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Risk management in the ecotourism tourism industry plays a major role in the success of a company. Managing risks is essential to a company's economic well being as well as their business model, and in the case of ecotourism, its ecological capital. Climate change is inevitable and the environmental events that occurred with less frequency in the past are now occurring more often. With the increased risks of climate change and the potential to affect profits and operations, the question arises as to how businesses are adapting to these risks. In managing the risks of climate change there is the potential to adapt and manage the variations or mitigate the severity. In applying risk management frameworks, there is the potential to manage climate change uncertainties. Implementing an exploratory study of Tofino, British Columbia and its sustainable ecotourism operators, this research examines the levels of consideration of climate change risks within these business operations.

The purpose of this research was to describe oilfield workers in the Moose Mountain Provincial Park area in southeastern Saskatchewan views on climate change. This qualitative study, inspired by Grounded Theory, utilized fifteen, semi-structured interviews to analyze participants’ perspectives and experiences. For this research, climate change means, “a change of climate which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity and which is in addition to natural climate variability” (IPCC, 2014). This study has three main findings. First, participants have robust “sense of place” attachment that fosters environmental stewardship toward the Moose Mountain area. Second, participants hold conflicted understandings of climate change that alternate between the adoption of climate skepticism and acceptance of scientific consensus regarding anthropogenic climate change. Finally, this study demonstrates the importance of engaging in conversations with oil workers to facilitate a pluralistic narrative and navigate multiple worldviews to create understanding of a controversial topic in Saskatchewan.

This study used a primarily qualitative, mixed methods approach to explore the use of guilt appeals in climate change communications. To ground the research, the study used a recent example of guilt in climate change communications that was first introduced in Ontario, Canada: Robert Shirkey’s climate change warning labels. Through a survey and focus groups, the following questions guided this study: how do people feel about guilt-based communications?; how do people feel about and respond to Robert Shirkey’s proposed climate change warning labels for fuel pumps?; and what, if any, recommendations would participants make to improve the labels and/or climate change communications? Findings reveal that participants are receptive to guilt appeals in climate change communications but highlight the need for communicators to take into account the following: responsibility, education, alternatives, and credibility. This study provides a list of recommendations to improve Shirkey’s labels and climate change communications as a whole.

Sharks, as top predators, are vital a healthy marine ecosystem. Sharks regulate species abundance, distribution, and diversity, which in turn can impact the health of marine habitats. The biggest issue relating to the endangered status of many shark species is the unsustainable international trade in shark fins, used as a delicacy in shark fin soup. Ecotourism is one strategy that can help foster conservation, increase protection, and educate the public about sharks. Shark ecotourism can provide a range of education and conservation benefits for visitors, foremost education about human threats to sharks. This study examines the role of dive operators and guides in Playa del Carmen, Mexico in regards to shark conservation education. This study will help to develop a pre-dive instructional process that will better inform tourists and the diving industry. Furthermore, this process can lead to improved strategies for shark education and conservation that can be applied globally.

This text/video thesis investigates how Canadian fathers feel about the threat of losing pond hockey, a revered game they love, to climate change. It responds to the David Suzuki Foundation’s (DSF) assertion that under a global ‘business as usual’ rate of producing greenhouse gases, the skating season of the world’s largest ‘rink’--the Rideau Canal--would shrink from a nine week historical average to just one week by century’s end (DSF, 2009a). Seven outdoor-hockey-loving fathers were interviewed, which revealed their willingness to share feelings of concern, sadness, fear, uncertainty, and need for action to mitigate against and adapt to the ill-effects of climate change on this game, and more serious social situations. Despite concerns it was revealed they took few substantial actions against climate change, which they recognized might affect themselves, their children, communities, and future generations. Conversation, at times nostalgic, helped make these issues more salient.

