March 2009

Achieving a CO2-Neutral Project Balance - The Spectacular Renewable Energy Project - First Drive Around the World on Wheels - Using Renewable Resources - Around the World Without a Trace - will arrive in Montreal around May 21st.

Read more about this fantastic journey here.

This is one of the greatest challenges since the invention of the automobile and has yet to be successfully accomplished by anyone.

To promote worldwide CO2-neutrality, the use of renewable energies as well as energy efficiency, an international team will set out to drive around the world over land exclusively by car for the first time ever, following in the traces of early human migration.

Accompanied by a banner exhibition on the above mentioned topics the historic tour will lead this team across Europe, Russia, Mongolia, Alaska, Canada and the USA, crossing 20 countries in total. It is the objective to put the focus on the individual activities to minimize the CO2-emissions of each country, our partners and our project by achieving a maximum public awareness.

Get a copy of your own brochure. Transcontinental Rally 2009

The results of the election are being presented at the Global Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen 2009. Unlike any election in history, it is not about what country you're from, but instead, what planet. VOTE EARTH!

More information about the day can be obtained here.

If you wish to sign up as a volunteer, please do so by sending danielle.lefebvre [at] mcgill.ca (Danielle Lefebvre) an email by April 14.

The event will start and end at Centennial Park and families/individuals can participate as a team or individually. There will be different routes around Beaconsfield designed for those who want to cycle, rollerblade, or walk. There will be information kiosques related to the protection of the environment, snacks, entertainment and raffle prizes throughout the day at Centennial Park.

The goal of the event will be:

- Discover Beaconsfield on bike/rollerblades/foot
- Encourage other means of transport over the car
- Discover how to access the north south route via the footpath
- Learn Environmental facts by answering questions along the route or demonstrations/activities along the route.
- Have fun!

Schedule for the Day – Sunday, April 19th
Registration: 12:00 – 1:00 pm
Departure: 1:00 pm (Family Friendly /Big Rollers/Tricky Trail)
Progressive returns from 2 - 3 pm
Prizes, information and entertainment, from 3:00 pm – 4:00pm

Each participant will get a passport which will describe the route. One can choose from 3 different routes, which start and end at Centennial Park. There will be checkpoints along the way, where participants will carry out fun environmental activities, get their passport stamped, as well as quizzes to answer and things to look for along the way.

Café Juicy Lotus will sell snacks, as well, there will be some environmental information kiosques set up during the day. As participants return over the period of the afternoon they will be entertained by an acrobatic cyclist. There will be lots of raffle prizes drawn at the end of the afternoon.

We will need volunteers to help out on the day at the checkpoints on each route. The route designs are still in progress. However, we expect approximately 9 checkpoints for all 3 routes, which will require 2 volunteers per checkpoint. Volunteers will carry out the activities with participants at each checkpoint and stamp participants' passports before they leave. Volunteers will return to Centennial Hall after the last participant leaves their checkpoints. Radios will be provided to communicate between checkpoints and the base at Centennial. It is preferred that volunteers bike from Centennial (starting point) to their assigned checkpoint.

Volunteers should arrive at 11:00am so they can receive their instructions and get to their checkpoints by 1:00pm.

We hope you can find some time on Sunday, April 19th, to help out the BEAC volunteers and celebrate Earth Day.

For more information call:
Kate Coulter, City Councilor, Chair of the BEAC 514-825-4501 or David Kallant, BEAC member

The McGill School of Environment recognizes the contributions of our Teaching Assistants (TA) through our Award for Teaching Assistant Excellence. This award is given to an outstanding TA who has helped students in an effective and stimulating manner or has excelled in the quality of feedback during marking of written work and oral presentations.

Nominations will be accepted for TAs of any ENVR course. The name of the recipient will be announced in May of each year. Recipients will receive a letter of commendation along with a cheque of $200.

Print out a nomination form MSE TA Award of Excellence Nomination Form [.pdf], scan and save it, and then danielle.lefebvre [at] mcgill.ca (Email my MSE TA Award Nomination to Danielle) .

Or, you can print it out and fax it to Danielle Lefebvre at (514)398-7846, or send it in the McGill internal mail system to:

Danielle Lefebvre
Administrative & Student Affairs Coordinator
MSE TA Award Nomination
McGill School of Environment, Rowles House
21,111 Lakeshore Rd.
Ste-Anne de Bellevue, QC H9X 3V9

MOYSE TRAVELLING SCHOLARSHIP - FACULTY OF ARTS

Founded by the late Right Honourable Lord Atholstan, to commemorate the "splendid services of Dr. Charles E. Moyse, for forty-two years Professor of English, during sixteen of which he was Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Vice-Principal of the University." Two scholarships, tenable for one year, are to be awarded. One scholarship will be awarded for distinction by the Faculty of Arts and the other for distinction by the Faculty of Science. The values for each Faculty will be $11,000. If there is no winner in one of these faculties, both scholarships may be awarded to applicants in the other faculty.

