As a Senior Instructor in the Department of Earth Ocean and Atmospheric Science, with a research background reconstructing past climate change, Tara connects Environmental Science students with the broader community through community service learning projects.
Q. What is the current state of the natural environment, and what do you think is the most promising solution for helping Canada reach its climate goals?
Humans are currently imposing a heavy burden on the natural environment. We are over consuming natural resources and generating more waste than the natural systems of the planet can deal with.
The critical action right now is to end our reliance on fossil fuel energy. A strong price on carbon - through a carbon tax system- would be a very effective way to make this happen quickly and systemically. As a resource rich country we need to establish limits on our extractive industries and actively fund research and development into renewable, non-polluting energy sources.
Q. What’s a common misconception about climate science or your area of research?
Probably the biggest one is still that the science of climate change is contested. In fact, there is a strong consensus in the climate science community that humans are the main driver of the climate change that we are witnessing today.
There are also many misconceptions about the greenhouse effect and how it works and that the ozone hole and climate change are related - they are not.
In regards to greenhouse gases, they do not absorb radiation from the sun. Solar radiation warms the Earth’s surface but because the Earth has a temperature, it also radiates. This radiation from the Earth is absorbed by greenhouse gases in the atmosphere which re-emit radiation in all directions, including back down to the surface of the Earth.
The more greenhouse gases there are in the atmosphere, the more of Earth’s radiation that is absorbed and re-emitted before it escapes to space. Some of the re-emitted radiation from the atmosphere reaches and warms the Earth’s surface.
The temperature of the Earth will continue to rise until a new balance is achieved between the incoming radiation reaching the surface of the Earth and the radiation that escapes from the top of the Earth’s atmosphere.
Q. Can you tell us a little bit about the role students play in addressing sustainability?
Students are vital for a university. The university will respond to students if students can articulate a clear, consistent message. Students can also push boundaries, reject the current paradigm and think creatively about alternatives.
In environmental science, we pair student teams with a community organization to work on a project for a full academic winter term. It isn’t usually the project outcomes that are necessarily important but rather how students tackle the problem, how creative they are in thinking about the issue at hand, how they perceive of and use evidence, deal with uncertainty and engage with and contribute to the partner organization in a meaningful way.
In many cases the students and partners have to discuss preconceived ideas that are not supported by the study results. This is critical to sustainability.
Q. What’s next for your research?
I am currently interested in evaluating the impact of teaching students science and sustainability through hands-on experiential learning. I am working on quantifying the impact of community projects and team project assignments on student learning.
Q. What is one change that individuals can make to help contribute to a more sustainable future?
Vote for people who are willing to take action on climate change. Do not vote for them again if they do not follow through.