Story written by Katie May, Assistant Editor, for the Dalhousie Gazette, March 22 2007
Zoë Caron had no idea a leisurely study session at the library would lead to an exclusive book deal and author partnership with Green Party leader Elizabeth May.
The fourth-year Dalhousie environmental science and international development student was casually researching books about climate change in January 2006 and wondered if there was one “For Dummies.”
Discovering no such book existed, Caron began calling and e-mailing the company that owns the “For Dummies” logo, Wiley Publishing, Inc.
And when the publisher’s plans to have David Suzuki pen the guide fell through, Caron, the Atlantic coordinator for the Sierra Youth Coalition of Canada, volunteered to write it.
Several months later, the company offered her a full contract.
“I don’t know how it really happened,” she laughs. “They called me, probably thinking I was a lot more important than I was.”
Caron enlisted the help of May, former executive director of the Sierra Club, an environmental advocacy organization. The pair expects to finish the global warming information guide this summer.
Caron and May became close friends when the politician worked as a supervisor in Dal’s health science department. They attended a United Nations conference in Montreal two years ago, when May got involved with Caron’s sustainability projects on campus.
May says writing with Caron is a more collaborative process than some of her other co-author efforts have been.
“It’s an excellent partnership,” she says. “When the book is published, I don’t think either of us will know who wrote what.”
Caron brings creativity to the task and their different writing styles complement each other, says May.
“Her enthusiasm is contagious,” she says. “It’s fun working together.” 
Caron was born in Procter, B.C., a small town with a population of 400. She became interested in the environment in August 2005 when she attended a climate change conference and first met May.
From there, she participated in climate change presentations throughout Canada, all of which fuelled her passion for the environment.
“It’s connected to absolutely everything,” she says. “I think it’s the grandiose nature of it that attracts me, the fact that everything we use and everything we do depends on the strength and the health of the natural environment.”
Since then, Caron has been actively involved with environmental projects at Dal.
Two years ago, she co-founded the Dalhousie Integrated Sustainability Initiative, a student society that aims to make the campus more environmentally friendly by recommending green policies and infrastructure changes.
As part of her Sierra Youth position, Caron also travels to schools across the Atlantic provinces to teach students how to make their own campuses more sustainable.
Caron’s environmental knowledge, coupled with her enthusiastic drive to change things, resonates with her colleagues.
David Wheeler, dean of management, met Caron last September when he became her thesis advisor. He says her final research project, which will investigate sustainable paper use at Dal, shows her innovation and foresight.
“[Caron’s] a force of nature, really,” says Wheeler. “She’s clearly going to do amazing things. She’s exactly the kind of student that signals where Dalhousie is headed as an institution.”
Environmental science professor Tarah Wright is working with Caron on her thesis and has served on the senate environmental committee with her for three years.
Wright says she was impressed with Caron’s “collegial” leadership skills when, as one of the only students on the committee, she volunteered to direct a meeting full of professors and university officials.
“People respect her and her opinion on all levels,” Wright says. “It’s rare that we get a student who is inspirational to students and faculty.”
In spite of her many duties as a student, writer and environmentalist, Caron says she doesn’t find the projects difficult to balance.
“Everything I do in my studies really helps the work that I do with other youth leaders. I try to direct my studies towards what I’m doing,” she says. “I never feel like I’m doing schoolwork or working or writing. I feel like I’m just living life everyday.”
After she graduates this year, Caron plans to work at environmental agencies in Canada and South America and gain experience at government organizations before returning to school for a master’s degree.
“There’s a lot of different avenues that I feel like I need to really have more experience in and understand myself a little bit more before I can move on with my studies,” she says. “At this point, I feel like I could go in a number of different directions.”
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You are the bomb! I can’t believe you nailed the book deal just by calling. Take that David Suzuki! I’m totally inspired.
I’m gonna call the discovery channel and ask them if anyone is doing the story on “people who want to go surfing in Hawaii before climate change wipes out the beaches” and see if they’ll send me there.
I’m so proud of you Zoe!!! You are an inspiration to all of us, If I manage to accomplish half of what you already have in my life, I’ll consider myself lucky! Talk to you soon!
Dearest 2 of my 3 favourite Joshes (Lynch!! Get on it!)….
You’re too sweet.
Tulkin - It was a little more complicated than just calling haha but yeah.
And let me know if the Discover Channel plan comes through - Tell them I need to do a chapter on that for the book.
xo
I can already smell a follow-up book ‘Stopping Climate Change for Dummies’. Congrats.
Zoe you’re my hero!! congrats!
my dear zoe, always inspiring and impressive.
i demand a signed copy!!
keep up the good work
maybe we can release it in bali?!?!?
Arthur - The book is actually very much focused on solutions!! about 40% of it is on the science and understanding the problem. The other 60% is on SOLUTIONS!!! Because it always is frustrating to read all the climate books that are out there, only to find 20 pages of solutions at the back - in comparison to the 300 depressing pages you just read on the problem!
