York University launches microlecture series in sustainable living
Author: Andrew Palamrchuk
York University hopes to inspire people worldwide to take "tangible sustainability-focused actions" after launching a free open-access microlecture series in sustainable living. The university said the series' "innovative format" allows anyone in less than an hour to learn from six of York’s world-renowned academic experts on a diverse range of topics. "Participants are then tasked with making positive, sustainability-focused changes in their daily lives based on tips from each professor," York said in a news release. According to the university, the six microlectures cover: how microplastics journey through and impact our ecosystems; the relationship between energy and economic growth; why the most vulnerable among us often face the highest flooding risks; the difference between a hazard and a disaster in context of emergency management; how colonialism has impacted the way disasters impact Indigenous communities; and why our lakes are rapidly warming. “These global challenges are critical inflection points in society and our response to them will irrevocably determine the future well-being of people and the planet,” York University president and vice-chancellor Rhonda Lenton said in the release. “At York, we recognize the importance of convening people and ideas for meaningful action, and this Microlecture Series in Sustainable Living is an example of that in practice.” York said that after completing the microlecture series, correctly answering test questions and committing to putting "learnings into practice, participants will be recognized with a first-of-its-kind Digital Badge in Sustainable Living, becoming ‘Sustainable Living Ambassadors.’"