In the August 31, 2018 edition of the Glove and Mail, Margaret Wente suggests that linking of forest fires with climate change is rhetorical. Or, as she put it: ” The rhetoric matches the images”, a reference to the many photos of burning forests and communities impacted wildfires. As an example of rhetoric, she quoted … Read more
In 2016 a forest fire ravaged Fort McMurray. In 2017 smoke from a record number of BC forest fires triggered an air quality advisory of record length In 2018 a new record number of forest fires (emphasis added) overwhelmed BC’s current infrastructure for fighting fires. These 2018 fires, which in many instances remain out of … Read more
As the climate warms with more greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, diseases such as lyme disease (carried by deer ticks) and West Nile Virus (from mosquitoes) have entered Canada from the United States, so everything we do to reduce greenhouses gases reduces the increase in such diseases. Across Ontario, about 20% of greenhouse gases come … Read more
So Toronto can expect that this Canada Day to bring an epic heat wave. According to Anthony Farnell, the Chief Meteorologist of Global News, Saturday and Sunday are probably going to set new standards for Toronto. Not just the heat, but the humidity “What will make this weekend potentially dangerous is the humidity,” he said. … Read more
Two months ago, we commented on the extraordinary amount of damage caused by successive hurricanes hitting the Caribbean Islands and the US Southern States. There is no doubt that the increased severity of these “natural” events is a result of global warming. The world-wide insurance industry has for many years warned of this possibility. Four … Read more
We have watched with concern as Caribbean Islands and Southern US states have been devastated by hurricanes: Harvey, then Irma, and now Jose! All of these hurricanes have been “fed” by warmer than usual ocean waters . . . . a clear demonstration how global warming increases the destructive power of hurricanes. The 2015 Paris … Read more
Did climate change cause Hurricane Harvey? That’s not a good question and it can’t be answered satisfactorily. Better to ask “Did climate change make Hurricane Harvey more severe?” The answer to this question is “Yes”. Here’s the explanation. Water Temperature. Global warming heats the earth’s oceans. The water in the Gulf of Mexico is about … Read more