Well I've been spending quite a lot of time trying to figure out just exactly what is causing the humidity over my province and I sure don't like the answers I've found. Please no matter who you vote for make it known that emissions control concerns you.
This map explains why the humidity has been so high over my location...Please look at the links
http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/maps/climatechange/atmospherestress/greenhousegasemissionbysector
http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/maps/climatechange/atmospherestress/trendsgreenhousegasemission
Regional greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by sectors of the economy for 1998 are shown here. The map also shows the regional carbon intensity measured in tonnes of CO2-equivalent to per million dollars of Real Domestic Product. The share of economic sectors in the total regional GHG emissions depends on the region's economic structure and availability of energy resources. The share of greenhouse gas emissions from power generation is considerable in provinces where electricity is generated based on coal and natural gas (such as Alberta and Saskatchewan) or fossil fuels (such as Ontario). Emissions associated with the industrial sector, which include the fossil-fuel production industries, occupy an important share of total greenhouse gas emissions in almost every province.
This link explains greenhouse effect: http://www.adaptation.nrcan.gc.ca/posters/pr/pr_02_e.php
The greenhouse effect is essential for maintaining temperatures within a range that is tolerable for most life on Earth.
Interesting to see where it's been the warmest winter on record in Canada: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2006/03/13/warm-winter060313.html
Open Letter to Ralph Klein (then premier of Alberta) from the scientists of Alberta Universities:
http://www.publichealth.ualberta.ca/news.cfm?story=46767 "
Temperature records show that in southern Canada, considerable warming has already taken place on the western prairies. Increases in temperature since the early 20th century have been from 1 to 3o Celsius at various prairie locations, including those where increased urbanization cannot be a confounding influence. The resulting increases in evaporation have without doubt aggravated the drought conditions that currently plague the western prairies. With further warming, desertification of these areas may occur.
There has been much publicity about the alleged economic losses that will be suffered by the oil and gas industries if Kyoto is ratified and implemented. But losses that will be suffered by other resource sectors if climate continues to warm must also be considered.
Of particular concern is the fate of agriculture on the western prairies, which contain 60 per cent of Canada's agricultural land. Both historical records and paleoecological studies show that the western prairies have experienced prolonged droughts in the past, at frequencies of roughly 25 years. It is very likely that drought patterns will continue in the years ahead. But this is the first time that other factors will amplify the effects of drought. Climate warming is causing increased evaporation. We have populations of humans and livestock numbering several million in the western prairies, and a large irrigation program. We may already be seeing the combined effects of climate and evaporation on water supply. Predictions are that Canada will be importing, not exporting wheat this year. There is a shortage of food and water for livestock. The effects of climate warming on agriculture in western Canada will certainly cost tens of billions of dollars. Compensation payments and crop insurance payouts this year alone amount to over two billion dollars in Alberta and Saskatchewan. The federal government dispensed 22 billion dollars in farm relief between 1985 and 1991, mostly the result of the 1988 drought, according to Statistics Canada. Such costs can only increase with a warming climate. Recent analyses predict that by mid-century the arid and semi-arid areas of Alberta and Saskatchewan will increase by 50 per cent if climate models are correct. "
We are going to pay a horrible price for what's being pulled out of the ground for the North American market and the effects of it will be felt North America wide.
This message was edited Feb 27, 2007 9:41 PM
Why the West has been sweltering in a greenhouse
Oilsands pollution worries Sask., Alberta
Canadian Press
Published: Tuesday, October 10, 2006
EDMONTON (CP) -- Alberta and Saskatchewan have begun trying to figure out how to deal with increased pollution drifting over the boundary between them from rapidly expanding oilsands projects.
"We already know that the oilsands do have quite a bit of emissions associated with the projects," said Paul James of Saskatchewan's Environment Department.
"We are receiving some acidic deposition."
Consequently, bureaucrats from both provinces have blown the dust off a 2002 agreement on managing transboundary environmental effects, meeting several times this year after a long period of quiet.
"I think Alberta's announcements with respect to the oilsands kind of re-energized things," James said. "With the proposed expansions, we agreed it needed a more serious look."
Figures released last month showed that acid rain, once considered a problem only in the eastern provinces, has begun damaging soils and lakes in Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
Already, two per cent of the land tested in Saskatchewan has absorbed acid precipitation exceeding its critical load, the maximum amount of acid a given area of land can tolerate before plant and animal life begins to suffer. Most of that land was in the northern forested section of the province, directly east and in the path of prevailing winds blowing from the oilsands region.
With $94 billion of oilsands expansion projects on the books, officials in both provinces are concerned about increasing emissions of acid rain-causing chemicals.
"The environment doesn't end at the border," said Randall Barrett of Alberta Environment.
Acid rain is formed primarily by emissions of sulphur dioxide and various nitrogen oxides.
Sulphur dioxide is increasingly being controlled through smokestack scrubbers.
But nitrogen oxides, which come from many smaller emitters such as trucks, are harder to clean up.
They are also expected to increase faster because new projects use giant trucks in their mining process.
Oilsands mines emitted 50 tonnes of nitrogen oxides per day in 1990. That level had grown to 150 tonnes per day by 2003 and was expected to reach 398 tonnes per day by the end of this year.
If all planned projects are built, the oilsands could be spewing 538 tonnes of nitrogen oxides per day in the future.
About 70 per cent of such emissions eventually blow into Saskatchewan, James said.
"It has the potential to be quite serious in terms of acidifying lakes and ecosystems associated with lakes."
It could also affect the productivity of forests in Saskatchewan's logging industry, he said.
Companies are now being asked to consider Saskatchewan in their environmental assessments. As well, monitoring of acid deposition is expected to increase in Saskatchewan, with Alberta officials providing expertise.
Each province, however, will remain responsible for industrial activities in its own jurisdiction.