Although this is highly unlikely, in the absence of applicants of sufficient merit in either of the faculties, applications from final year students in other undergraduate faculties, or from graduate students may be considered.

Holders must devote the year of tenure to advanced study, preferably in a British or European university, but not to the exclusion of other institutions approved by the Faculty of Arts or the Faculty of Science.

Letters of application, whether from graduate or from students in the final year of the undergraduate courses, should reach the Dean of the Faculty of Arts (c/o Susan Sharpe, Arts Building, room 110) no later than April 1st, 2009.

Applications should be accompanied by:

- the names of two referees who are familiar with the applicant's work *, who have been asked by the applicant to write to the Dean (c/o Susan Sharpe, Arts Building, room 110) on the applicant's behalf;

* The letters should stress the academic and scholarly qualities that make the individual applicant outstanding in comparison with other students.

- the letters of reference themselves (it is the applicant's responsibility to have letters of reference in place to complete the file);
- a detailed and comprehensive statement of the applicant's proposed course of study; the institution or centre at which he, or she, proposes to study;
- a statement of the applicant's age and nationality;
- an official McGill Transcript if the applicant is not in the current graduating class;
- a statement indicating other sources of graduate funding acquired or are possibly available to the applicant.

**Please include your contact information (e-mail address, telephone number and mailing address)**

STUDENTS SHOULD ONLY APPLY IF THEIR CGPA IS 3.50 OR HIGHER AND ONLY IF THEY ARE AVAILABLE FOR AN INTERVIEW SOME TIME IN MAY (ASSUMING THEY QUALIFY FOR THE SHORT LIST OF CANDIDATES).

Dwindling resources. Massive population shifts. Spreading epidemics. Rising sea levels. Plummeting agricultural yields. These are some of the expected consequences of runaway climate change in the decades ahead, and any of them could tip the world towards conflict. Gwynne Dyer examines these issues and more in his book – Climate Wars.

Holly Dressel, with co-author David Suzuki, wrote the best-selling novel Good News For a Change. We all know the bad news; the damage that our industrial lifestyle is wreaking on our soil, air, and water. The good news is that many of the technologies necessary to realize our goals are already available. Holly Dressel will deepen the analysis with a discussion of the potential solutions within our grasp.

Professor Frédéric Mégret, is currently the Canada Research Chair on the Law of Human Rights and Legal Pluralism and has worked for the International Committee of the Red Cross. His will provide insight into the human rights challenge presented by climate change.

Talk: Climate Wars: Meeting the Challenge
Monday, March 30th, 5:00-7:00 pm
Moot Court of New Chancellor Day Hall (at the McGill Faculty of Law)

MSE in Sustainable Housing Bid
by Jonathan Bruderlein and Isabelle Larocque

As their ENVR-401 research project, a group of seven MSE undergraduate students took part in a multi-disciplinary effort to take housing in a new direction. "A house is not just a home. If designed intelligently, a house can be the enabling backbone that supports a household's needs for shelter, mobility, and food solely through a reliance on solar energy and without any associated GHG emissions." (Sevag Pogharian Design 2008.)

In 2007 the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) launched the Equilibrium initiative. Under this initiative, 12 architectural firms were selected to construct demonstration NetZero Energy Houses. A netzero house in one that produces as much energy as it consumes in any 12 month period, thus making it "net-zero" energy. This is done using an array of solar and geothermal technologies combined by intelligent systems integration. Architect Sevag Pogharian is building a grid-tied single family house in Hudson, QC.

As if the netzero energy criteria were not all ready challenging enough, Sevag Pogharian chose to take the Alsonvale netzero project even further towards a NetZero Energy Lifestyle. Having already accounted for the energy directly used by the house, Sevag looked to the next big energy consumer for Canadian households: Transportation and Food.

The MSE team collaborated with Sevag Pogharian to help integrate homescale agriculture into his project. The task set before these seven students was to investigate exactly what proportion of a family of four's diet could be produced on site at the Alstonvale Netzero house. Working within the constraints of municipal regulations, available area, and nutritional requirements the students developed a garden plan using a biological approach to gardening. This involved planning the garden layout and planting schedule, estimating crop yields using harvest data from a local organic CSA farm, and comparing the estimated nutritional value of the food produced to the recommended dietary requirements.

Representatives of the group also attended a "Design Charrette." This was an Intensive Day-Long Brainstorm regarding the design of the greenhouse that will be build at the site to extend the growing season. People from many different fields were involved in this "Charette" including engineers, gardeners, lighting specialists, the designers of the well-known Brace Center greenhouse, etc. Each participant gave a presentation about their expertise and explained how this was relevant to a net zero greenhouse. Representatives of the MSE team presented the garden plan. The professionalism of the presentation and work was very appreciated by the participants.

In the afternoon, the group was split in two: One group of engineers and the other of gardeners. The energy in the room was intense and brains were burning! After an hour or so, each group presented its work and the important points that should be considered when designing the greenhouse. Very interesting conversations and exchanges of knowledge took place during this period. This synthesis of ideas provided a framework to guide Sevag Pogharian in the construction of the greenhouse.