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Put Climate First on August 1 – Happy Camping

by Frances Deverell

It’s been the coolest July at the Cottage since I’ve been coming here. This week the forecast is for highs as low as 16 degrees Celsius. Sometimes it is hard to defend our focus on climate change when the weather isn’t telling us the climate is warming at all. That’s the difference between weather and climate. Weather is what happens every day and it is very changeable. Climate is the bigger picture – the average of the weather over many years. The bigger trends. And science continues to tell us, in spite of this chilly summer at this particular location, the overall climate is warming quickly.

The consequences of quick changes in climate are severe weather events. Here in Haliburton we had the heaviest rainfall anyone can remember in 24 hours. Roads washed out and we had brief power outages. There was threat of flooding in Minden. We were lucky the damage wasn’t worse. We all remember floods last year in Calgary and Toronto. Manitoba now faces a yearly diet of severe flooding. Warmer air holds more water so when it rains it pours. And the meandering jet stream goes more slowly, allowing clouds to sit in one spot and pour water down for days, while areas on the other side of the jet stream don’t get any and experience drought. We haven’t begun to imagine how these accelerating trends will affect our food supply. Our farmers will have to be adaptable and resilient.

August 1 is a civic and a provincial holiday over much of the country so we encourage you to take this opportunity to write a letter to your provincial leaders, or your local utilities. At the provincial level much can be done to help us deal with reducing our own ghg pollution. Ask them to support programs to retrofit your homes with better insulation or more efficient appliances. If you don’t live in a province with a smart, interactive grid that allows you to generate solar or wind power and contribute it to the grid system this should be a priority. Provinces are responsible for the electricity sector. How do you generate electricity where you live? How is your province planning to increase renewable energy? If you don’t know the answer, ask them to tell you in your letter. And please, send a copy of your letter to climatefast@climatefast.ca. We want to know how many of you are responding to our appeals for letters. A sample letter can be found at: http://climatefast.ca/blog/sample-letter-provinces-climate-first-august…

The August 1 weekend is also the biggest weekend of the year for car traffic as people pile into their cars to go to the cottage or go camping. Instead of food fasting why not try carbon fasting this coming long weekend. Get to your destination by bike or bus. Enjoy camping out instead of going to a cottage complete with all the power luxuries of home. Enjoy some fresh air and exercise whether you go to the country or stay in the city. But above all, be safe. And have a great long weekend.