This message was edited Feb 27, 2007 9:39 PM
Never mind the fact that climate change is irreversible, the water used in the Alberta Oil sands is causing terrible pollution as it drains into Lake Athabaska, killing the people who live around the lake, depending on it for their drinking water and food.
When you google Fort Chipewyan, you get lots of feely-touchy touristy websites.
Now google this Fort Chipewyan water pollution
All in all, am very glad that I won't be alive for the next 100 years or so. Am sorry to think about the planet we are leaving for our grandchildren and great great grandchildren.
Have been reading a history of Afghanistan, published over 100 years ago. Same same as now.
I used to do a lot of paddling, following voyageur routes. Sickening to find so often that we couldn't drink water from the rivers we were exploring. We had to use buckets of water from streams and creeks running down into the rivers. This was 20 years ago.
A friend of mine just returned from China and has sent some pix showing water and ice floes in the Arctic and Hudson's Bay. Water, - in January.
inanda - back to cleaning seeds
This message was edited Feb 2, 2007 11:33 AM
Well I certainly agree with everything going on........years ago, when I was a Tour Director out of Vancouver, many of the programs included the Rockies. And one thing for sure, the Columbia Icefields glacier was receding, faster than it had originally advanced. People, tourists from all over the world, then kept asking me questions on this..............and here we are, in this predicament. Mother Nature is more or less sitting on the sidelines, shaking her head! may the truth be told!..........Elaine
The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released the first of four installments of Global Warming today: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/02/science/earth/02cnd-climate.html http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7137290 (lots out there but too political to post here). IPCC's website: http://www.ipcc.ch/
The Globe and Mail and the National Post will be plastered with articles again tomorrow.
Your right Inanda/Elaine..........Mother Nature really believes in tough love.
This message was edited Feb 2, 2007 9:51 PM
Add the bottom to the posts above makes me think I should look look for plants that can stand extremely high heat, humidity and yet still handle our winters (when the cold times come).....
This also explains why the north has higher humidity:
Wind brings US pollution and lifts UK's ozone count
Paul Brown, environment correspondent
Monday July 12, 2004
The Guardian
A car pumps out exhaust fumes in Washington or New York, and five days later a hiker in the Lake District or on the Sussex Downs finds his or her lungs are hurting.
Scientists believe that polluting gases travel - and that while crossing the Atlantic a reaction with sunlight turns them into ozone gas, which inflames the lungs.
Today, in the biggest experiment ever on air pollution, 40 UK scientists are heading for the Azores to test whether Europe is catching a good deal of damaging pollution from America, and even Asia, on the prevailing westerly winds. While the British scientists use research aircraft to measure the composition of the pollution in the jet stream (a fast current in the upper atmosphere) to Europe, scientists from the US, Canada, France, Germany and Portugal will do the same.
Article continues
Alastair Lewis, from the University of York and head of the £1.2m British expedition, said: "We used to think air pollution was a local problem. Now we realise some pollutants, particularly ozone, are global. It is literally arriving here on the wind."
Some pollutant gases are short-lived; others form new pollutants as they mix and are subject to sunlight - it is these changes scientists want to track.
Ozone, or lack of it, is better known because of the ozone-layer hole caused by chemicals such as CFCs reacting in the upper atmosphere and destroying the gas, which acts as a filter for sunlight and protects the skin from cancer.
In the lower atmosphere, ozone is dangerous. According to Dr Lewis, when it reaches 40 parts per billion (ppb) in air it begins to damage plants and inhibit growth. If it reaches 100ppb it is regarded as dangerous to humans, inflaming the lungs and badly affecting old and vulnerable people.
"Background" ozone around the world has been increasing, thought to be caused by pollutants such as nitrogen oxides - from car exhausts and power stations - and volatile organic compounds, also emitted by vehicles and substances such as paint as well as natural sources. They react with sunlight to form ozone.
In the 1990s it was realised that ozone in the south of England rose dramatically in warm summers when there was an east wind, as pollution from Europe drifted cross the Channel. Now scientists see it as a world problem. "Global warming, it appears, is not the only global pollution problem," said Dr Lewis.
The US, which spends 10 times as much as Britain on research, is worried by ozone hitting its west coast due to pollution from Asia, particularly China's booming economy. On the other hand, it is believed US east-coast pollution moves north to Canada before being sucked upwards by weather fronts into the jet stream and is then deposited in Europe between three and five days later.
U.S. humidity levels today: http://www.wunderground.com/US/Region/US/Humidity.html
Canada's humidity: http://www.wunderground.com/global/Region/CN/Humidity.html
This message was edited Feb 4, 2007 11:32 AM
Here's a link of greenhouse emissions by country (forecasted emissions are also included): http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/FTPROOT/environment/057303.pdf it takes awhile to load. The chart is on page 3 in the main body of the report.
Here are the forecasted (occurring) environmental changes to each of our provinces (prepared by the Government of Canada Natural Resources Sector)....informative links are off to the side of each map:
Nanuvat: http://www.adaptation.nrcan.gc.ca/posters/nu/index_e.php
Arctic (Yukon and NWT): http://www.adaptation.nrcan.gc.ca/posters/wa/index_e.php
British Columbia: http://www.adaptation.nrcan.gc.ca/posters/bc/index_e.php (it certainly talks about the slumping and excess rains....that BC has been receiving in the winter & less rain in the summer)
Prairie Provinces (Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba): http://www.adaptation.nrcan.gc.ca/posters/pr/index_e.php
Ontario : http://www.adaptation.nrcan.gc.ca/posters/on/index_e.php
Quebec: http://www.adaptation.nrcan.gc.ca/posters/qc/index_e.php
Atlantic Provinces: http://www.adaptation.nrcan.gc.ca/posters/ac/index_e.php
Posters can be ordered from: http://www.adaptation.nrcan.gc.ca/posters/posters_e.php
This message was edited Feb 4, 2007 11:30 AM
http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2003/01/10/glacier030110.html I think the Glaciers have changed even since you last looked at them Elaine
Prairies losing out on water from melting glacier
Last Updated: Friday, January 10, 2003 | 10:39 PM ET
Alberta's Peyto Glacier acts like a mammoth water tower. But since the 1980s, it has lost roughly the height of a five-storey building, scientists say.
