Atmospheric Chemistry, Air Quality and Climate Change. She is currently chair of the Environment Division for the Chemical Institute of Canada. Al-Abadleh recently wrote about how physical distancing measures put in place in response to the COVID-19 pandemic have reduced the concentration of pollutants in the air and improved air quality. Contact: halabadleh@wlu.ca.

Simon Dalby is a professor in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies who teaches at the Balsillie School of International Affairs and a senior fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI). He is an expert on governance, security and climate change. In particular, his research has focused on climate change and geopolitics, popular representations of climate change in the media, and the debate about the Anthropocene era and its implications for politics and policy. Dalby wrote recently about how some of the lessons we've learned from COVID-19, including the failure to heed warnings and understand the implications to society, can be applied to the climate change crisis. Contact: sdalby@gmail.com.

Christopher Lemieux, associate professor in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies and John McMurry Research Chair in Environmental Geography, is an expert on natural resource planning and policy; barriers to climate change adaptation within resource management organizations; the management of parks and protected areas in Canada; and climate change and Canadian identity, sense of place, and collective action. Contact: clemieux@wlu.ca.

Philip Marsh is a professor in Laurier’s Department of Geography and Environmental Studies and Canada Research Chair in Cold Regions Water Science. He uses observation, modelling and remote sensing to understand and predict the impact of climate change on the freshwaters of arctic and subarctic North America. He recently wrote about the impacts of collapsing permafrost on lakes, ponds and streams in the Arctic, along with two other researchers. Contact: pmarsh@wlu.ca.

Professor Robert McLeman, in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, is an expert on the human dimensions of climate change, including the relationship between the environment and human migration, community adaptation to climatic variability and change, and citizen participation in environmental science. He is available to speak about the impacts of climate change and drought on global migration patterns and the impacts of environmental migration to North America. Contact: rmcleman@wlu.ca.

William Quinton, professor in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies and former director of Laurier’s Cold Regions Research Centre, is an expert on the hydrology of cold regions, permafrost and peatlands. He leads the Dehcho Collaborative on Permafrost and is the director of the Scotty Creek Research Station, south of Fort Simpson, NWT. The site is located in one of the most rapidly warming regions on Earth, giving researchers a unique opportunity to study the hydrological impacts of permafrost thaw. Contact: wquinton@wlu.ca.

Manuel Riemer is a professor of community psychology and sustainability science in the Department of Psychology and director of the Viessmann Centre for Engagement and Research in Sustainability (VERiS). He is an expert on the psychology of sustainability, including global climate change mitigation and resiliency. He and his research partners have set up a living lab in Waterloo’s evolv1 building, a net-positive energy, multi-tenant office building, to better understand how to engage workers in a culture of sustainability and promote wellbeing in high-efficiency green buildings. Previous research has shown that green buildings often do not meet their targeted energy and emission goals because their occupants don’t support those targets by following sustainable practices. Contact: mriemer@wlu.ca.

Andrew Spring is a research associate and an adjunct professor in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies. His research focuses on issues of food security and the impact of climate change on communities in the Northwest Territories. He works closely with governmental agencies, non-governmental organizations and local communities to support the creation of sustainable food systems in the NWT. Contact: aspring@wlu.ca.

Debora VanNijnatten, professor in the departments of Political Science and North American Studies, is an expert on environmental and climate change policy in North America; Canadian environmental politics; and transboundary cooperation on water management. She is also available to speak about how the COVID-19 crisis will impact climate change and environmental policy commitments. Contact: dvannijnatten@wlu.ca.

Randall Wigle, professor in Laurier’s Department of Economics and at the Balsillie School of International Affairs, is an expert on Canadian climate policy and environmental economics, especially the linkages between federal and provincial action. He uses general equilibrium modelling to simulate the world economy’s response to environmental and trade policies. Contact information: 226.772.3164 or rwigle@wlu.ca.