We are hosting a speaker series featuring Dr. Andrew Risemean from LFS! To find out more and to RSVP, click on the poster below.
The North American Energy Landscape – From Importer to Exporter?
Join panelists Lawrence Pitt, James Tansey, and Matt Horne alongside moderator Brent Sauder for a timely discussion on the state of North America’s unprecedented hydrocarbon landscape and its complex, new interplay with climate policy. Poster attached.
Free and open to the public. A light lunch is available at no charge, but participants are asked to register as space is limited: http://events.pwias.ubc.ca/wall-hour.
When: Thursday, March 7th 12:30 – 1:30
Where: BC Hydro Theater, CIRS Building
Electric Vehicles Free Public Lecture
Join us for a special free Vancouver public lecture on electric vehicles, their public acceptance and policy challenges by Dr. Jonn Axsen. For decades, the promise of electric-powered vehicles has inspired hope for a clean, low-carbon, petroleum-free transportation system. So where are these electric vehicles? Dr. Jonn Axsen draws from in-depth market and technical research to explore society’s readiness for such a transition–and outline the policies required to get there.
Register to attend in person at http://www.electricvehicles-peopleandpolicy.eventbrite.ca or join the webcast at http://pics.uvic.ca/events/live-webcast.
Changing Social Norms on Climate Change
When: Monday January 21st, 3:00 – 4:00
Where: UBC Law at Allard Hall, 4th floor Terrace Lounge, 1822 East Mall
Dr. Stephen Sheppard, Professor in Forest Resources Management & Landscape Architecture, will lead a discussion based on his new book, “Visualizing climate change: A Guide to Visual Communication of Climate Change and Developing Local Solutions.” Please note, this event is free, includes a book signing and is open to faculty and grad student.
Free Public Lecture – Sustainable Energy Systems
January 29th, 5:30 – 7:30. Morris J Wosk Center for Dialogue, SFU, Vancouver (580 West Hastings Street)
This is a special free Vancouver public lecture on sustainable energy systems, including fuel cell research and development by Drs. Erik Kjeang and Martin Ordonez. Dr. Kjeang will offer an overview of fuel cell systems as clean electricity generators for transportation and other uses. He will highlight the most recent innovations developed at SFU in collaboration with Ballard Power Systems. Dr. Martin Ordonez will follow with information about UBC’s research and development on power converters and effective system integration, which is leading to expanded opportunity in fuel cell products and applications.
Register to attend in person at www.sustainableenergysystems.eventbrite.ca
or join the webcast at http://pics.uvic.ca/events/live-webcast
John Robinson at The Wall Hour
Professor John Robinson, UBC Associate Provost, Sustainability, will be speaking at the Peter Wall Institute’s free lunch & talk, co-sponsored by the Pacific Institute for Climate solutions. Here’s the deets:
Date: Thursday, October 4, 2012
Time: 12:30pm – 1:30pm
Place: Center for Interactive Research on Sustainability (CIRS)
RSVP: RSVP@pwias.ubc.ca
Weekly Biodiesel Update
We made good progress at the Biodiesel Project last week. Greg has made good progress on the electrical side of the plant, and we’re approaching recommissioning with our fingers crossed.
The Project has suffered from being handed from student to student in the past. A new internal wiki will help smooth future hand-offs while standardizing our operating procedures and quality testing. In that vein, quality testing has been helped out by the arrival of a new viscometer, saving us trips to the undergraduate lab.
Last week also contained Green Research Workshop 2012, put on by Risk Management Services, the Sustainability Initiative and Supply Management. The Biodiesel Project came out and made contact with some lovely people. There were interesting and engaging talks about UBC’s new biomass heat and power plant, where UBC’s recycled plastics go, and more over the course of the day.
Particularly inspiring was Professor John Robinson’s keynote. Dr. Robinson is the Executive Director of UBC’s Sustainability Initiative. He spoke about universities’ unique ability to foster sustainable practices both on-campus and as agents of change in the larger community. He outlined UBC’s progress towards its greenhouse gas emissions goals, and noted how transformational it was to think of the entire university budget as a sustainability fund, rather than merely portioning out a fund for feel-good projects. I learned that the new biomass plant and the replacement of the campus steam system with a new hot-water system makes a substantial dent in the greenhouse gas emissions, and I was left inspired and proud to be a student at such a forward-thinking institution.
It’s a good workshop. Make sure you go next year!
(There might even be free lunch!)
PICS SFU/UBC Fall Lecture Series
Lecture #2: Climate policies for real-world politics
On Thursday, October 20, 2011 Dr. Kathryn Harrison, UBC and Dr. Mark Jaccard, SFU come together to discuss “Climate policies for real-world politics.” Reflect with Mark on critical questions, such as “What do you do when your government knowingly permits investments that prevent it from meeting its promises?” Consult with Kathryn on how the Canadian political system may need to change to address the new global climate reality.
What: “Climate policies for real-world politics” lecture
When: 5p to 7p on Thursday, October 20, 2011
Where: C680 – HSBC Hall, UBC Robson Square, 800 Robson Street
Register: www.picspubliclecture2.
(Note: Registration is encouraged but not required. By registering on Eventbrite you consent to information about you being stored on a server outside of Canada.)
Live Web Stream: www.pics.uvic.ca/