For 20 years, researchers with Canada's national glaciology program have been measuring the melt from the glacier, which is about 90 kilometres northwest of Banff.
They say over the decades, the Peyto Glacier has lost 70 per cent of its mass, and the pace of melt is picking up.
"We're all in fear for these lovely glaciers, in terms of what's in store for them, and the impacts downstream," said glaciologist Mike Demuth of the Geological Survey of Canada.
Glaciers like Peyto send hundreds of millions of litres eastward. The water gives rain to dry Alberta fields, provides drinking water to Saskatoon and helps generate electricity in Manitoba.
But researchers say flow rates have already dropped by as much as 25 per cent – a measurable impact of global climate change.
"One would think, well, it's getting warmer, you're going to release more water," said Demuth. "But the margins of these glaciers are shrinking so rapidly, the glaciers are simply much smaller."
He thinks the melting highlights the need for conservation, including a drop in production of greenhouse gases.
This message was edited Feb 28, 2007 11:46 PM
Course we could all head to the Rockies with our rolls of tin foil......
Fleece Blanket Keeps Glacier Cool for Summer
by Emily Harris
A cable car delivers fleece to the top of the Gemstock glacier ski run. Credit: Landolt.
View Gallery
Landolt
A cable car in the Swiss resort town of Andermatt carries rolls of a special synthetic fleece blanket to the top of the Gemstock glacier ski run. The fleece will be used to cover snow to keep it from melting.
Morning Edition, June 28, 2005 · Warming temperatures mean that many glaciers are shrinking. A ski company using the Gemstock glacier above Andermatt, Switzerland, has answered this trend by wrapping a critical ski ramp near the top of the glacier in synthetic material.
The company hopes that the blanket will slow the glacier's melting over the summer in an area around the cable car station.
If the blanket is successful, skiers will be able to ski right out of the station and down the mountain. If the blanket doesn't slow the melting, then a new ramp will have to be built out of snow and ice when the winter arrives.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4720630 (it reflects like tin foil).
I lifted this picture a couple of days ago......the Rockies were well above freezing and melts ahappening......
Have you seen Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth"? It's a real eye-opener in my opinion.
Not yet Ginny but we've had peeps come into the library that have seen it and they feel the same as you (and the library has it on order). I was lent a copy of it, a couple of days ago, but haven't watched it yet. From what I gather An Inconvenient Truth shows a lot of what the Government of Canada Natural Resources Sector links show (only more on a global scale). The above is a result of ? I was asked in the weather forum so I did quite a bit of research on it (looked for peer reviewed articles).
We all know climate change/global warming is occurring ...... MJPL received the climate change maps from Natural Resources Canada 8 years ago. But I was soooo shocked to discover the amount of emissions now hanging over us and it is already dated (it certainly explains the high humidity that the normally dry as dust prairies have been experiencing) and I wasn't the only one.....a number of patrons have looked at the emissions map and one asked for copies. He plans on writing a lot of letters (doubt it'll do much good tho). :(
This message was edited Feb 8, 2007 6:10 PM
Have you watched An Inconvenient Truth yet Lily? Be sure to watch the special features, it has even more disturbing updated info.
I find it distressing that more people have not replied to this, I come to this forum when I get homesick. It saddens me to hear that what I am seeing down here (namely the air - ick!) is going on back there. I like to pretend that when I go home things will be JUST as I left them.....
I think one of the real problems is that people do not think that there is anything that they personally can do about it, like it says in the show people go from total disbelief to total depression/surrender. There are things we can personally do.
1.) Vote with your dollars, research who is trying and who is not - act accordingly - I have become a member of several charities that send me newsletters that help with this. Sierra Club, WWF, NWF, Greenpeace, Union of Concerned Scientists, National Geographic & Mother Earth News (the last 2 are not charities but do good work), all help me make informed decisions.
2.) I started a driving log and made a commitment to decrease a % each month, I drive to & from work every day and do a shopping loop every other weekend. When I can afford a new car (read when my current 92 subaru dies) my first choice will be a hybrid, failing that I will be going the biodiesel route.
3.) Grow ANYTHING other then fertilizer & H20 addicted grass, any kind of edible & native has benefits. Native to support local insect / birds / mammals, the whole circle of life thing. And edibles to decrease our dependency on mass produced, genetically modified, trucked in food supply. I plan on being able to harvest some kind of egg from my backyard this year just not sure if it will be chicken or duck or...(its gonna be fun choosing). Compost improves water retention, decreases landfill, improves soil structure, ya all know.......
4.) Slow the flow, I have only been able to replace 1 of 2 old toilets - so guess how many are currently being used - yep just the new one. If I have to let the water run (for whatever reason - like waiting for hot to start the dishwasher, etc) I collect it in milk jugs and let it sit (dechlorinate) out for my fish tank or my houseplants.
5.) I have a programmable thermostat the I slowly adjust down......climatizing myself & got into habit of putting on layers or if watching TV using a blanket) the lowest setting is 50F highest is 62F(sorry I have forgotten my metric - use or lose it - I have lost it - in more ways the one). My hot water heater is kept at the lowest setting and only turned up right before its needed. I have also wrapped in an insulting blanket, this summer I plan on climbing under my house (I guess its called a crawl space for that reason;+}) and wrapping the hot water lines with insulation made to "clip" around the pipes.
