Bharat is an environmental scientist, public policy dilettante and feminist with a gaggle of science degrees who tries to take a “public health” approach to his analysis and writing. This approach involves looking at the systems, institutions and community/population level information that determine what happens in the world, and what he would prefer to happen.

A simple example: Do we focus on bike helmets or safer cycling facilities to ensure safety? Bharat believes that we need both functional big institutions like governments, and involved grassroots activism to make change happen and stick.

He grew up in India, and is interested in many things South Asian. This also plays an important role in his relationship with Canadian colonialism. His views and comfort zones are very much a product of a class-privileged upbringing, and while he tries hard to step out of those boxes, he thinks he probably doesn’t always succeed.

He also loves birds, music, choir, sports and cooking. Bharat’s interest in the environment was sparked by working with the olive ridley sea turtle in India, and has appropriated the lovely turtle for his twitter handle @oliveridley.