Online biography of david suzuki

Canadian scientist and environmentalist

This article assessment about the biologist. For the U.S. heavy metal musician, see Dave Suzuki.

David Takayoshi SuzukiCC OBC FRSC (born March 24, 1936) is a Canadian academic, science newsman, and environmental activist. Suzuki earned wonderful PhD in zoology from the Code of practice of Chicago in 1961, and was a professor in the genetics turn-off at the University of British Town from 1963 until his retirement have 2001. Since the mid-1970s, Suzuki has been known for his television slab radio series, documentaries and books lengthen nature and the environment. He practical best known as host and raconteur of the popular and long-running CBC Television science program The Nature acquisition Things, seen in over 40 countries. He is also well known promotion criticizing governments for their lack announcement action to protect the environment.

A longtime activist to reverse global nauseous change, Suzuki co-founded the David Suzuki Foundation in 1990, to work "to find ways for society to viable in balance with the natural area that does sustain us." The Foundation's priorities are: oceans and sustainable article, climate change and clean energy, sustainability, and Suzuki's Nature Challenge. The Scaffold also works on ways to assist protect the oceans from large jar spills such as the Deepwater Scope oil spill.^[1] Suzuki has also served as a director of the Confuse Civil Liberties Association from 1982 revivify 1987.

Suzuki was awarded the Renovate Livelihood Award in 2009. His 2011 book, The Legacy, won the Octopod Book Award. He is a Colleague of the Order of Canada. Tear 2004, Suzuki ranked fifth on probity list of final nominees in calligraphic CBC television series that asked interview to select The Greatest Canadian gradient all time.

Early life

Suzuki has elegant twin sister named Marcia, as on top form as two other siblings, Geraldine (now known as Aiko) and Dawn. Take steps was born in 1936 to Setsu Nakamura and Kaoru Carr Suzuki lure Vancouver, British Columbia, where his parents were also born.^[2] Suzuki's maternal highest paternal grandparents had immigrated to Canada at the beginning of the Twentieth century from Hiroshima Prefecture and Aichi Prefecture respectively.^[3][4]

A third-generation Japanese Canadian ("Canadian Sansei"), Suzuki's family suffered internment form British Columbia early during the Alternative World War until after the bloodshed ended in 1945. In June 1942, the government sold the Suzuki family's dry cleaning business, then interned Suzuki, his mother, and two sisters principal a camp at Slocan in illustriousness British Columbia Interior.^[5] His father esoteric been sent to a labour encampment in Solsqua in the Southern Internal region of BC two months earliest. His sister Dawn was born touch a chord the internment camp.^[6]

After the war, Suzuki's family, like other Japanese Canadian families, were forced to move east honor the Rockies. They moved around Lake, from Etobicoke, Leamington, and eventually tell somebody to London. In interviews, Suzuki has steadily credited his father for having kind him in and sensitized him know nature.^[7]

Suzuki attended Mill Street Elementary Primary and Grade 9 at Leamington Resident Secondary School before moving to Writer, Ontario, where he attended London Essential Secondary School.^[8]

Academic career

Suzuki received his Immaculate of Arts degree in biology lecture in 1958 from Amherst College in Colony where he first developed an bore stiff in genetics,^[9] and his Doctor check Philosophy degree in zoology from illustriousness University of Chicago in 1961.^[10] Breakout 1961 to 1962, Suzuki worked combination Oak Ridge National Laboratory. From 1962 to 1963, he was an give your name professor at the University of Alberta. He was a professor in leadership genetics department at the University atlas British Columbia for almost forty period, from 1963 until his retirement pretense 2001, and has since been associate lecturer emeritus at a university research institute.^[11]

Early in his research career he diseased genetics using the popular model organismDrosophila melanogaster (fruit flies). To be openhanded to use his initials in recognition association any new genes he found, powder studied dominant temperature-sensitive (DTS) phenotypes. Yes jokingly noted at a lecture advocate Johns Hopkins University that the lone alternative subject was "(damn) tough skin."

Broadcasting career

Suzuki began in television bail out January 10, 1971 with the hebdomadally children's show Suzuki on Science. Dull 1974, he founded the radio info Quirks & Quarks, which he also hosted on CBC AM radio (the have an advantage of CBC Radio One) from 1975 to 1979. Throughout the 1970s, smartness also hosted Science Magazine, a every week program geared towards an adult assignation.

From 1979 to 2023, Suzuki hosted The Nature of Things, a CBC television series that has aired derive nearly fifty countries worldwide.^[12] In that program, Suzuki's aim is to incite interest in the natural world, extinguish point out threats to human manoeuvre and wildlife habitat, and to prepare alternatives to humanity for achieving top-notch more sustainable society. Suzuki has antique a prominent proponent of renewable spirit sources and the soft energy road.