What I have found about the whoe process is this is SAVING me $ how cool is that. If I could vote (legal alien - no voting privileges) I would be hounding my rep's (for all the good it would to me here in the denial state) as it is I can sign petitions that my charities send out.
I know that as far as you are concerned, Lily I am preaching to the choir, come on you guys - what all are you doing about it? Lets hear from ya.
Perhaps we don't discuss this online because we are all aware of it, that we are all doing the best we can, and we tend to get busy gardening and discussing seeds, Seedy Saturday, etc etc. garden visits, not global warmng at the moment.
inanda
MQN I've looked at this thread and it's going to take a whole world (or the bird flu) to change to save this planet for future generations . I've seen studies that predict those that are born after the year 2000 will have a much shorter lifespan than the generation proceeding them (and our population is predicted to double soon).
Personally I don't drive, my DH drives a car with good gas mileage, we heat our house with steam heat (very cheap but an energy efficient boiler would be even better, all our light bulbs are energy efficient except a couple of reading ones, neither of my adult children have a car (yet), we wash our clothes with cold water, our thermostat is set to a lower than comfortable setting, and we hang about a 1/4 of what we wash (we can improve on that), and we don't have A/C but I don't know how much longer we can go without it. :(
Years ago my Aunt pushed the SK Government to plant trees in the ditches between Moose Jaw and Regina (mainly to stop the drifting across the #1). Now I think they should be planted along all our highways.
This message was edited Feb 27, 2007 12:50 PM
I watched Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" yesterday and I lay sleepless all night; it had a profound effect on me.
I said I wasn't going to watch things like this and to be honest, that was said out of fear. I'm still processing my thoughts on ways that I can change how I live. And yes, I do feel as though I'm just one person...what difference can little me make if everyone else doesn't get on board? I obviously have to get my keister out of that mindset.
MQN, I didn't notice there was special features on the video probably because I was too much in shock after the documentary was done.....I will pop it back in tonight.
Despair is killer, as Churchill said - WE WILL NEVER SURRENDER.
I have decided to get at least 1 person motivated into being part of the solution not part of the problem. Maybe if we all did this we could get where we need to be faster.
I also dry my clothes by hanging first and just "finishin" (more finishing is done in the winter, when I but a sock over the tube/vent rather then vent all that nice humid heat outside) them off in dryer, and use the energy efficient bulbs. Last summer I used my swamp cooler maybe 2x it is in the hallway and it just doesn't seem to cool anything off but the hallway, I personally feel letting yourself "acclimatize" to whats going on outside is healthier for you, no random hi's and lows. More consistent.
I still stand by these 2 as the best ones.
Talk to your politicians
Vote with your $
Talk to your politicians
This message was edited Feb 28, 2007 11:48 PM
On a postive note at the University of Saskatchewan all students have to go in on a group purchase of city bus passes. Cost was over $300.00 for a yearly pass......now since all have to have one the price is less than 1/2. Students aren't encouraged to have their own personal cars there.
Erynne I haven't yet seen the whole show (I got as far as the glaciers melting). Personally what I found on my own in scientific peer reviewed articles gave me insomnia for a couple of nights........I can just image what seeing a documentary would do. I'll have to watch An Inconvenient Truth soon though because the owner will be asking for it back.
This is Canada's projected 2010 emissions....... however it doesn't include what comes north with the jet stream.
Regarding Global warming these are the scientists that wrote/signed the above letter to Alberta's then Premier Ralph Klein in 2002.. http://www.publichealth.ualberta.ca/news.cfm?story=46767
Many members of our group have contributed directly to the scientific understanding of climate warming and its impacts. We would be delighted to discuss the evidence for climate warming, its effects on Alberta, and possible solutions to reducing greenhouse gases with you at your convenience.
Sincerely,
D. W. Schindler, FRSC, FRS
Killam Memorial Professor of Ecology
Department of Biological Sciences
University of Alberta
Martin J Sharp, Professor and Associate Chair (Graduate Studies)
Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
University of Alberta
James M. Byrne, Director, Water Resources Institute
Associate Professor, Department of Geography
University of Lethbridge
John Spence, Professor & Chair
Department of Renewable Resources
University of Alberta
Fiona K.A. Schmiegelow, Assistant Professor
Department of Renewable Resources
University of Alberta
G. Arturo Sanchez-Azofeifa, Associate Professor
Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
University of Alberta
W.J. Page, Professor and Associate Dean
Department of Biological Sciences
University of Alberta
Felix Sperling, Associate Professor
Department of Biological Sciences
University of Alberta
William F. Donahue, Research Associate
Adaptive Management Experiment
Department of Biological Sciences
University of Alberta
John Hoddinott, Professor,
Department of Biological Sciences,
University of Alberta
Edward P. Lozowski, Professor
Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
University of Alberta
Theresa Garvin, Assistant Professor
Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
University of Alberta
Bruce Sutherland, Associate Professor
Department of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences
University of Alberta
G. Peter Kershaw, Associate Professor
Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences,
University of Alberta
Andrew B.G. Bush, Associate Professor
Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
University of Alberta
Scholar, Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, Earth System Evolution Program
Gerhard Reuter, Professor
Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
University of Alberta
L. Dennis Gignac, Professeur associé
Faculté Saint Jean
University of Alberta
Andrew E. Derocher, Professor
Department of Biological Sciences
University of Alberta
Heather Proctor, Associate Professor
Department of Biological Sciences
University of Alberta
John England, Professor
Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
University of Alberta
