Institute for Environmental Studies ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES SEMINARS (Abstracts for March 2 and March 9 seminars are below) ****************************************************** WEDNESDAY MARCH 2, 4:00 p.m. Room 2093, Earth Sciences Centre (Huron & Bancroft; Geology section of building; north of College St., east of Spadina Ave.) "POLLUTANTS WITHOUT BORDERS: GLOBAL ORGANIC CONTAMINANT TRANSPORT" (Abstract below) FRANK WANIA, Assistant Professor, Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences, University of Toronto at Scarborough No registration required; all are welcome. For more information, please contact Mona El-Haddad, Series Coordinator (416-978-6526; m.elhaddad@xxxxxxxxxxx) Please visit www.utoronto.ca/env/seminars.htm for abstracts and updates. ************************************************************************ ABSTRACT (Wed March 2): More than ten years ago, relatively high levels of persistent organic pollutants in polar regions, specifically the Canadian Arctic, were hypothesized to be caused by the processes of global fractionation and "cold condensation". Since then, numerical models of chemical fate and transport in the global environment have aided in gaining a quantitative understanding of these processes and of the controlling chemical and environmental characteristics. More recently, a continental scale network of passive air samplers in North America has allowed us to scrutinize both model results and our understanding of contaminant transport over long distances. This talk will explore how the combination of fate simulations and large scale distribution measurements can be used to gain mechanistic understanding of (i) the global fate of a highly mobile organic contaminant after world-wide elimination (alpha-HCH), (ii) the compositional shifts that contaminant mixtures undergo in the global environment (PCBs), and (iii) the long range atmospheric transport potential of various pesticide chemicals. In a forecasting mode, model calculations of an "Arctic Contamination Potential" can identify the attributes that make a chemical prone to reaching elevated levels in remote regions, and lead to a classification of organic chemicals based on four types of global transport behaviour. Future research will investigate other situations leading to contaminant amplification. ************************************************************************ **** REMAINING SEMINARS THIS TERM: WED MARCH 9, 2005, 4:00 p.m. BETH SAVAN, Director, University of Toronto Sustainability Office; Senior Lecturer, Innis College Environmental Studies Program, U of T "STUDENTS DRIVING SUSTAINABILITY: ENERGY CONSERVATION AND THE KYOTO PROTOCOL COME TO U OF T" (Co-hosted by the new U of T Sustainability Office) In the fall of 2004, the University of Toronto established a Sustainability Office dedicated to reducing energy use and greenhouse gas emissions on campus. During its first six months of operation, the Office has established a strong presence on campus and developed a draft plan for how to achieve significant energy savings. Enthusiastic undergraduate participation has led to a number of student-led behaviour change campaigns on campus. Several of these exciting initiatives will be described, and the draft Strategic Plan for the Office will be outlined, in the hope that audience members will contribute suggestions to strengthen the Plan and to help the Office meet its ambitious goals. For more details, please visit http://www.sustainability.utoronto.ca. WED MARCH 30, 2005, 4:00 p.m. CHARLES CACCIA, Former M.P. for Davenport and Minister of the Environment "Politics and the elusive goal of sustainable development" ______________________________________________________________________ Post your free ad now! http://personals.yahoo.ca