Calgary

Mother Nature, Pumped Up By Warmer Atmosphere, Swamps Alberta

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graphic: 350.org
photo: 350.org

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“If you think mitigated climate change is expensive, try unmitigated climate change.” Dr Richard Gammon

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The City of Calgary, home riding of Canada’s climate-change-denying, scientist-muzzling Prime Minister, ordered the evacuation of the entire downtown earlier today because of catastrophic flooding from the Bow and Elbow Rivers. Approximately 75,000 people were evacuated from their homes in Calgary as water levels rose sharply after torrential rainfalls related to an “upside-down” jet stream. The Weather Network put it this way:

An upside-down weather pattern took shape across western North America earlier in the week. By ‘upside-down’ we’re referring to a jet stream pattern that causes warmer temperatures to the north than the south. Dramatically, this was exemplified on Thursday (when the flooding began) with Fort Simpson in the Northwest Territories being the hottest place in all of Canada at 31 C. Meanwhile, Calgary only reached 17°C. Click here to read full article.

Hmmm – a broken jet stream, a melting Arctic, a modern-day “Mordor” in the tar sands, a planet full of politicians reluctant to act decisively on climate change, and increasingly frequent extreme weather events. Any connection, ya think?

Calgary’s mayor is warning that the worst flooding is yet to come.

[youtube=http://youtu.be/aWkT1HkI-Yk]

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My sympathies are with the unfortunate people in Calgary and surrounding areas who are feeling the devastation of this flash flooding. This shouldn’t happen to anybody, any time.  As a climate activist, I hope that Canadians see this – finally – as a wake up call. There are millions of people around the world –  in Bangladesh, in the Philippines,  in Africa, and in South America – who have been feeling the devastating effects of climate change for years. The global poor have already been impacted by climate change, often losing their homes, their source of food and even their lives because of unstable weather events related to climate change, caused by carbon dioxide emissions to which they have contributed almost nothing.

“Unmuzzled” climate scientist Paul Beckwith from the University of Ottawa has this to say about the connection between extreme weather events and climate change:

Torrential rains in some regions are causing massive floods while in other locales record droughts are occurring with higher frequency and severity and areal extent around the globe. Global food production is being hit hard, leading to large price increases and political instability. Areas under drought are experiencing numerous massive forest fires of incredible ferocity. The statistics of extreme weather events has changed for the worst due to changes in the location, speed, and waviness of the jet streams which guide weather patterns and separate cold and dry northern air from warm and moist southern air. The jet streams have changed since the equator to north-pole temperature difference has decreased due to the huge temperature rise in the Arctic. The huge temperature rise in the Arctic is due to a collapse in the area of highly reflective snow and ice, which is caused by melting. The melting is from warming from the increase of greenhouse gases from fossil fuel burning. The Arctic sea ice and spring snow cover will vanish within a few years and the weather extremes will increase at least 10x.

Beckwith goes on to give this advice:

What can you do? Go talk to your politicians and friends about climate change and the need to slash fossil fuel emissions. Immediately. Cut and paste my comments above and post them on facebook, send them to newspapers, and educate yourself on the science behind all the above linkages. Leave my name on or take it off and plagiarise all you want, just get this knowledge out there…

Folks, unless we act together and demand better from our elected representatives, the worst is yet to come.

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source: I Heart Climate Scientists
source: I Heart Climate Scientists

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More links:

10 Signs Global Warming is Happening Now

Alberta Floods: Why is there so much rain?

Climate catastrophes Like Alberta Floods Have The Potential To Shatter Political Careers

Photogallery: Calgary Streets Before And After The Floods

Fun at Calgary’s Oil and Bank Towers

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I am away from my computer for two weeks, as my husband and I explore more of one of our favourite places in Canada, Newfoundland (AKA “The Rock”). While I’m away 350orbust will be featuring guest writers and some of my favourite columns revisited, as well as some random stuff that  I think is important or makes me happy and I want to share.

source: Wikimedia Commons

Today’s guest blogger is Sharon Howarth. Sharon is the mother of two daughters in their mid-twenties who lives in  Toronto, Canada. She, like me, is a volunteer with Citizens Climate Lobby Canada. I invited Sharon to write about her recent trip west, after hearing via the CCL grapevine that she had done the entire trip by bus, and had adventures on the way, as only a climate activist on a mission in oil country can!

At the beginning of August this year, I was on my way home from B.C.  The trip was a combination of  visiting my daughter and working on my issue,  which is the solution to Climate Change.  Hearings on the Northern Gateway Pipeline took place in Prince George on July 9th and 10th which I attended and will write on that a little later.

I traveled by bus from Toronto, which took 3 full days, as I could not in good conscience take an airplane with the huge individual carbon footprint.  On my return journey, the bus made a  4 hour stop in Calgary.    Being in ‘oil town’ was  an opportunity I could not allow to slip through my fingers.

A security guard pointed me in the direction of the city centre.  I was told about and found the very busy pedestrian street which held the ‘Home Oil’ tower on one side of the street and the ‘Bank Hall’ tower  on the  other.   Needless to say, the suits were crossing from one tower to the next and I was in the mood for sharing important information and having fun.

I stood in the middle of this suit traffic and, as someone was coming towards me,  I looked at them and said, “Stop Climate Change with Carbon Fee and Dividend”.   I then pulled out the flyer, which I was holding at my side,  and handed  it in their direction.

People are so, well, good.    I’m sure most  were thinking, “This poor woman needs directions”, God bless them.  Although a large  number did not accept the handout, they all heard what I had to say, and that has tremendous value.    And  yet,  ALL the 120 handouts I had were taken and in very short order.  I found I could have used a whole  lot more but, unfortunately, I did not have the memory stick with me which held the template of the flyer.   Still, what a hoot.

And some say that people are not concerned about climate change  !!

With Love and LOTS  of Hope,

Sharon

If you want to get inspired to take action to work for action on climate change, visit the Citizens Climate Lobby website or email  350orbust@gmail.com.