Shawn Marshall, Assistant Professor
Department of Geography
University of Calgary
Scholar, Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, Earth System Evolution Program
Colleen Cassady St. Clair, Assistant Professor
Department of Biological Sciences
University of Alberta,
Cameron Goater, Associate Professor and Coordinator, Environmental Science Program
Department of Biological Sciences
University of Lethbridge
Ralph V. Cartar, Associate Professor
Department of Biology
University of Lethbridge
John Volpe, Assistant Professor
Department of Biological Sciences
University of Alberta
Bill Tonn, Professor
Dept. of Biological Sciences
University of Alberta
John Holmes, Professor Emeritus
Department of Biological Sciences
University of Alberta
Susan Hannon, Professor
Department of Biological Sciences
University of Alberta
Mark S. Boyce
Alberta Conservation Association Chair of Fisheries & Wildlife
Department of Biological Sciences
University of Alberta
Debra J. Davidson, Assistant Professor
Departments of Rural Economy and Renewable Resources
University of Alberta
Vincent L. St.Louis, Associate Professor
Department of Biological Sciences
University of Alberta
Jan O. Murie, Professor Emeritus
Department of Biological Sciences
University of Alberta
Paul Myers, Assistant Professor
Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
University of Alberta
Michael Cohen, Associate Professor
Department of Biological Sciences
University of Alberta
Brian Amiro
Canadian Forest Service
Northern Forestry Centre
Edmonton, Alberta
David Langor
Canadian Forest Service
Northern Forestry Centre
Edmonton, Alberta
Mary Reid, Associate Professor
Department of Biological Sciences and Environmental Science Program
University of Calgary
Suzanne Bayley, Professor
Department of Biological Sciences
University of Alberta
Leland J. Jackson, Associate Professor
Department of Biological Sciences
University of Calgary
David Hik, Associate Professor
Canada Research Chair in Northern Ecology
Department of Biological Sciences
University of Alberta
John R. Post, Associate Professor
Department of Biological Sciences
University of Calgary
Cynthia Paszkowski, Associate Professor and Associate Chair Research
Department of Biological Sciences
University of Alberta
John Yackel, Assistant Professor
Department of Geography
University of Calgary
Dr. James F. Cahill, Jr., Assistant Professor
Department of Biological Sciences
University of Alberta
Andrew Keddie, Associate Professor
Dept. of Biological Sciences
University of Alberta
Alexander Wolfe, Associate Professor
Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
University of Alberta
Judith Kulig, Associate Professor
School of Health Sciences
University of Lethbridge
James E. Thomas, Associate Professor
Department of Biological Sciences
University of Lethbridge
Susan B. Watson
Dept. Biological Sciences
University of Calgary
W. Jan A. Volney
Canadian Forest Service
Northern Forestry Centre
Edmonton, Alberta
Suzan Lapp, Academic Assistant
Department of Geography
University of Lethbridge
Stan Boutin, Professor/Industrial Chair Integrated Landscape Management -Population Ecology
Department of Biological Sciences
University of Alberta
Stefan W. Kienzle, Assistant Professor
Department of Geography
University of Lethbridge
Hester Jiskoot, Assistant Professor
Department of Geography
University of Lethbridge
Robert J. Rogerson, Professor
Department of Geography
The University of Lethbridge
Joseph S. Nelson, Professor Emeritus
Department of Biological Sciences
University of Alberta
Stewart Rood, Professor and Board of Governor's Research Chair
Department of Biological Sciences
University of Lethbridge
Steve E. Hrudey, PhD, DSc(Eng), PEng, Professor of Environmental Health Sciences
Department of Public Health Sciences
University of Alberta
This message was edited Feb 28, 2007 11:49 PM
Did you watch the special features at the end of the movie yet Erynne???
I did tonight and I've come to the conclusion "HUMANS ARE IDIOTS AND THE MOST DANGEROUS ANIMALS ON THIS PLANET." (knew that before but.........OMG). And I noted the States just below Saskatchewan and Manitoba (where the drifting continues down broke all records last year re high temperatures). God help our children and grandchildren if peeps don't take this seriously now. Personally though I prolly wouldn't except the changes are already so noticeable in this province.
BTW a weak La Nina has been discovered brewing so the north may get a reprieve (for this summer at least):
La Nina's Brewing, Forecasters Warn
By SETH BORENSTEIN, AP Science Writer 2 hours, 29 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - Forecasters warned Tuesday that a La Nina weather pattern — the nasty flip side of El Nino — is brewing, bringing with it the threat of more hurricanes for the Atlantic.
ADVERTISEMENT
Officials at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced the official end of a brief and mild El Nino that started last year. That El Nino was credited with partially shutting down last summer's Atlantic hurricane activity in the midst of what was supposed to be a busy season.
"We're seeing a shift to the La Nina, it's clearly in the data," NOAA Administrator Conrad Lautenbacher said. La Nina, a cooling of the mid-Pacific equatorial region, has not officially begun because it's a process with several months with specific temperature thresholds, but the trend is obvious based on satellite and ocean measurement data, he said.
"It certainly won't be welcome news for those living off the coast right now," Lautenbacher said. But he said that doesn't mean Atlantic seaboard residents should sell their homes.
Forecasters don't know how strong this La Nina will be. However, it typically means more hurricanes in the Atlantic, fewer in the Pacific, less rain and more heat for the already drought-stricken South, and a milder spring and summer in the north, Lautenbacher said. The central plains of the United States tend be drier in the fall during La Ninas, while the Pacific Northwest tends to be wetter in the late fall and early winter.
Of special concern is west Texas which is already in a long-term drought, which during a La Nina will likely get worse, Lautenbacher said.
Historically, El Ninos and La Ninas are difficult to forecast, said National Center for Atmospheric Research senior scientist Michael Glantz, who studies how they effect humans.
"I don't see it as a useful forecast," Glantz said. "Every event since they've been looking at El Nino ... surprised scientists."
La Ninas tend to develop from March to June and reach peak intensity at the end of the year and into the next February, according to Vernon Kousky, NOAA's top El Nino/La Nina expert. La Nina winters tend to be warmer than normal in the Southeast and colder than normal in the Northwest.