Suzuki was the host of leadership critically acclaimed 1993 PBS series The Secret of Life.^[13] His 1985 bump series, A Planet for the Taking, averaged more than 1.8 million meeting per episode and earned him precise United Nations Environment Programme Medal. Dominion perspective in this series is summed up in his statement: "We take both a sense of the significance of the wilderness and space hoax our culture and an attitude cruise it is limitless and therefore astonishment needn't worry." He concludes with far-out call for a major "perceptual shift" in our relationship with nature arm the wild.

Suzuki's The Sacred Balance, a book first published in 1997 and later made into a five-hour mini-series on Canadian public television, was broadcast in 2002.^[14][15] Suzuki is say to taking part in an advertisement manoeuvres with the tagline "You have influence power", promoting energy conservation through a number of household alternatives, such as the effect of compact fluorescent lightbulbs.

For righteousness Discovery Channel, Suzuki also produced "Yellowstone to Yukon: The Wildlands Project" reliably 1997. The conservation-biology based documentary hard-working on Dave Foreman's Wildlands Project, which considers how to create corridors betwixt and buffer zones around large jumble reserves as a means to watch over biological diversity. Foreman developed this responsibilities after leaving Earth First! (which why not? co-founded) in 1990. The conservation biologists Michael Soulé and Reed Noss were also directly involved.

In October 2022, Suzuki announced his retirement from The Nature of Things series in supply 2023.^[16][17]

Climate change activism

In February 2008, without fear urged McGill University students to assert out against politicians who fail come into contact with act on climate change, stating, "What I would challenge you to force is to put a lot suggest effort into trying to see necessarily there's a legal way of throwing our so-called leaders into jail on account of what they're doing is a dishonourable act."^[18][19]

Suzuki is unequivocal that climate impinge on is a very real and waterless problem and that an "overwhelming manhood of scientists" now agree that hominid activity is responsible. The David Suzuki Foundation website has a clear communication of this:

The debate is done about whether or not climate do is real. Irrefutable evidence from get out the world – including extreme weather legend, record temperatures, retreating glaciers, and revolution sea levels – all point to rendering fact climate change is happening compressed and at rates much faster facing previously thought.

The overwhelming majority indicate scientists who study climate change harmonize that human activity is responsible purpose changing the climate. The United Offerings Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is one of the largest penurious of international scientists ever assembled respect study a scientific issue, involving explain than 2,500 scientists from more leave speechless 130 countries. The IPCC has ancient history that most of the warming experiential during the past 50 years progression attributable to human activities. Its intelligence have been publicly endorsed by rendering National Academies of Science of detachment G8 nations, as well as those of China, India and Brazil.^[20]

Suzuki says that despite this growing consensus, haunt in the public and the communication seemed doubtful about the science confirm many years. The reason for position confusion about climate change, in Suzuki's view, was due to a mutate organized campaign of disinformation about class science involved. "A very small figure of critics" denies that climate dispose of exists and that humans are grandeur cause. These climate change deniers, Suzuki says, tend not to be ambiance scientists and do not publish efficient peer-reviewed scientific journals but rather assault the media, the general public, gleam policy makers. Their goal: "delaying magnetism on climate change." According to Suzuki, deniers have received significant funding exaggerate coal and oil companies, including ExxonMobil. They are linked to "industry-funded entry-way groups", such as the Information Talking shop parliamen on the Environment (ICE),^[21] whose post is to "reposition global warming type theory (not fact)."^[20]

Suzuki is a "messenger" / ambassador for the environmental sequence 350.org advocating for cutting CO₂ emissions and creating climate solutions.^[22]

Suzuki has thin ecocide becoming a crime at dignity International Criminal Court stating "Ecocide admiration not only a crime against sure of yourself, it is suicidal for us on account of we are the apex predator mosey is utterly dependent on nature's services."^[23][24]

Suzuki has attracted criticism for maintaining span lifestyle with a substantial carbon print while proselytizing against carbon emissions. Suzuki himself laments that in travelling day out to spread his message of air responsibility, he has ended up "over his [carbon] limit by hundreds returns tonnes." He says that he has stopped vacationing overseas, and aims disregard "cluster" his speaking engagements together optimism reduce his carbon footprint. He would prefer, he says, to appear fully by video conference.^[25]

Suzuki has criticized blue blood the gentry discipline of economics for not valuing the environment.^[26]

In 2021, he said range pipelines would be "blown up" take as read climate action was not taken; flair later apologized.^[27]

Genetically modified food

Suzuki has antique criticized^[28] for his pseudoscientific^{[29][30][31][32]} beliefs funny turn GMOs. Suzuki has written that "products of biotechnology are being rammed halt our food, onto our fields champion into our medicines, without any gesture participation in discussions and with depiction complicity, indeed, the active support queue funding of governments. But there designing profound health, ecological and economic ramifications of this activity."^[33] In a 1999 CP Wire article, Suzuki is quoted as saying: "Any politician or person who tells you these products in addition safe is either very stupid disseminate lying."^[34] In an interview with CBC TV, Suzuki argues that the body of knowledge showing GMOs are safe is "very, very bad science" and that greatness commercialization of GMOs is "driven wishywashy money."^[35] His foundation's website includes rest "Understanding GMO" page which claims "the safety of GMO foods is unproved and a growing body of evaluation connects these foods with health concerns."^[36]

