FAQ – The Blue Gold – How much is it worth to us? (Huft Mix)
We utilize it for washing and waste disposal, employ it for transportation, power generation and irrigation, use it for cooking and after all need it to live – water. Although it is essential for all life on our planet, we often forget that freshwater resources are limited and in short supply in many regions [...]
A new mother has just arrived her doctor’s office with a few questions…
Mrs. Chernos: Good afternoon Dr. Galway! How are you doing today?
Dr Galway: Oh I am just fine Mrs. Chernos, how are you and baby Carolyn doing?
FAQ – The Global Water Crisis (Lee Mix)
Cedric Citizen: Hi, my name is Cedric Citizen. I’m just an ordinary guy – I go to university, I work part-time, and I have fun with my friends. But lately, the courses I’ve been taking at school have been focusing on a lot of different global issues, straddling all kinds of different disciplines, [...]
The Science Behind Stem Cells and Stem Cell Research
What is a stem cell?
A stem cell is essentially a type of cell that all other cells in our body arise or “stem” from. There are essentially two major characteristics that make stem cells different from all other cells in [...]
The noise was deafening.
I found it difficult to believe that less than ten minutes ago I was sitting comfortably in my uncle’s SUV, chuckling at his light-humored joke, marveling at the East African savannah scenery that melted past us. Little did I know then that in moments [...]
Editors note – Over the next few months we will be bringing you some of the best FAQs from last year’s ASIC 200 class. They are a great way to get an introduction to many of the arts/science issues that our planet faces. Check back every Friday for a new one! [...]
Bananas are just a fruit, how are they considered a global issue?
Although bananas may only look like a fruit, they represent a wide variety of environmental, economic, social, and political problems. The banana trade symbolizes economic imperialism, injustices in the global trade market, and the globalization of the agricultural economy [1]. Bananas are [...]
IPCC FAQ PART DEUX (BURCH MIX): OR HOW TO CAPTURE THE CLIMATE CRAZE.
(Click here for the IPCC FAQ Part I)
Even those living under the oft-referenced proverbial rock would find it difficult these days to avoid the tempest of public opinion, news media attention, and political rhetoric swirling around the climate change issue. On the heels of Al Gore’s turn as an Oscar winner, and the [...]
FIRST PERSON TREE F.A.Q. (NEFF MIX) (OR IF TREES COULD TALK)
Q: So, Great Hemlock, you have been in this forest for a while, tell me what it was like back when you were a seedling.
A: Ooh, that was 300 years ago, let me think. I remember looking up to see if I could locate my parents. There were many trees that shaded me from [...]
ORGANIC FOODS F.A.Q. (MCLAUGHLIN MIX)
Given that you have the time and the internet access to be checking out this lovely website, dear reader, it’s a safe bet that you don’t have to think too hard about the food you eat. Grocery shopping is a simple chore. You just wander in to the local supermarket and load up. Even if [...]
Frequently contradictory evidence regarding the current state of knowledge about climate change, accompanied by sensationalized media reports and rhetoric-laden political battles have made climate change a shaky domain of miscommunication and continual powerplays for legitimacy. In the search for reputable, defensible science surrounding the problem of global climate change, governments, media, and scholars alike turn [...]
SOME THOUGHTS ON SAVING THE PLANET
There are 35000 undergraduate and 8000 graduate students at UBC-Vancouver, 4000 faculty members, and who knows how many staff. Together we can make a difference. Here are a couple suggestions to start off for the love of our planet:
1. GIVE UP VITAL FLUIDS
Don’t get the wrong idea. What I mean is coffee, [...]
CLIMATE CHANGE IN URBAN AREAS F.A.Q. (MOCCIA MIX)
What is an urban heat island?
For some time it has been known that temperatures in the city are higher than those of surrounding rural areas [Meyer, 1991]. Despite receiving equal amounts of solar energy, urban centres are often observed to be significantly warmer than nearby green areas with trees and vegetation. The massive [...]
CLIMATE CHANGE F.A.Q. (BANKS REMIX)
What is climate change?
Climate change is a term used to refer to pronounced long term fluctuations in global weather patterns. It is most often linked to global warming but can refer to a variety of drastic weather changes that are plaguing populations around the globe.
What is the root cause of climate change?
[...]
CLIMATE MODELING F.A.Q. (BANKS REMIX)
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released its third assessment report back in 2001. The report concluded that the panel of prominent scientists expected the earth’s average temperature to rise from anywhere between 1.4 to 5.8% by 2100. This is a significant conclusion, even at the lower level of the scale, not only for the [...]
CLIMATE CHANGE F.A.Q. (TATLAY REMIX)
1. CLIMATE CHANGE? HUH?
Climate Change is the measured long-term shift or change in the climate of a certain location, region, and on a larger scale…the whole planet. These changes are seen in weather, temperature, rainfall, humidity and various other ecological features of our biosphere and are caused by both natural and human factors. In [...]
BIODIVERSITY F.A.Q. (MCQUEEN REMIX)
What is biodiversity?
Derived from the word biological diversity, biodiversity was a term first coined in the mid 1980’s. Biodiversity generally represents the variation of life from ecological diversity to genetic diversity within a species, to the vast array and diversity of species observed and unobserved on the planet. Biodiversity has come to also [...]
HIV/AIDS F.A.Q. (RIVERS-BOWERMAN REMIX)
What is HIV/AIDS?
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks white blood cells known as T4 (CD4) lymphocytes . The function of the T4 cells is to determine if foreign matter such as bacteria or viruses has entered the human body . Upon interaction with a bacterial or viral cell, a T4 [...]
G.M.O. F.A.Q. (MEHRABADI REMIX)
What are genetically modified organisms (GMOs)?
GMOs are plants and animals which have been genetically altered under laboratory conditions by the insertion of genes from other organisms into their natural genetic makeup.
Why should I be concerned about GMOs?
To understand the debate surrounding GMOs, we must first understand the problems associated with the [...]
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Waiting for … the World or The Trouble with Consumerism
A One Act Tragicomedy based on the style and characters of Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot
- – -
A city street in Vancouver. No trees.
Dawn.
The near future.
Vladimir flat on the ground. Sleeping.
Estragon standing, teeth clenched, pressing buttons on his flip cell phone. Flips it open, flips it [...]