Andrew Weaver, a meteorology professor at the University of Victoria in Canada, said NOAA's forecast looks good because the signs of a brewing La Nina are apparent just below the ocean's surface.
"La Nina is the evil twin sister of El Nino, so it's good or bad depending on where you live," Weaver said. However, in general La Ninas do not have as costly effects on humans as El Ninos do, he said.
The last lengthy La Nina, from 1998 to 2001, helped cause a serious drought in much of the West, according to NOAA drought specialist Douglas Lecomte.
In years past, I think that we Northerners have been more aware of the changes, watching glaciers recede, our winters become milder. Recently, it saddened me to hear that polar bears are drowning because they swim out to ice flows to hunt, as they have always done... only to find no ice flows and drown. Now the Southern parts of the world are experiencing unstable weather due to warmer water temps mixing with weather fronts. I've sat here watching it rain and flood here in Alaska in the middle of winter, and watch ice and snow storms in the southern states on the news. It is truly changing. It is possible to argue that the changes are a natural progression, but I think it is hard to argue that we are not accelerating the whole process with our habits and lifestyles.
hard to argue that we are not *accelerating* the whole process with our habits and lifestyles.
How true and Carol your posting above has done a wonderful job of portraying the world wide mess we are now in. Over time I've seen your posts trying to warn people that the far north has been going through some pretty massive changes. Last winter I noticed that the weather channel was reporting higher temperatures for Inuvik, NWT (it's located very close to the Arctic Ocean) than what my location was receiving and that was the defining moment for me.
We've talked about this at work a number of times and another idea that some are now seriously looking at is purchasing their own personal wind turbines http://www.smallwindenergy.ca/en/SmallWind.html (Canadian Tire now has them on display). One of my husband's co-workers has made his own for his home and has sold a number to his neighbours. Here is the plans for a smaller scale model: http://www.re-energy.ca/t-i_windbuild-1.shtml
Others have been considering purchasing photovoltaic modules (solar panels) ....... not as obvious as the turbines. A major drawback though is the short daylight hours we receive in the winter. http://www.energyalternatives.ca/catalogue/Categories/110.htm
Hi All,
No Pam, I didn't get to watch the special features just yet since life, as usual, got in the way and won't be able to this weekend as I don't want the kids to see the documentary at this time. In the mean time, I have got around to changing all the lightbulbs to energy-efficient types, lowered my thermostat for the house heat as well as for the water tank and unplugged anything that is not in use such as microwave, clock radio, stereo etc. In addition, our area just got on board for the organics recycling:
http://www.region.peel.on.ca/pw/waste/organics1/
I already have two composters out back but this program is great because we can put many other waste products into these bins that we wouldn't put into the backyard composters. I expect our actual landfill contributions to be significantly reduced!
As soon as the weather permits, DH and I will be cycling more to work since we live only 5km from our business. Boy, we're going to be in shape!
Erynne
In our neck of the woods, there are fewer people, but we are far from ecologically conscious. Though the larger cities, such as Anchorage and Fairbanks have emission control laws, for most of the rest of the state, we are driving old junkers that add to the problem. I plead guilty on that one. Also, due to the cold weather, we leave our vehicles running when we make trips into the post office or store, further causing problems. Most of us heat with oil or wood. The cost of electricity is quite high here. Many folks recycle aluminum (aluminium), paper and glass, but I'm afraid the cost of barging it all down south to recycle is using up more natural resources and creating more pollution that it is doing good.
Electricity is becoming an issue here. Our electricity on the Kenai Peninsula is supplied by Chugach Electric which is hydro-electric for the most part, generated on the Susitna River. Homer, on the other side of the Peninsula has their own hydro-electric plant, as does Kodiak on the Aleutian Chain. Seward has been talking for years about developing their own power system, but it just hasn't happened as yet. As the present system and lines age and begin to fail, new ideas have been suggested... one of which was a coal fired energy plant. The advocates said we have a source for inexpensive coal mined in Healy and shipped down here by rail and shipped out to Korea. What they do not mention is that it is a substandard coal that only the Koreans will purchase. Assurances that this proposed electric plant will not pollute the air have not been received well by local citizens. It is beyond me why we don't utilize our hydro-electric options, considering we never lack the means to do so.
Modern society has become quite spoiled. We can't be bothered with carrying our own shopping bags to the store, or our own containers for cooking oil, etc. Our efforts to recycle containers is very limited. New products are not designed to be repaired, but rather, thrown away and replaced with a newer model. We live in a world of plastics, and plastics require petroleum. We've managed to alter agricultural methods to accommodate for shipping and pleasing appearance, to the point that most of the nutrients are long gone before we consume them. We use chemicals to preserve them or to give them additional flavor we wouldn't even expect or need, were we to eat these foods fresh. We eat 'fast foods' because we are too tired to cook, after spending hours in traffic, our cars idling away. We throw away all the Styrofoam wrappings and they end up in the land fill. Empty calories, overflowing land fills... it makes no sense.
Erynne you reminded me to check around the house and unplug everything that isn't being used. :) We also compost and we don't use a dishwasher.........my folks do but they never use the dry cycle.
Carol you've pointed out some of the problems that many of us face in smaller, more remote, populated centres. While we are set up for recycling paper/glass, etc. some items, that larger centres handle, end up at our city dump. In the past vehicles here were often left running while the owner ran into a store but I'm not seeing that happen as often now. The biggest deterrent is price of gas and the fact that the vehicle is saying come hither to a car thief (esp in Regina ;). I also recently read that our Parliament Hill politicians had their hands slapped and were told their limo's weren't to be left running all day (their chauffeur could come sit inside their offices) .
re your coal plants I really hope they reconsider and start up another hydro-electric plant. Saskatchewan really doesn't have that option so I hope more wind turbines are put up (that resource we do have in abundance). Here it's natural gas that we use for heating and we can't change that but a home wind turbine would certainly help lessen our dependency on SK's mainly coal dependent electricity. Head scratcher here.... a business owner in Regina was in the process of setting one up for his business and the mayor of Regina came out saying he didn't want to see them since they detracted from the downtown's look......yet oversized satellite dishes were everywhere a few years ago and the City of Regina's website is strongly encouraging people to be environmentally friendly.
