Kristen Villebrun and Wendy Bush hoped they wouldn't have to pray for Chedoke Creek, but four years after they first raised alarm about the water's condition, they were part of an Indigenous full moon ceremony to do just that. About 50 people showed up near Princess Point on the dark and frigid Monday evening for the monthly ceremony, which was particularly special as it focused on Chedoke Creek. The body of water that runs into Cootes Paradise had about 24 billion litres of sewage and storm water runoff leak into it due to a gate being left open.
"We can regulate building on stilts for example…the water can come in and go out without any impact on the property itself or human life that inhabits that property." "Water features or green features, trees, grass are considered nature based solutions that help us adapt to climate change and at the same time they work as carbon sinks," she says.
Newfoundland and Labrador municipalities can't stop the impact of climate change, but two climate action consultants say more can be done prepare for extreme weather events. St. John's city crews scrambled this week to repair flood and erosion damage after three days of record-breaking rainfall from post-tropical storm Earl. As of Wednesday, four roads were still closed for repairs. Jess Puddister, a scientist and climate action consultant, said watching the damage play out was "frustrating."
With a backdrop of mountain vistas and a rink of natural ice, the annual ice hockey tournament at Grand Lake offers a picturesque snapshot of Colorado’s beauty. What’s not apparent is the problem brewing under players’ skates. This year’s tournament was held a month later than normal, with thin ice forcing organizers to postpone the event originally scheduled for the third weekend of January. “We had slushy conditions and less than six inches of ice. There just was no way it could safely be held,” said Steve Kudron, mayor of Grand Lake. That is a reality that many communities that live near lakes, which freeze and provide myriad activities during winter months, are increasingly confronting. According to a major UN report on climate released on Monday, as the planet warms, the amount of ice, and amount of time it keeps a body of water solid, are diminishing. Those changes are forcing communities to adapt and curtail some winter activities while also raising the spectre of long-term environmental and health issues.
Fallout from climate change is escalating at such a rapid pace the world now faces a “narrowing window” to adapt to a warming planet if it does not reduce the emission of greenhouse gases, a United Nations report warns. Released Monday, the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report brought together 270 scientists from 67 countries to assess the impacts climate change is having on humans and the ecosystems they rely on. “Today's IPCC report is an atlas of human suffering and a damning indictment of failed climate leadership,” said United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres.
Vancouver's waterfront has taken a beating in recent months. Storms have left part of the seawall badly damaged and there's a barge stuck on a beach in English Bay. As climate change and rising sea levels continue to cause problems for coastal communities and their infrastructure, a new initiative from the City of Vancouver is aiming to get ahead of the issue.
