wildfires

Tuesday May 14, 2024

As wildfires begin to ravage Canada, leaving destruction and devastation in their wake, it's time to confront a different kind of blaze—one fuelled not by dry vegetation and high winds, but by misinformation and climate denialism.

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday May 14, 2024

Confronting the Flames of Climate Denial: A Call to Action in the Face of Escalating Wildfires

June 8, 2023

As wildfires begin to ravage Canada, leaving destruction and devastation in their wake, it’s time to confront a different kind of blaze—one fuelled not by dry vegetation and high winds, but by misinformation and climate denialism.

News: Wildfires surging in the western provinces

In the wake of yet another record-breaking wildfire season, it’s alarming to see the persistence of skepticism and denial regarding the role of climate change in these disasters. As outlined in Drew Anderson’s article “What causes wildfires? Lightning, people, climate change … and obsessively putting them out” from June 27, 2023, wildfires in Canada are often the result of a combination of factors, including human activity, such as off-road vehicles and campfires, and climate change-induced conditions like hot, dry weather and drought.

The Narwal: What causes wildfires? Lightning, people, climate change … and obsessively putting them out  

The escalating impact of climate change-induced disasters in Canada is not just challenging homeowners in obtaining affordable insurance coverage, but also posing systemic risks to the country's economy, prompting a call for urgent adaptive measures and collaborative efforts between insurers and local governments.

January 10, 2024

Last year’s wildfires in British Columbia, Alberta, and the North Western Territories, as documented by CBC News in their report “Raging wildfires threatening western Canada force thousands to evacuate” on May 13, 2024, left thousands under evacuation orders and resulted in the destruction of vast swaths of land. This year, as reported by CBC News, the situation remains dire, with wildfires once again forcing evacuations and threatening communities across the region.

Yet, despite the evidence staring us in the face, there are still those who refuse to acknowledge the truth about climate change and its role in exacerbating wildfire risks. This skepticism is not only misguided; it’s dangerous.

January 31, 2023

The spread of misinformation and conspiracy theories, as highlighted in Olivia Rudgard and Daniel Zuidijk’s article from August 22, 2023, only adds fuel to the fire. False narratives about the origins of wildfires, from claims of arson to bizarre theories about space lasers, continue to proliferate on social media platforms, undermining efforts to address the root causes of these disasters and implement meaningful solutions.

News: Wildfires and Extreme Weather Are Driving Climate Denialism Online

As we face another potentially devastating wildfire season, it’s imperative that we confront climate denialism head-on. This means challenging false narratives, educating the public about the realities of climate change, and holding accountable those who seek to sow doubt and confusion for their own gain.

July 29, 2023

But confronting climate denialism is not enough. We must also take decisive action to address the underlying drivers of wildfires, including reducing greenhouse gas emissions, promoting sustainable land management practices, and investing in wildfire prevention and mitigation efforts.

The time for complacency is over. As wildfires continue to rage across Canada, we must heed the warnings of scientists, listen to the voices of affected communities, and unite in the fight against climate change. The flames of denial may burn bright, but with determination and resolve, we can extinguish them once and for all, and pave the way for a safer, more sustainable future for all. (AI)

 

Friday August 13, 2021

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday August 13, 2021

Climate change report a ‘code red’ for humanity

This week’s report from the United Nations climate panel makes for arresting, frightening and depressing reading. 

September 16, 2020

It comes in a summer of record-breaking heat waves that scorched Canada and Europe. It comes after deadly floods ravaged China, Germany and Belgium and as drought threatens 400,000 people in Madagascar with starvation. And it falls with an ominous thud on the world’s doorstep after wildfires incinerated large swaths of the planet, around the Mediterranean Sea, throughout Siberia and right here in North America.

Lest any climate-change deniers still delude themselves into thinking such extreme weather has no connection to what humans are doing, the report from the UN International Panel on Climate Change — it’s the sixth such assessment since 1988 and took eight years to prepare — sets the record straight. What they’ve written isn’t science fiction; it’s science fact that draws on the work of 234 experts.

Human activity is “unequivocally” changing the Earth’s climate in ways “unprecedented” in thousands, even hundreds of thousands of years and is directly linked to these and other extreme weather events. Period. Many of these changes, including higher sea levels, are now “irreversible” the climate scientists said.

September 24, 2019

As a result, after the decade from 2011 to 2020 proved the hottest ever recorded, temperatures are likely to rise in the next 20 years by more than 1.5 C above pre-industrial levels. If that happens, not only will it blow away the climate-change goals set by the 2015 Paris Agreement, it will usher in even more extreme weather and devastation.

Yes, this makes for a depressing read. But rather than make people despair and feel like giving up, the message of this report also includes hope. There’s the hope of humans working together as never before to limit the damage they’re inflicting on the planet. There’s the hope that, while not escaping unscathed, humankind will be able to avoid the absolute worst-case scenarios for climate change. And, aside from the report itself, there are hopeful signs more and more people are finally ready to do what is necessary. 

American President Joe Biden is far more committed than his predecessor, Donald Trump, ever was in marshalling the energies of the world’s biggest economy and second-largest source of greenhouse gas emissions against global warming. That alone could be a game-changer. In October, the United Kingdom will host the governments of 197 countries at the 26th UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow. This week’s IPCC report should spur them to come together by acting together for everyone’s sake.

4 Waves Cartoon

And if Canadians, as expected, go to the polls in a general election this fall, they have a timely opportunity to elect a government that will redouble the nation’s efforts to keep the planet from overheating. As a rich country, we have a moral responsibility to do this, and accept our role in shepherding the world to a sustainable future, even as we realize we will have to alter our lifestyles and an economy heavily reliant on the petroleum industry.

In the words of UN secretary general Antonio Guterres, this week’s landmark IPCC study amounts to a “code red for humanity.” Now it’s up to Canadians and the rest of humankind to decide if they’ll answer or ignore the alarm. To be sure, we’ll have to live with many of the terrible, wrenching changes we have wrought. But if humanity grabs the nettle in front of it, it could mitigate the impact of climate change and even avoid a world where entire regions become uninhabitable for us. 

We have a decade or so to do this, the UN scientists warn. There probably won’t be another report from the International Panel on Climate Change before the time for effective change runs out. (Hamilton Spectator Editorial)