Climate Change

Explore how plastics have become a hallmark of the Anthropocene – the period during which humans have had a substantial impact on our planet – and a permanent part of Earth’s geology. Researcher Veronica Di Cecco invites us to explore plastiglomerates – rocks that consist of sedimentary grains and other natural debris – all held together by plastic. Through this research, we can begin to understand the role that plastics now play in ecosystems around the world. Hosted by Soren Brothers, we take a closer look at the role of plastiglomerates in defining how human actions have permanently altered

Chronicling the momentous changes from the ongoing revitalization of Toronto’s Port Lands, artists Vid Ingelevics and Ryan Walker have spent years creating a photographic record of the changes in this corner of the city.

In this age of fast fashion, sustainability often takes a back seat to speed, as mass-market fashion retailers scramble to keep up with the latest trends, producing large quantities of inexpensive clothing, much of which often never sees a personal closet. Alexandra Palmer chats with two emerging fashion industry experts about how they view the fashion industry’s responsibility towards society and the environment, and their thoughts on the future of sustainable fashion. From the ethical concerns about textile manufacturing practices to the detrimental impact of rapidly accumulating discarded

The global fashion industry is worth more than $1.5 trillion dollars—about as much as the annual gross domestic product of Australia. Any industry that big has a substantial impact on planetary wellbeing and sustainability–and on the wellbeing of its workers. Textile workers around the world, the majority of them in Asia, are systematically underpaid and exposed to dangerous, exploitative working conditions—especially in the lowest-paid positions, which are predominantly occupied by women.

As a PhD student in Berlin, I studied two shallow lakes in the heart of Brandenburg forests. Although these lakes were similar in many ways, one of them had “flipped” at some point in the previous decades, from clear-water conditions with large submerged plants to a turbid state with only algae growing in it. Since the 1990s, scientists studying lakes have worked to understand how these “regime shifts” can happen—essentially, why such a sudden change occurs in a lake ecosystem once a critical threshold, or “tipping point,” has been crossed from human impacts (for instance, agricultural runoff). Arguably, the most important lesson has been that ecosystems can be strongly influenced by feedback loops. In the case of lakes, those large submerged plants need clear water to grow, but they also keep the water clear by stabilizing the mud at the bottom of the lake, taking up nutrients, and interacting with other organisms in the lake. At some point, if conditions get bad enough to kill those plants, a new series of feedbacks will kick in, making the lake more turbid and difficult to return to a clear-water state.

The day of the last coring of Crawford Lake was bitterly cold. A small crowd stood on the ice, which was almost half a metre thick. They braced against the chill as Monica Garvie, an Anishinaabe PhD candidate from northern Ontario, knelt beside a chainsaw-cut hole. She performed a ceremony and laid cedar branches on the site. “To care for the lake during an extractive process is just showing our respect and ensuring we’re maintaining a good relationship with the lake,” Garvie says. “For me, it was very meaningful to be able to be there and do ceremony.”

By age 15, Sarah Kamau was already a budding environmental activist. Her interest in climate change was first sparked by a geography teacher in high school. Soon after, she and her friends were yanking water hyacinth—an “invasive plant reviled for clogging rivers”—from Lake Victoria in Kenya. “Of course, we didn’t do much,” she recalls fondly. “But at least we did something.” Later, as a young woman at the University of Nairobi, she was swept up in the Green Belt Movement led by the Nobel Prize-winning Dr. Wangarĩ Muta Maatha. But the moment that truly galvanized her arrived in 2011, while she was working at the Dadaab Refugee Camp in Kenya.

Our current exhibition The Cloth That Changed the World: India’s Painted and Printed Cottons explores and celebrates handcrafted textiles made of cotton and natural dyes, known as “chintz.” Any thoughts of environmental damage or climate change may, at first blush, seem far away. In reality, small-scale farmers and craftspeople in India today face the same escalating challenges in making colourful cotton cloth as do industrial mills and manufacturers, precipitated by changing environmental conditions and an increased global demand for their goods. As a result, artisans and designers are compelled to be creative and develop innovative methods that promote sustainable cotton, colour, and design.

Join ROM’s Soren Brothers in conversation with Samantha Renshaw of Ocean Wise Seafood, as they explore the small but meaningful ways individuals can make a difference to the world’s marine environments. In a changing global climate, discover how each of us can make daily choices, like choosing sustainably harvested seafood, that help to support our oceans for future generations.

Drawing on her interdisciplinary research and personal stories, join climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe in conversation with ROM’s Soren Brothers as she makes the case for hope and healing as we face the greatest existential crisis in humanity’s history.

Experience how comedy bridges the gap between science and public audiences with ROM’s Soren Brothers and guest Rollie Williams. The creative force behind the hilarious and informative video series Climate Town, Rollie Williams and his ragtag team of climate communicators strive to create lasting change in a way that is accessible, relevant, and above all entertaining.

Join climate advocate Soren Brothers with Chris Turner (How to be a Climate Optimist) and Mary-Lou Zeitoun (Jamilah at the End of the World) as they explore the use of literature to engage with the impacts of climate change. Hear from the two authors as they discuss the use of their distinct literary formats to support multi-generational families and audiences, how each author chose their format, and what responses they have received from audiences.

What can we learn from our past that will help us prepare for the enormous changes caused by the climate crisis? Join us as curators from the Royal Ontario Museum Deepali Dewan, Kim Tait, Sarah Fee, Justin Jennings and Doug Currie share objects from the museum’s world-famous collections, discussing the relationship between human actions and the natural world. Listen in as ROM curators chat with Junior Fellows Laina Southgate, Jenna McKellips, Cam Galindo, Sandhya Mylabathula and Alumni Gurveer Bains about objects that mark periods of climate fluctuations and environmental change, and the

With the future of planet Earth at stake, ROM's Alexandra Palmer hosts fashion insider Sarah Jay on her work to encourage both industry and consumers to shift their behaviour toward more positive social and environmental impacts. As an advocate for sustainability, Sarah Jay's work encourages each of us to live and look better, for ourselves and for the planet.