It was almost a year to the day that Jan Conadi provided a fascinating presentation on climate change to our Probus group.  On May 6 of this year we welcomed him back to speak to us about his research on the evolution of electric vehicles (EVs). It was one of the best attended presentations since…

On April 1st, Dr. Dave Coupland discussed the hospital bed capacity crisis and physician shortage at the Nanaimo Regional General Hospital. Dr. Dave Coupland, a Radiologist at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital, has been serving the Central Island since 1996. Dr. Coupland is also the President of the “Nanaimo Medical Staff Engagement Society,” established in September…

The Dirty Side of the Clothing Industry: Is Fast Fashion Sustainable? Our March 4th presenter, Dr. Marlea Clarke, from the University of Victoria, answers with a resounding “no, fast fashion is not sustainable.” Dr. Clarke’s extensive research background was evident in her candid review of the complex issues related to the garment industry. Today, most…

Our speaker on February 4 was Oliver Brandes, speaking about “The Future of Water Law and Policy”. What do you get when you cross an economist with a lawyer-by-training and a trans-disciplinarian by design? The answer: a Co-Director of the POLIS Project on Ecological Governance, based at the University of Victoria’s Centre for Global Studies.…

Our speaker on January 7 was Dr. Eike-Henner Kluge on the topic of “Physicians and the Pharmaceutical Industry”.  Dr. Kluge spoke to us about the close relationship between the pharmaceutical industry and physicians, with an emphasis on the distinct ethical obligations of each. From his perspective, as a professor specializing in applied biomedical ethics and…