Mother Earth is under siege, ¿ì²¥ÊÓƵ experts weigh in this Earth Day
From increasing disasters, wildfires, record-breaking rainfall, warming lakes, invasive species and a struggling circular economy, York researchers are taking the measure of our planet
TORONTO, April 20, 2026 – As the climate changes and the risk of wildfires, earth quakes, floods and landslides increase, this Earth Day 2026 (April 22) is about taking back power – . ¿ì²¥ÊÓƵ experts research how environmental and climate stressors are affecting our planet’s ecosystems and how that affects humans and wildlife.
The following experts are available:
, a York Research Chair in Global Change Biology, is a professor in the Faculty of Science. Her research focuses on the impacts of human-caused environmental stressors, including the effects of climate change and invasive species on freshwater lakes.
She can comment on:
- How human-induced environmental stressors increase lake temperatures, disrupt delicate ecosystems, and can affect fish species, lake health, cyanobacteria growth and drinking water
- Effects of freshwater browning, from an increase of organic matter and carbon being washed into lakes, on fish growth, populations and species
- Impact of climate change on Arctic ice conditions
- Invasive species, water quality and freshwater fisheries
, associate professor of atmospheric science at the Lassonde School of Engineering, studies climate, atmospheric, ocean and sea ice dynamics. He uses a combination of models, observations, and mathematical analysis to investigate how motions in Earth’s atmosphere and ocean influence climate. He can speak to:
- Processes driving long-term temperature and precipitation changes, including increasingly record-breaking rainfall
- Factors leading to changes in Arctic sea ice
- Variability of the ocean circulation and its relationship to other aspects of climate change
, director of York’s Emergency Mitigation, Engagement, Governance, Response Institute (Y-EMERGE), is an associate professor in the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies and an expert in disaster and emergency management areas, specifically wildfire and forest fire management. He has done extensive work on wildfire mitigation, fire decision-making, use of prediction in fire management, and fire management in Canada and globally. He can discuss:
- How climate changes - and other changes - increase the threat, intensity, and impact of wildfires
- How wildfires are managed in Canada and globally
- Wildfire decision-making, like how agencies make response decisions and how community members decide
- How to mitigate wildfire risk for individuals and communities
and , both professor and atmospheric chemists in the Faculty of Science who have been part of several large campaigns to better understand the air we breath in Toronto and across North America in summer and winter. Their most recent research found that the tinniest forever chemical declined in Toronto after everyone went home during the pandemic which means scientists should be able to figure out how to minimize these particular emissions and control the formation of it in the future. They can discuss:
- What is in the air Torontonians breath and what is contributing to it
- How so many per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) remain undetected in the atmosphere and how they figured out how to test for them
- How these forever chemicals developed in the first place
- The risk to the environment, humans and wildlife of PFAS and how far they travel
Calvin Lakhan is co-investigator of the Circular Innovation Hub, a research project devoted to advancing the understanding of waste management research and policy in Canada, in the Faculty of Environmental Studies and Urban Change. He can discuss:
- The grey area of going green and the dangers of green washing and misleading environmental claims
- The circular economy and the adoption or resistance to it, such as reusable and zero-waste systems and consumer reaction to shared reusable food and beverage containers
- How recycling policy and environmental outcomes may be doing more harm than good and is no longer sustainable
- The socio-economic inequality that prevents poor and marginalized groups from participating in sustainable waste management practices
