When it comes to climate change, Dr. Gordon McBean really knows his stuff. The Western University Professor is a former scientist with Environment Canada, and is also the Director of Policy with the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction. McBean was the featured speaker at Thursday night’s third of eight climate conversations hosted by Climate Momentum in Stratford.
“Despite what some deniers are saying, we have reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that shows that temperatures are rising globally at two degrees celsius per decade,” said McBean.
McBean stated that Canada is warming up roughly twice as fast as the global average. He added that when you look in terms of land masses as you go further north the temperatures will rise, so we could see the northern parts of Canada warm up at a rate of three to four times (or roughly twice as fast) as the southern part of the country. Human influence has a huge impact on climate change.
“Human influence has warmed the atmosphere, ocean, and land,” said McBean. “The report also states that human induced climate change is already affecting many weather and climate extremes. This means we are going to see an increase in the number of heat waves, droughts, tropical cycles and other storms.”
The main topic of the discussion on Thursday night was around climate change adaptation. McBean talked about how the world needs to work quickly on solutions as the window to impact the future is closing. He says you can look at the last 20 years in North America and more and more extreme weather events have been taking place. The economic impact of climate change is astronomical: according to a report by the Canadian Climate Institute, the average cost per disaster has jumped 1250 per cent since the 1970s. To put that into perspective, a typical storm or flood that cost $8 million in the 1970s will now cost $110 million.
And the impacts of climate change are not just financial. McBean says studies show that natural disasters play a role on mental health, as there is often trauma associated with these extreme events.
“The ice storm in 1988 was a horrific event and people in Montreal were traumatized for two to three months,” said McBean. “Three or four years later I was speaking at McGill University, and I was joined by psychology professors who talked about the trauma that mothers and those expecting a child experienced. The children were given test after test who basically said that these children were physically and mentally handicapped.”
Similar statements were made by a professor in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. The strategy during that disaster was to put adults in one spot and children in another. In some cases the children didn’t see their parents for five years. A challenge the science community is facing is from people or organizations that are causing delays by spreading misinformation. Another challenge is from the political community. The Kyoto Protocol which was signed in 1997 had Canada agree to a target of six percent total reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2012 is a perfect example.
“The Kyoto Protocol which Canada which formally as an act of parliament in 2002 accepted and formally endorsed Canada’s participation in the Kyoto Protocol.,” said McBean. “What most people don’t notice is that hidden away in the budget of 2011, the Harper government withdrew. Canada is the only country in the world that formally by an act of parliament entered and endorsed the Kyoto Protocol and then withdrew by just a statement saying the Kyoto Protocol requirements are too expensive.”
He added that preventing or mitigating the risks associated with natural disasters caused by climate change is critical.
“It comes down to reducing the exposure and vulnerability of people, property and institutions,” he said. “We need to find how we can take those actions, what we can do to reduce them, and take action so that we have enhanced predictions. People need to be informed and given guidance. A problem in Canada is the weather service is done federally, while flood forecasts are done by local organizations.”
Action needs to be taken quickly and the proof is in the data. Heat is the most deadly weather-related event in the United States.
“If you look at data from London we see approximately 10 hot days per year, and that's when the temperature is over 30 degrees,” said McBean. “By the end of this century that number will increase to between 40-70 days.”
The question of what to do is complex, seemingly expensive, filled with political red tape, but while the leaders work to decide the best courses of action there are a few things everyone can do in their own communities.
The United Nations recommends these tips:
- Save energy at home- use less energy by reducing heating and cooling use, switch to LED bulbs, and work to improve your homes energy efficiencies.
- Change your homes source of energy-If possible switch to a renewable source of energy including solar and wind
- Walk, cycle or take public transportation
- Switch to an electric vehicle
- Consider your travel- Flying uses a lot of fossil fuels. Consider alternative forms of travel or consider using technology.
- Reduce, reuse, recycle, repair
- Eat more vegetables
- Throw away less food
- Plant native species
- Clean up the environment
- Make your money count-consider purchasing from companies who source responsibly.
- Speak up and join others in taking action