Your final paragraph is so true. At times changing almost seems insurmountable but I'm really hoping it's possible to make a difference if we all try to minimize our environmental footprint on this earth.
dpmichael (he's an Orthopaedic Surgeon) started a thread re Global Warming in the European forum http://davesgarden.com/forums/p.php?pid=3051782 ......in his country water is the price of fuel here and, with Global Warming, they are running short of it.
He's really afraid that it is a curse that his son will inherit.
has
anyone thought about hot water tanks? Manitoba hydro says a 40 gal tank costs around $350 annually to heat. Turn it down a bit and SAVE. Unfortunately cant remember how much hydro would be saved for each degree a tank is lowered. Seeing that we have the cheapest hydro in Canada, people in other provinces would save even more emissions (& $$)
inanda
Pam, we have a dishwasher that came with our house but have never used it......it's an ornament, lol. Actually, I don't think I even know how to turn it on as I've never used one.
True, we live in such a disposable society where everything gets pitched into the landfills. I remember when if your TV went on the blink, you took it to the repair shop but now people just buy another.....I know people who do this!!! I guess TVs are cheap enough that they're just not worth the aggravation???
Here's a neat idea if you have an old cell phone to get rid of:
http://www.think-food.com/en/index.html
I have a ton of inkjet cartridges too, that DH would otherwise toss into the garbage.....best go stop him, lol.
inanda,
Yup, my tank temp has been lowered! (and nobody noticed!)
We have an oil fired Toyotomi water heater. It keeps about 5 gallons hot, but is otherwise 'on demand'. You can hear it fire up when you turn on the hot water, then shut off when you are done. Our old electric water heater was keeping 50 gallons of water hot 24 hours a day. Our electric bill dropped by a third. We also have two Toyotomi heaters that keep our 2,300 sq. ft. house warm and toasty. All three units use approximately 100 gallons of oil per month during winter temps under 25F. (Edited for correction).
This message was edited Mar 5, 2007 8:56 AM
Inanda dpmichael touched on that subject to re recycling: http://davesgarden.com/forums/p.php?pid=3053586 It also really bothers my husband because he deals with office machinery and they are made to be disposable now (as is just about everything we purchase in this day and age). The local repair shop closed down because they couldn't get enough work to pay their staff (very few are willing to pay the higher repair costs).
We too have had our hot water tank turned down for a couple of years now. Two teenagers were in the house at that time and we were thinking from a savings standpoint (not environmental). But nowadays the two do go hand in hand.
Erynne you also brought up a couple of good suggestions.....the library I work at collects ink cartridges/cell phones/reading glasses for recycling as well. We have the drop off boxes beside the public internet computers.
I noticed a neighbour purchased a VW Bug for running around town in (he's a teacher with 4 children). I thought way to go! Now he drives it instead of his huge van (& his kids walk to school). But I noticed that he left his Christmas tree/outdoor lights on for months after Christmas this year????? I should check tonight to see if it is still up (edited to say and lit). :(
I cut and pasted Dr. Don's outlook on Global Warming to my journal (he posted this shortly after Katrina hit):
As a scientist that actually believes these increases are a direct effect of global warming, I'm inclined to say that duct tape and plastic sheeting won't protect us from the real terrors that nature may have in store for us because of our arrogance and disrespect. As days go by we'll be hearing the quacks telling us that it's all the oil company's faults and Humvee owners should be shot. The truth is that the weather is changing, and who's to blame is irrelevant at a time when we need to truly mourn the loss of life and property felt by those in the area.
For those that haven't met drdon he is retired United Nations Scientist that belongs to Dave's.
This message was edited Mar 5, 2007 12:19 PM
Carol I'll have to check and see how our water heater works. I know it's energy efficient (it's a recent purchase) and we purchased a smaller one so less water would have to be heated.
Another suggestion I've often seen here (and elsewhere) is support your local Farmer's Market. While we are in our growing season they need all the support they can get (and their produce wasn't shipped from 1/2 a continent away). I certainly found the tomatoes there had a LOT more flavour then any that I have purchased at Safeway.
I have started collecting open pollinated seeds. I think I have over 200 varieties of tomatoes now and 18 different varieties of squash. If I'm careful with bagging I can save the seeds from year to year. I'm bound and determined to find varieties that do well here and have "TASTE." Going back to the days of our grandparents we certainly can can and/or freeze. Another energy savings is having your deep freezer outside.....we unplug ours when the temperatures do drop and plug it back in only when they start to rise. Come spring we use the one in the basement....if we have anything left that needs to be frozen.
I envy your access to good fresh produce. While some veggies are grown in the Matanuska Valley, most fresh food is only as fresh as it can be after flying up here in a fuel guzzling jet cargo plane. All produce is quite expensive here. We can grow lovely greens in our summers, but tomatoes are a greenhouse item, as are cucumbers and peppers. Summer squash can be grown in a sunny sheltered area. We do grow lovely brassicas such as cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, and kale. I also raise leeks, but have to start the seeds indoors in early February, setting them out in June and harvesting in early October. Veggies sold as 'organic' in the stores are hardly 'organic' in the sense we would like to think them to be, and all fresh produce is expensive.
Carol has Seward looked at building a community greenhouse? I noticed Inuvik has: http://www.cityfarmer.org/inuvik.html However I'm guessing that they probably have less rain/overcast skies then your location (since I know they can grow early/mid season tomatoes there as well as corn). I know you love vine ripened tomatoes so I'm positive you would have found a way to grow them if you could. BTW do the majority of your neighbours purchase starts of your brassicas/veggies to grow for themselves?
