LiveSmart BC Community Feature
New Director Leads Climate Collaboration
Dr. Thomas Pedersen wants the Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions (PICS) to be practical, and he’s in the position to make it happen.
Pedersen is the new director of the institute, which was established in March 2008 to unite B.C.’s climate researches.
“PICS will explore adaptation and mitigation not just from a science and engineering perspective but rather across the spectrum of human endeavor,” he said.
Research will address specific topics, such as questions around replanting the pine beetle decimated forests, and broad issues, such as the challenges around effecting changes in deeply entrenched human behaviours.
In addition to completing a strategic research plan and consulting with industry and government, PICS has numerous immediate education goals.
“We need to launch an education effort as soon as possible, which will include short courses for journalists that will cover the physics of climate change and projected impacts of ongoing human activity,” said Pedersen. “The idea here is that a journalist who understands basic climate physics will be less likely to be duped by the false talking points of the climate-change denial crowd.”
A website redesign and a climate change lecture tour will round out the outreach plans.
“We will hold a series of free public lectures in the heartland of B.C. that will include discussions not just of climate science but also carbon economics, technological advances and the remarkable positive economic potential that dealing with climate change offers.”
Before his appointment to PICS, Pedersen was dean of science at UVic, a position he has held since 2003. His previous positions include director of the School of Earth and Ocean Sciences at UVic and associate dean, research, for the Faculty of Graduate Studies at the University of British Columbia (UBC). He holds a degree in geology from UBC and a PhD in marine geochemistry from the University of Edinburgh.
“My work has contributed to mapping the past changes in the sea. These changes have been substantial and similar in scale to what we, as humans, are now directly imposing on the planet’s land and atmosphere,” said Pedersen. “Thus, my ongoing research fits well with the need both to understand climate change better, and to take the best possible steps for mitigation and adaptation.”
PICS is hosted and led by UVic in collaboration with UBC, Simon Fraser University and the University of Northern British Columbia.
Pedersen will assume his duties as PICS director on September 1, 2009.
For more information, visit the Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions.
