Congratulations to our 2021 Graduates
As if completing your degree wasn’t high enough of an achievement, you have persevered through the most extraordinary added challenges of the global pandemic. You are sure to be the most resilient generation of young leaders going forward, we can’t wait to hear of where your talents take you next.
UBC Political Science student overcomes health issues to win Lieutenant Governor’s medal
Xi Yuan Pang recognized for her contributions to the promotion of democracy. This week, her efforts are being acknowledged as she is named the winner of the 2021 Lieutenant Governor’s Medal for Inclusion, Democracy and Reconciliation at her graduation ceremony on June 2.
Canada’s oldest oil and gas trade association to drop ‘oil’ from its name in bid to alter image
Prof. Kathryn Harrison noted several companies have removed the word “oil” from their name, using the term “energy” as a euphemism for oil while maintaining the company’s operations.
Prof. Yang-Yang Zhou named as a CIFAR-Azrieli Global Scholar
Dr. Zhou joins the Boundaries, Membership, and Belonging research program, which explores how to create and empower groups without falling back into ideas that produce pernicious divisions and hierarchies.
SpaceX, Amazon, and OneWeb’s mega-constellations risk huge collisions in games of ‘chicken’, Michael Byers warns
The constellation of satellites proposed by huge companies could deposit more aluminium into the Earth’s upper atmosphere, Michael Byers and Aaron Boley write in their report.
Prof. Kathryn Harrison notes BC’s carbon tax didn’t hurt the economy in The Tyee
“By now, we have a bunch of studies that have shown that it didn’t hurt British Columbia’s economy, it wasn’t regressive, which is often a concern, and it did reduce emissions below what they would have been otherwise,” said Kathryn Harrison.
COVID-19 tensions emerge in Japan as people are asked to stay home while Olympic Games deemed essential
Japan has done quite well with COVID-19 so far because of the rapid adoption of health instructions. However, the Olympics presents a challenge for the Suga government, notes UBC Political Science Prof. Yves Tiberghien.
What’s at stake in the runoff between leftist front-runner Pedro Castillo and right-wing, dynastic candidate Keiko Fujimori?
Maxwell Cameron and Paolo Sosa-Villagarcia write that a precarious or unpopular president facing an implacable but fragmented opposition in congress in Peru could undermine democracy.
Postdoctoral Fellow Amy Janzwood featured on Global Policy: Next Generation’s #scholarspotlight
Amy Janzwood discusses her book project on how broad-based social movements formed strategies that successfully frustrated pipeline development and new oil sands projects.
Prof. Gerald Baier weighs in on Canada’s unique challenge of representing vast and often sparsely populated rural ridings
To avoid allegations of political influence, Baier said “I’m sure the NDP will rely on the idea that they’re kind of giving the commission room (for independent decision-making) and hopefully they give the that commission room.”