Hotels are not just places where people sleep or eat; they can provide unique cultural opportunities and community experiences, and at the same time contribute to enhancing the local communities in which they are embedded. Hotels are also subject to prevailing social values and cultural shifts. Two such significant shifts now occurring are the growth of the leisure class and the demand from customers to provide greener alternatives. These shifts are challenging hoteliers to come up with ways to increase the sustainability of their operations and, ideally, as part of sustainable development, also contribute to the communities in which they are embedded. This research explores the role of sustainable hospitality and addresses the question: To what extent do hotel leaders integrate concepts of sustainability into their strategic planning process? A sustainable community development definition comprised of four conditions (scale, limits, place, and diversity) was used to guide the research and analyze findings. A multiple case-study approach was adopted. Research methods included semi-structured interviews and the use of visual explorer, a research tool where a set of images is used to support collaborative and creative conversations as well as background documentation. Three hotels in western Canada were studied. Due to the sensitive nature of the information disclosed by interviewees, hotel names, locations, and chain affiliation have been kept confidential. Research findings demonstrated that understandings of hotel sustainability were generally shallow as was the integration of sustainability initiatives into the case study strategic plans. A sustainable community development lens adapted from the scholarship of Dale, Ling, and Newman (2004 to 2015) was uniquely developed for hotel sustainability and a model subsequently derived from the case study data. This model, which integrates planning strategy imperatives with sustainability imperatives (ecological, social and economic) focuses on investment, innovation, sense of place, social capital, and leadership. Recommendations, both for practice and future applied research, include the development and implementation of a sustainability training and leadership development education program for hoteliers and the development of indicators based on the four conditions of sustainable community development (scale, limits, place, and diversity) to inform the greater understanding and implementation, as well as evaluate the sustainability of hotel organizations.

Climate change is an increasing concern to the biological health of marine ecosystems as evidenced by exacerbating change to the natural variability in physical and chemical oceanographic conditions. As upper trophic level predators, colonial seabirds are useful indicators to assess long-term trends and changes in oceanographic conditions on various spatial and temporal scales. This study assessed factors that affect the reproductive performance of Ancient Murrelet, a planktivorous seabird, on East Limestone Island, Haida Gwaii. The results of this study reveal that the abundance of at-sea prey is influenced by the temporal variation in oceanographic conditions around Haida Gwaii, further contributing to the growing body of evidence of the impacts of climate change as prey abundance is correlated with the reproductive performance of Ancient Murrelet. If oceanographic change is occurring at a faster rate than Ancient Murrelet or their prey can adapt, further population declines of this seabird are inevitable.

Young people’s futures are largely affected by society’s capacity and willingness to take action on climate change, reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and adapt to a different climate reality. Young people are necessary collaborators and partners in solution design and decision-making, and should not be relegated to the margins. It is equally important that they are supported in enacting climate initiatives that educate, engage and encourage other young people – as well as adults – to become agents of change. Under the guise of “transformative climate change action,” this study explores motivations among young people to move from concerned observer to informed actor, and provides insight into the mechanisms and processes that contribute to the shift. These initiatives are meant to foster innovations and behavioral shifts, as well as challenge existing systems and demonstrate what transformative climate action is, conceptually and practically, on a local level in the specific context of Southern Alberta, Canada.

This project investigated membrane introduction mass spectrometry (MIMS) as a real time (on-line) analytical monitoring technique for nitrous oxide gas emissions from processes within a full-scale biological nutrient removal wastewater treatment plant. Experiments have shown that treatment processes including nitrification (aerobic - ammonia to nitrate) and denitrification (anoxic - nitrate to nitrogen gas) can become disrupted resulting in unintended nitrous oxide emissions (N2O). A limited number of studies have been conducted that monitor real time N2O emissions from full-scale treatment bioreactors and there remains significant uncertainty in true emissions. Two real time monitoring experiments (22 hours each) are shown where MIMS was able to track nitrous oxide emissions from the aerobic and anoxic zones of the bioreactor. Concentrations were calculated from response factors obtained using internal standard. Estimated quantities of nitrous oxide emissions under various scenarios and recommendations for future investigations are also provided.

This study explored the current opinions of Chinese citizens on environmental sustainability in China, while inquiring about the role of the Chinese government in shaping public consciousness on environmentalism. This case study was a qualitative analysis that was informed by both grounded theory and ethnographic content analysis (ECA) conducted through fifteen open-ended interviews with Chinese citizens and content analysis of government documents and media coverage that pertain to environmentalism. During the data collection and analysis process, the researcher considered the cultural landscape of China and reflected on how the media, Chinese spirituality, and communication patterns affect the conceptualization of environmentalism by citizens. This research found that public awareness of environmental sustainability is influenced by a social hierarchy of needs, philosophical legacies, allegiance to authority, and China‟s global position. Consequently, this research uncovered the importance of cultivating cultural awareness when non-Chinese citizens approach the topic of environmentalism in China. Keywords: Chinese Government, Environmentalism, Public Opinion, Grounded Theory