Inuvik's Mackenzie Hotel, where I waitressed, provided room and board as part of the wage and I remember being *very* thankful for that because one day I went into the North Mart and I saw the price/condition of the ?fresh? veggies/fruit . I remember they were priced extremely dear and I see that hasn't changed:
"At North Mart, Inuvik's grocery store, romaine lettuce was selling late last week for $3.79 a head. Small heads of iceberg lettuce were $1.79. Red peppers cost $6.21 a pound and broccoli was $2.59 a pound." (cut and pasted from the above link).
After thinking about what you said Carol (and remembering the condition those expensive veggies were in) I'm going to make sure I remember to be more thankful for what can grown here. Your posting also reminded me of another lady I met over the net.....she came to Canada, from Russia, and is now one of the directors of a computer software company in BC. She originally thought she'd never again have to toil in the soil ....then she tasted our *fresh* grocery store veggies. Needless to say she now has a HUGE vegetable garden. ;)
I was raised in Northern Indiana, and we had hot summers. My father was an avid gardener, so I was able to go out to his garden and pick fresh tomatoes and cucumbers, eating them fresh from the vine. We had fresh sweet corn, apples, peaches, wild berries.... it was a wonderful life for a child, and the wonderful produce provided the building blocks for a healthy beginning to my life. I do miss all they bounty, but I have exchanged those things for the natural bounty of Alaska. In my freezer, I have nice little packages of halibut, divided to give us enough for one dinner at a time. The meat is pure and white, mild in flavor and caught from the ocean. We are not wild game eaters these days, but many of our friends have a freezer filled with moose, a fine wild meat. My children were raised on it. We grow lovely strawberries each summer, and red raspberries do well here. The mountainsides are covered with wild blueberries. We have tall shrubs of high bush cranberries, low growing watermelon berry (twisted stalk), as well as Salmon Berry.
Lettuce grows all summer here, seldom bolting, due to our mild season. I just trim the outer leaves and let the rest grow. We can also grow wonderful Swiss Chard, as well as oriental veggies. Cabbage and leeks are a fall crop, but cauliflower and broccoli ripen earlier, the broccoli setting off side shoots after the heads are harvested. It seems to me that all our veggies are 'sweeter' here, but I'm not sure if that is true or not. I sometimes think that, because they are so hard-won, they just taste the sweeter for it. I have been told by visiting tourists that the colors of my flowers are more vivid than theirs back home, so I don't know if they are just awed that I can grow lovely flowers, or the mild summers are kinder to the blooms. Our last summer was rather chilly and disappointing, but the aquilegia were the loveliest I've seen them in years.
One of the lessons I've learned on DG is that we all have our own unique gardening challenges and advantages. Each of us learns to work with the conditions we have. We learn by experience and we learn from our garden friends. The rapid changes in climate have been a challenge for us all, I'm afraid. The few 'hot summers' we have had in the last few years have drastically affected the way my crops turn out... lettuce bolts, raised beds, once elevated for good drainage, dry out quickly. Global warming is obvious to those of us in the North, and doubly so to Northern gardeners.
I'm sorry, Lilypon. I was so busy waxing elloquent that I forgot to answer your question about a community greenhouse. I took a look at your link. That is a wonderful way to use an abandoned structure! Unfortunately, Seward doesn't have such a structure, and if it did, it would surely cost a great deal to heat it. We, as yet, do not have natural gas in our area, electricity is very expensive, coal a nasty emission fuel, and no clear plan for hydro electric on the horizon. Canada, it seems to me, has wonderful options for government subsidy of such projects. It is more difficult here, I think. I have two greenhouses of my own. One is heated, one is not. The heated one is for my seedlings, when they become too many and too great for the basement. The heater will keep the temp approximately 30 warmer than the outside temp. That is generally enough. The outdoor temps and hours of light usually allow me to start taking plants out there by April 1st. This year, I am unsure about that date, as it is unusually cold for this time of year. It was 6F this morning, with blowing winds, so I'm sure it was much colder with the wind chill. I could not take baby plants out there and hope they adjust to 35-40F weather.
Our local bank has raised beds that are offered to the community. People sign up to use them in the summers. It would be nice if we had allotments like they do in England, but soil is very dear here. Most of our real estate here along the coast is gravel based... good drainage but little top soil. Serious gardeners either plant in containers or make raised beds and fill them with soil from the Mat-valley.
I love reading your posts Carol you paint such a vivid picture it's like I was there looking at your garden/bounty with you. I must admit my experience with the far North was during the winter months so what I saw in the store was winter veggies and even here they often aren't prime but add the extra time to ship north and......... Moose meat wasn't available there but Reindeer was and I know the locals had their freezers filled with it. The arctic char I had there I'll never, ever forget.........it had the sweetness that you referred to as well as a richness that I had never tasted before in fish. Your location, I do believe, has more natural bounty though then Inuvik. The tree line ended just outside Inuvik and I remember the trees only being 2 to 3 feet tall (and spindly like Charlie Brown's poor Christmas tree).
We too are finding it so much more difficult to know what to put into the ground. 4 weeks of last summer we had to water every 2nd day (and sometimes every day). The temperatures were in the high 80's to low 100's. Frost came around Oct 15 (a month to a month 1/2 later than what is considered the norm). My biggest fear though is that we may hit the temperatures we hit in the dirty thirties. In 1937 Midale and Yellow Grass, both in southern Saskatchewan, had Canada's hottest day on record (actual reading);114°F / 45°C . Only now we have really high humidity and together the two will be a deadly combination. And now when it gets hot the heat lasts and the nights don't cool off.
DH captured a picture of Yellow Grasses sign. Back then we didn't have humidity.........Saskatchewan historically was known to be dry as dust.
