PopSci McGill: Projects
PopSci McGill, RSN’s incubator club, aims to make research more engaging and accessible for McGill students. Discovering and understanding sustainability research is challenging, especially when the business of everyday life gets in the way. PopSci makes exploring environment-related topics easy and engaging by transforming research into digestible content you can understand — empowering you to connect with the science, spark impactful conversations, and inspire meaningful change.
To see PopSci’s full graphics, visit their website or Instagram!
March 2026
Literature authors: Yoshito Takasaki, Oliver T. Coomes & Christian Abizaid
Year published: 2024
Bridging knowledge systems is essential for the future of conservation. Indigenous and local knowledge is widely held by people across communities, regardless of age, gender, origin, or social status. These perspectives offer powerful insights into the relationship between humans and the natural world. When integrated with Western science, this knowledge can strengthen conservation and sustainability efforts to better inform policy and address global environmental challenges. Bridging diverse ways of knowing not only deepens scientific understanding but also promotes equity, legitimacy, and inclusion in environmental solutions.
Literature authors: Ben C. Howard, Simon Moulds, Brian E. Robinson, et al.
Year published: 2025
Climate change is disproportionately affecting billions of people living in informal settlements around the world due to increased severity and frequency of natural hazards. This study identified the four most important principles that act as solutions to this inequity, based on the idea of transformative adaptation. This can be accomplished through collaboration between communities, policymakers, and organizations to ensure equality in our systems, now and for the future.
FEBRUARY 2026
Literature authors: Jacqueline C. Bede and James D. Blande
Year published: 2025
Rising atmospheric CO2 is reshaping terrestrial food webs in ways we can’t ignore. Plants are becoming weaker and less nutritious, causing cascading effects up the food chain to the insects that depend on them. Slower development, disrupted pollinator reproduction, and declining populations are already being observed in insects—a serious concern given the importance of these species for ecosystem functioning and agriculture. Thus, emissions reductions are essential, not just to maintain the climate but to protect global food security.
Literature authors: Jill Baumgartner et al.
Year published: 2022
Wildfires are increasing in frequency and intensity amidst environmental change, and the impacts aren’t shared equally. Smoke from burning land releases pollutants and carcinogens that damage the lungs and heart, with communities of colour, children, the elderly, and outdoor workers bearing the brunt of these risks. This makes it more than just an environmental concern, but an issue of justice. Without stronger public health involvement and proactive fire planning, these impacts will only worsen, making now the time to take action!
Literature author: Amy Janzwood
Year published: 2020
Canada’s petroleum industry sits at the centre of a large tension between the country’s economic growth, environmental protection, and Indigenous rights. Pipeline expansion projects are often proposed, but many never make it past the planning stage. This research shows that project success or failure isn’t driven by a single barrier, such as regulation or legal risk, but by a combination of factors, including governance, political dynamics, and social opposition, all working together. Understanding how these forces interact helps explain where resistance matters most, and how social movements can more effectively challenge projects that threaten ecosystems, human justice, and long-term resource sustainability.
Literature authors: Jeffrey A. Cardille, Irene Gregory-Eaves, et al.
Year published: 2019
Climate change, pollution, and unequal water distribution are threatening water security, a critical issue impacting the most essential human resource. Lake dynamics, aquatic biodiversity, and human lives are all being impacted by these changes. This study, powered by the Lake Pulse initiative, surveyed lakes across Canada to predict future change and inform better water management strategies. By turning this scientific data into insight, this work aims to advise smarter policy creation focused on sustainable resource use to protect freshwater environments and resources, now and for the future.
JANUARY 2026
Literature authors: Madeleine Fol, Bruno Tremblay, Stephanie Pfirman, Robert Newton, Stephen Howell & Jean-François Lemieux.
Year published: 2025
Climate change is modifying the functioning of ecosystems around the planet, with impacts being felt every day both locally and globally. In the Arctic, global warming is thinning and fragmenting sea ice, allowing it to drift with the current into warmer waters where it rapidly melts. This loss of ice threatens Arctic ecology, endangering species like polar bears, seals, and walruses, which can trigger ripple effects throughout the entire web of life. Prioritizing climate change mitigation through reductions in fossil fuel emissions will be crucial to slow warming and protect these important, yet fragile environments.
Literature authors: Gabriel Leung, Melissa A. McKinney, Varoujan Yaylayan, and Stéphane Bayen
Year published: 2024
Human activities shape our environment in ways that deeply impact both ecosystem and human health. Flame retardants are added to many everyday products to reduce fire risk, but they often don’t remain locked in place. When these chemicals leach out into the environment, heat, light, and water can break them down into harmful compounds. These toxic byproducts have been found in our food and even in isolated, seemingly untouched habitats. Research links exposure to flame retardants to disruptions in thyroid, reproductive, and metabolic health, raising important questions about the safety of using these products that are designed to “protect” us. Increasing awareness and strengthening regulation is critical to protect the health of the public and of the ecosystems we depend on.
Literature authors: Daniela Yaffar, Laynara F. Lugli, et al.
Year published: 2024
Climate change is reshaping environments around the globe, with major implications for the adaptation of plant root systems in the tropics. This study highlights the essential role of roots in ecological communities, supporting flora and fauna and facilitating carbon cycling. However, rising heat and extreme weather have reduced plants’ ability to recover from shocks, causing declines in biomass and threatening ecosystem productivity. More research is needed to broaden our understanding of these systems in different contexts, in order to make real improvements in climate-change-related policymaking.