Connecting individuals to the issue of climate change has proven to be difficult for many reasons. Psychological barriers and the complexity of this phenomenon keep many in a comfort zone of apathy, avoidance or denial. As a result, communicators, psychologists and behavioural experts have struggled with how best to increase engagement.
Nature doesn’t need people. People need nature. Nature is essential to every aspect of our lives. From the soil that nourishes our food to the visual inspiration feeding our artistic masters, it’s the subtle elements in our natural world that support our existence.
Tracking and observing the changing weather patterns linked to climate change is one of the best ways to understand the effects of our carbon intensive lifestyles have on the planet.
Since wildfires razed the Canadian town of Fort McMurray last week, the link between climate change and such fires has been much discussed. Verbal fisticuffs erupted across social media and in the comment sections of most online articles on either side of this debate.
Resistance is Futile, A very interesting analysis by Don Pittis, about the argument “if climate optimism won’t save us, goes the argument, we might as well keep profiting from carbon".
Norway is leading the way with new climate innovations, by investing a billion dollars to get people moving. Bicycle highways are a major component of the country’s plan to connect suburban areas to city centers, by providing a viable alternative to a car-centric commute.
A large part of the transition away from fossil fuel dependency is the development of viable alternatives, not only for energy production, but also for everyday materials that have widespread uses. One may not expect an automobile manufacturer to be one of the major players in this move forward, but Ford motor company, in a combined effort with food giant Heinz, are doing just that.
This is the first time I have 'heard' a minister publicly commit to a carbon neutral economy. The Ministers of Energy for Ontario and Quebec just announced bold new steps for energy. The Quebec Minister during the announcement stated, "“There is genuinely, on our part, the intention to really make a transition to a carbon free economy and it is a good thing to see that we are being supported by the federal government,” Arcand said.
In the last week, two papers have been published, one about the West Antarctic ice sheet and the other about Greenland ice sheets, each highlighting the same concern: that conventional estimates about rates of future melting are probably much too low and that, instead, it is plausible the world will experience sea level rise this century of one to several meters should we fail to drastically reign-in emissions of greenhouse gases. Click on the links below for further information. (From the Canadian Association of Geographers newswire).
British Columbia led a first round of consultations on their next steps on climate change mitigation and adaptation, called the Climate Leadership Plan. With over a thousand submissions received the second round of consultations has been extended to April 8th, 2016. If you are interested in the submissions to date, QUEST BC has compiled them here.