Transition Brockville archive
Tag : Emergency preparedness (53)
Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks / 14 August 2020
The Ontario government has selected a consulting team led by the Climate Risk Institute to conduct the province’s first-ever multi-sector climate change impact assessment. The study will use the best science and information to better understand where and how climate change is likely to affect communities, critical infrastructure, economies and the natural environment, while helping to strengthen the province’s resilience to the impacts of climate change […]
As part of its work, the Institute will be reviewing a variety of information such as climate data, land use patterns and socio-economic projections. They will also develop an engagement plan to ensure the final assessment reflects the views and perspectives of Indigenous communities, municipalities, key economic sectors and the public. The assessment will be conducted over the next two years and it is anticipated that the final results will be released in 2022.
[ FULL ARTICLE ]
Manitoulin Expositor / 14 August 2020
Smart Green Communities, a reThink Green program working in consultation with municipalities, townships and First Nation communities throughout Manitoulin Island and the North Shore, has launched a public consultation on two regional energy and emissions plans (REEPs): a two-year study of the region’s collective greenhouse emissions and what that means for the future.
The primary goal of the REEPs is to assist these communities in meeting their energy and emission reduction goals by understanding how much they currently emit. This work paves the way for more collaboration between municipalities and communities to reduce their energy costs, decrease carbon emissions and address the identified risks of climate change.
[ FULL ARTICLE ]
CBC News / Janet Davison / 18 July 2020
Across Canada, flooding has become the most expensive natural disaster, costing $1 billion annually in damage to homes, property and infrastructure, according to the federal Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness.
Insurers and many policy experts expect that number will go up. Sea levels are rising. A recent study by researchers at Environment and Climate Change Canada found that climate change has made rainfall more extreme and storms with extreme rainfall more frequent.
While experts see a variety of strategies to help deal with the situation, there is one potential solution people may not want to talk about: When might it be time to retreat from living on the riskiest waterfront properties altogether?
[ FULL ARTICLE ]
Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists / Dawn Stover / 8 July 2020
Like climate change, the pandemic seemed distant and unreal until it was already upon us. Now both urgently require a society-wide response. Scientists have offered clear recommendations about how to solve these problems. However, the coronavirus won’t subside without broad social cooperation on behaviors such as physical distancing, mask wearing, and hand washing—an expanded version of the neighborly help that solved my electrical problem.
Similarly, the climate won’t heal without a new “healthcare system” for the planet that has strong support from the general public. It shouldn’t take another year of killer heat waves, mega-fires, and other disasters to convince Americans that we’ll never get back to “normal” by ignoring what’s happening around us.
[ FULL ARTICLE ]
Globe & Mail / Nick Perry / 4 April 2020
Every year, the world contends with devastating typhoons, wildfires, tsunamis and earthquakes. The dynamic doesn’t change just because the globe also happens to be fighting a pandemic.
What has changed for the worse, however, is the ability of nations to prepare for and respond to natural disasters. Not only that, but experts also fear the usual protocols for coping with the aftermath of such disasters could further spread the virus, compounding the death toll from both.
[ FULL ARTICLE ]
Transition US / Don Hall / 30 March 2020
Due to accelerating impacts from climate change, as well as ongoing economic and political instability around the world, these crises will continue to periodically crash up against our shores, more and more frequently in coming decades, threatening to significantly erode our capacity to respond. In order to successfully counter this reality, those of us who are called to leadership will need to learn how to respond skillfully during these periodic crises and build local community resilience long-term.
[ FULL ARTICLE ]
