Having served as Band Manager for the N’Quatqua Nation for fifteen years, Ernest Armann’s responsibilities have encompassed health, education, employment, and much more.

With all of the sustainability issues facing society today – poverty, depletion of natural resources and global warming, to name a few – it’s reassuring to know that UBC scientists are actively working on finding solutions to create a healthier world.

A UBC environmental economist says contrary to what most people think, international trade is actually good for the planet.

“According to our data, a one per cent increase in international trade intensity leads the typical province in Canada to reduce its toxic releases by about 1.8 per cent,” says Assoc. Prof. Carol McAusland, Canada Research Chair in Trade and Environment.

Ian Stuart, professor of supply chain management with UBC Okanagan's Faculty of Management, is working with the Okanagan Valley's wine industry to design and implement a business plan that reduces wineries' carbon footprint and saves them money by reusing wine bottles in the Valley.

Profitable gourmet chocolate and biodiversity conservation aren’t mutually exclusive, according to UBC graduate student Hannes Dempewolf.

And the World Bank agrees, to the tune of $200,000.

How do you improve farming operations while protecting biodiversity?

What caused two recent spikes in grain prices? Are we facing a global food crisis? Graduate students enrolled in the new Master of Food and Resource Economics (MFRE) at the Faculty of Land and Food Systems will probe these and other real world issues when the program launches this fall.

Almost everyone knows Pogo ‘Possum’s famous utterance from Earth Day, 1970. On contemplating the desecration of his beloved Okefenokee Swamp, Walt Kelly’s memorable cartoon-strip character sadly observed: “We have met the enemy and he is us.”

The world’s production of oil has peaked and is on its way down, meanwhile the awakening of new economies like China and India has deepened the thirst for the stuff. This is popularly referred to as the Peak Oil crisis.