Chatting with Susan O'Sullivan in her yard, sitting surrounded by life, it is easy to recognize her as someone passionate about climate change and its implications.
O'Sullivan will be instructing a course this fall which is new to the Williams Lake campus of Thompson Rivers University (TRU): Introduction to Climate Change Science.
The course has been taught at the TRU campus in Kamloops for three years now, but this will be the first time it is offered in the Cariboo.
O'Sullivan said about 30 per cent of the course content will be the actual science behind our changing climate and the course will also examine the impacts globally as well as locally including on Indigenous communities.
"It's important for people to understand why," said O'Sullivan, of some of the changes we are seeing locally, from increased fires to droughts, and changes in local ecology.
She said while there are still a lot of misconceptions around climate change and the science behind it, she said many people are likely a bit afraid to really dig into the issue, possible related to the economic implications. A problem so big can be overwhelming or even depressing.
But O'Sullivan is someone not interested in hiding from the problem or sticking her head in the sand.
"Like every problem, it's better to understand it so you can address it," she said.
Plus, the course is not going to be all doom and gloom. She said there are plenty of positive stories to draw on from around the world where people are making a difference and showing what can be possible or problems people have solved which at one time might have seemed insurmountable.
Currently, O'Sullivan is reading Silent Spring, a book by Rachel Carson which was originally published back in 1962. The book sounded the alarm on the devastating environmental impacts the widespread use of highly toxic pesticides at the time. While O'Sullivan said the book is "depressing," it's also incredible to look at how changing the laws and eliminating the use of the chemicals causing the problem helped avoid what at the time looked like a possibly catastrophic future.
She said the course will help students apply critical thinking to some of the issues, including the issue of companies "greenwashing" by pretending to be more environmentally friendly or sustainable, but not doing what is really needed to address the problem.
"As a society, we need to make companies accountable and transparent," she said.
She said students will be able to read and discuss articles and they will be encouraged to look beyond the surface to see the real impacts or benefits of some products or services.
"It's a huge topic," she said.
And while it can all seem a bit daunting when it comes to climate change, she said the goal is to arm people with the facts.
"It's not about making people feel guilty, it's about making people feel comfortable talking about the issue," she said, noting she wants people to come from a place of knowledge, not ignorance.
Over the past 50 years, we have seen the predictions of climate scientists come true, and we need to learn to listen to what the science can teach us in order to keep the planet inhabitable for future generations.
"We all live on this Earth and it's pretty special."
The course will run Sept. through Dec. and would include a lab component. The course is a first year science course and is scheduled for Mondays and Wednesdays 4:30-5:30 p.m.
O'Sullivan has a masters degree in Environment and Management from Royal Roads University and for 30 years she worked with First Nations on behalf of government on natural resource management. She said one of the constant themes which arose during her work with Indigenous communities was why wasn't the government looking at the environment holistically.
She said the challenge is finding a balance between prosperity and stewardship.
