The importance of international relations to Canadian scholars

Internationalism has many faces: political, economic, religious, academic, lifestyle. In our society, it is perceived most positively with respect to holidays and tourism, but it also receives substantial attention in fields of scholarly pursuit. In the broadest sense, the value of open exchanges of ideas and free debate are used to rationalize academic internationalism, but pragmatic rationale also supports an international perspective for the academic community. Source: The importance of international relations to Canadian scholars - ExpressNews - University of Alberta

Environmental economics of the circular economy

The concept of a circular economy, introduced by the late David Pearce in 1990, addresses the interlinkages of the four economic functions of the environment. The environment not only provides amenity values, in addition to being a resource base and a sink for economic activities, it is also a fundamental life-support system. Environmental economists have suggested that, taking these four functions as an analytical starting point, unpriced or underpriced services should be internalised in the economy. Source: SpringerLink - Journal Article

Organic food miles offset benefits, Canadian study

 A study from the University of Alberta has concluded that the environmental impact of food miles racked up by organic produce cancels out the benefits of growing it.

Source: Organic food miles offset benefits, Canadian study

The future of production systems in a globalized world

Human life is ultimately dependent on ecosystem services supplied by the biosphere, including agricultural production, flood control, and recreational opportunities. Over the past 50 years, humans have changed ecosystems more rapidly and more extensively than at any other time in human history, primarily to meet the growing need for provisioning ecosystem services such as food, freshwater, and timber (MA 2005). Cultivated systems now cover one-quarter of Earth's terrestrial surface (Hassan et al. 2005). The amount of water impounded behind dams has quadrupled since 1960 (MA 2005). Global production of wood has increased 60% in the past four decades, to a total of 3.1 billion cubic meters in 2005 (FAO 2006). Since 1960, flows of biologically available nitrogen (N) in terrestrial ecosystems have doubled, and flows of phosphorus (P) have tripled, largely due to efforts to increase food production through fertilization (Vitousek 1997; Bennett et al. 2001). Source: The future of production systems in a globalized world

Global Warming Alarms Infectious Disease Experts

Earth's rising temperature means trouble for health experts trying to fight infectious diseases, microbiologists said at a scientific meeting this week. "One of the first indicators of rising global temperatures could be malaria climbing mountains," said Dr. Stephen Morse of Columbia University. Source: Global Warming Alarms Infectious Disease Experts

In a green age, a perplexing disconnect

At a time when the colour of the decade is green and Canadians say concern about the environment is their top priority, universities that train the future stewards of the land and forests face a problem: steeply declining enrolments. Source: TheStar.com - News - In a green age, a perplexing disconnect