10/16/2026
THE CLIMATE CONVERSATIONS, Episode 11 - In this week’s Climate Conversation, Dr. Joseph Shea and Dr. Zoe Meletis, Professor of Geography at UNBC, discuss the question:
If we’ve known for decades that the climate is changing, why hasn’t knowing been enough to make us act?
Dr. Zoë Meletis, a professor of Geography at UNBC and coordinator of the NRES (Natural Resources and Environmental Studies) graduate program, argues that the problem may not be a lack of information. As a human geographer studying human-environment relations, she says people make decisions through values, identity and attachment to place — not simply facts and data.
The conversation explores climate justice and who gets to shape the response: who bears the costs of climate change, who has a seat at the table, and why some voices are still overlooked. Meletis discusses the impact of activists such as Greta Thunberg, the reluctance of some academics to speak publicly about climate issues amid research funding ties to extractive industries, and the gendered dimensions of climate vulnerability.
Drawing on her fisheries research, she also examines how women’s knowledge can be overlooked in favour of men’s. The conversation closes with climate anxiety and how she helps students move beyond paralysis by finding hope through community, action and creative expression.
Dr. Zoë Meletis is a Professor of Geography and Environmental and Sustainability Studies at UNBC, based on the Prince George campus, and coordinator of the NRES graduate program. She holds a PhD from Duke University, an MScPl from the University of Toronto, and a BA from McGill University.
Her research focuses on human-environment relations, environmental justice, political ecology, conservation, tourism and ecotourism, and community-environment relationships.
WATCH: UNBC’s YouTube Channel
Direct link:
https://youtu.be/_ZugQX6Di_o?si=uh4qM2nSsSMcwM64