Juanpa, my love - I don’t think I will be in Bali… I will be in South America… Unless someone sends me… I’ll work on it, esp. since this one is so important!! aaaah.
Liz - what a coincidence! You’re my hero!
xoxo
Dearest Zoe,
You are amazing and you daily inspire me. I was thrilled to see this post and I can’t wait to get the book!!!! Keep doing your amazing work but remember to step back and breathe. I try to remember that.
Lilith- thank you so much for getting the news out!
Love,
Shadia
Zoe:
Why am I not surprised to hear about this? I have come to expect this steady stream of exceptional and consequential things from the big Z. You push these wonderful things so fast, it keeps everyone running to keep up - thats exactly what we should be doing about this problem, running full tilt.
cheers
adam
Thanks Adam - I’m glad we’re doing it together!
Local environmentalist among Vanity Fair stars
BY SKANA GEE
The Daily News
A local environmental activist is rubbing shoulders with the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Alanis Morissette in the current issue of Vanity Fair.
Zoë Caron, Atlantic co-ordinator for Sustainable Campuses with the Sierra Youth Coalition, appears in the May edition - the mag’s second annual Green Issue - which recently hit newstands.
“I think it’s incredible,” the Dalhousie University student told The Daily News yesterday.
“I think having a mainstream magazine focusing on environmental issues is really great. It reaches a whole other population.”
Caron, 21, was in Washington, D.C., in January for a Campus Climate Change staff meeting when the 35 members on hand were asked to pose for the group photo - the very next day.
“We have been really successful on campuses in the last year and a half - it’s exploded,” she said of the attention the movement has obviously garnered. “I think this program is really fun and inspiring and actually creates change on campus.”
The group of youthful environmentalists - including fellow Canuck Anjali Helferty of Ottawa - were photographed by Art Streiber in a Greenpeace warehouse.
The caption applauds them for “taking the cause from the crunchy confines of hippiedom into the mainstream, giving hope to those who previously felt powerless as their parents and politicians dropped the biggest ball of all: Earth.”
And while DiCaprio, whose upcoming documentary The 11th Hour chronicles environmental ills, appears on the cover, Caron is happy Vanity Fair didn’t take a superficial approach to the green movement.
“There are people who have taken issues and made huge changes,” said the B.C. native, who is studying environmental science and international development in Halifax.
Caron will take another run at print in the next year, as the co-author of Global Warming for Dummies, with Green Party Leader Elizabeth May.
Way to go Zoe. You continue to make us so proud.
Tons of positive energy coming your way
from your family in good old Nelson,BC
Love, Andrew, Maureen, Fraser and Emma
By Angelica Blenich
Zoë Caron (Abriel photo) + Outstanding student volunteers Barbara Walls, Zoë Caron, Ian Joyce and Mike Sornberger (Abriel photo).
At Dalhousie, learning extends beyond the classroom. Many students are making a significant difference in the wider community while achieving success within the classroom. This year, the department of Student Services began an initiative called “Making a Difference at Dal,” recognizing outstanding student achievements within the Dalhousie community and beyond. This week, Dal News profiles these five students.
Zoë Caron, a vibrant BC native, is completing a Bachelor of Science degree with a double major in International Development Studies and Environmental Sciences. Caron says her passion for environmentalism and community involvement can be traced back to two summers ago when she attended a climate change conference. “It was at this event that I really started to understand the issues that we were facing,” she says.
That event was just the beginning. Now in her fourth and final year of study, Caron’s list of accomplishments reads like an impressive resume, one that even David Suzuki might note. Her experiences include acting as the Atlantic Youth Coordinator for the Sierra Youth Coalition, being part of the Canadian Youth Climate Coalition, becoming a DSU Senator and co-founding the Dalhousie Integrated Sustainability Initiative (DISI). As if she wasn’t busy enough, Caron agreed to co-author a book with Federal Green Party leader Elizabeth May entitled Global Warming for Dummies. Not bad for a student who hasn’t even reached her 22nd birthday.
Caron’s concern about environmental issues reflects the same issues raised by Canadians throughout the country. “This is a critical and unique point in time … the first time the environment has been recognized to be such an important issue by the public, who are beginning to place it above such things as health care. Now is the time to make changes,” she says.
Caron’s voluntary and extracurricular experiences have taught her many lessons that complement those she has learned in the classroom. While she plans on continuing her involvement with environmental issues, she is continuously pursuing new avenues for her future. “There are many organizations that have opportunities and internships,” she says. “It is really important for young people to get involved in areas such as the media and politics. If you have an issue, then you should do something about it.”
Graham Waugh - Corn Hill, New Brunswick
Environmental Engineering
April 19, 2007 12:03 (Atlantic)
Dhavita Topiwala - Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
BSc- Neuroscience.
April 22, 2007 15:04 (Atlantic)
Asha Sundareshan - Halifax
Dept of Health Informatics, Dal
April 22, 2007 21:19 (Atlantic)
I like the way she is thinking for a global cause and her smile of course!
Maritza Estridge
Environmental Science
April 23, 2007 19:37 (Atlantic)