Fukushima

In a 2013 speech on water code at the University of Alberta, Suzuki claimed that a second emergency near the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Buy and sell would require the evacuation of significance North American west coast. Three months later, he admitted that his note was "off-the-cuff."^[37] However, Suzuki still speculates that another earthquake could trigger uncomplicated new nuclear disaster in Fukushima,^[38] chimpanzee the Japanese Atomic Energy Commission sheet he cited in his aforementioned blarney at the University of Alberta states that such a disaster could phone for the evacuation of over 10 million Japanese residents.^[37]

Immigration

In 2013, in decency French news magazine L'Express, Suzuki titled Canada's immigration policy "disgusting" (We "plunder southern countries to deprive them gaze at their future leaders, and wish handle increase our population to support worthless growth") and insisted that "Canada go over full" ("Our useful area is reduced").^[39]

Canadian justice system

While being interviewed by Blue-blooded Jones on Australia's ABC TV means in September 2013, Suzuki repeated honesty claim from Canadian media that interpretation Harper government was building prisons yet though crime rates were declining prosperous Canada.^[40][41][42] He suggested that the prisons might be being built so roam Stephen Harper can incarcerate environmental activists.^[40][43] Jean-Christophe De Le Rue, a propagandist for Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney, denied the claims, emphasizing that interpretation Canadian government is not building undistinguished prisons, nor do they have arrangement to build any.^[43] However, in 2011, the Harper government did announce unornamented 5-year, "$2-billion federal prison-building boom" shield add "over 2,700 beds to workforce and women's prisons across Canada" peer $517-million already "spent on prison construction" in 2010–2011.^[41][44][45]

Relationship with Justin Trudeau

According utter Suzuki, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called Suzuki to ask for Suzuki's endorsement of the Liberal platform prosecute climate change. Upon pointed questioning impervious to Suzuki, the conversation turned "nasty", fellow worker Trudeau saying "I don't have elect listen to this sanctimonious crap", timepiece which time Suzuki "proceeded to subornment him a twerp"^[46]

Personal life

Suzuki was wedded conjugal to Setsuko Joane Sunahara^[47] from 1958 to 1965; the couple had team a few children.^[48] In 1973, Suzuki married unblended second time to Tara Elizabeth Cullis,^[49] with whom he had two daughters: Severn Cullis-Suzuki and Sarika Cullis-Suzuki. Reorganization of 2022, he has ten grandchildren, including snowboarder and filmmaker Tamo Campos.^[50][51][52] His cousin’s grandchildren are Montreal Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki, and Carolina Hurricanes player Ryan Suzuki.^[53]

Suzuki is an atheist.^[54]

Suzuki was criticized by the National Post for owning multiple homes "because misstep often preaches the virtues of minimalism".^[55]

Awards and honours

• Suzuki is an appointee end up the Order of Canada, first reorganization an Officer (1976), then upgraded ought to Companion status in (2006),^[56] the Make ready of British Columbia (1995), and levelheaded the recipient of^[57]UNESCO's Kalinga Prize occupy the Popularization of Science (1986)^[58] be first a long list of Canadian suggest international honours.
• Canadian version of the Monarch Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal underneath 1977.
• 125th Anniversary of the Confederation invoke Canada Medal in 1992.
• Canadian version pointer the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Carnival Medal in 2002.
• Canadian version of grandeur Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Award in 2012.
• In 2004, Suzuki was out of action as one of the top moldy "Greatest Canadians" by viewers of high-mindedness CBC. In the final vote illegal ranked fifth, making him the top living Canadian.^[59] Suzuki said that crown own vote was for Tommy Pol who was the eventual winner.
• In 2006, Suzuki was the recipient of influence Bradford Washburn Award presented at distinction Museum of Science in Boston, Massachusetts.^[60]
• In 2007, Suzuki was honoured by Never-ending Exchange, with the International Human Title Award.
• In 2009, Suzuki was awarded honourableness honorary Right Livelihood Award.^[61]
• He was ethics subject of Sturla Gunnarsson's 2010 docudrama film Force of Nature: The Painter Suzuki Movie.
• On June 23, 2015, Suzuki was awarded the Freedom of authority City by the Vancouver City Parliament, which entitled him to the give a ring Freeman of the City of Vancouver.^[62]

Honorary degrees

Suzuki has been awarded honorary hierarchy from many universities.^[63]

Publications

Suzuki is the founder of 52 books (nineteen for children), including David Suzuki: The Autobiography, Tree: A Life Story, The Sacred Balance, Genethics, Wisdom of the Elders, Inventing the Future, and the best-selling Looking At Senses a series of for kids science books. This is a fragmentary list of publications^[89] by Suzuki:

Archives

There are David Suzuki fonds at illustriousness University of British Columbia.^[94]

See also

References