From food science to forestry, Carleton’s environmental science research projects are as diverse as they are plentiful, with over 20 projects currently taking place in labs across campus. The Charlatan sat down with three researchers to discuss what their work will bring to the fight against climate change.
Feasible eats
Carleton geography and environmental studies professor Patricia Ballamingie’s research is looking to lower carbon emissions and enhance sustainability of food productions, as well as the current levels of citizen engagement in food policy and governance.
Sustainable food production and distribution are essential to adapting to the adverse effects of the climate crisis, said Ballamingie. Her research found government policy—both foreign and local—will need to change in order to serve this function within and between countries.
“Food scarcity may become a point of conflict in the future, especially given the environmental stressors posed by climate change,” she said. “By building more diverse and resilient local food systems, we can protect ourselves somewhat.”
Ballamingie also emphasized the importance of collaborative work for success in climate-related research because climate research groups are more likely to be awarded regular research funding.
Natural disaster and disease
Carleton’s environmental research department is host to several prestigious research awardees, including George Semango, a 2019 Queen Elizabeth Scholarship (QES) recipient—an exchange opportunity given to high-achieving graduate students to conduct research in foreign labs.
Semango’s research has focused on diseases triggered and spread as a result of rapid climate change, as well as their impacts on small, farm-based economies.
“These events will affect the livelihoods of communities as their livestock will most likely not survive,” he said, referencing his research on diseases known to cause sudden livestock abortions in agriculture-based countries like Tanzania.
Semango added the QES scholarship broadened his understanding of climate change, driving him to act as an “advocate in sensitizing the community on the subject.”
Mattah Memuna Mawusi, one of 14 QES scholars who came to Carleton in 2019, is tackling risks and hazards caused by climate change-related natural disasters in her research. Her research looks at human-caused extreme weather events, such as coastal flooding as a result of rising sea levels.
Mawusi added she hopes to contribute to “the implementation of global and national disaster risk reduction policies at the local community levels.”
What’s in the water?
Jesse Vermaire, geography and environmental studies professor, said his research centres around human impacts on freshwater ecosystems.
Vermaire said he is concerned about the release of contaminants from sediment that has gone undisturbed for many years at the bottom of bodies of water, specifically Great Slave Lake in the Northwest Territories.
The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and the Canada Foundation for Innovation are among the major sources of funding for Vermaire’s research, as “private donors are seldom interested in algae,” he joked.
According to Vermaire, Canada has a “global responsibility towards climate research, especially being a leader in freshwater research,” which has encouraged his pursuit of the discipline.
“It’s not too late to mitigate the climate crisis,” he said.
Feature image by Marieta-Rita Osezua.
