This was in today's paper (it delt with Saskatchewan but I'm betting the forecast will be the same for interior British Columbia, Alberta and Manitoba.
The head of Environment Canada (weather division) told a funny (re Saskatchewan's heat wave):
Environment Canada's weather guru wonders if Regina's hot and steamy nights are causing a cold front to move into local bedrooms.
"Maybe there will be a huge population dip nine months from now," said David Phillips in a recent interview from Toronto.
"We could be hearing, 'Not tonight honey, not with the humidex' and they'd clearly have a right. We always say that these extremes of weather will have an effect on demographics. It's the reverse of the cold night where everyone snuggles up and one thing leads to another."
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He also had this to say:
Phillips is shocked by the heat and humidity highs in a province that prides itself for its dry heat.
"In many ways, this is more extreme than any brutally cold day in January -- you're used to that, it's part of your climate -- it's not a surprise," he said. "With the cold, you can always find some relief. You can stay indoors, you can dress up. Unless you are a street person, you can handle it. But now you're dealing with something that's foreign to you. This is not dry heat, this is the steam-bath, jungle-kind of heat."
Saskatchewan residents lack the coping skills of Ontarians, who are used to hot, humid summers and spend more money on air conditioning than on electric heat, Phillips said. (my note......many here don't have them because we have to spend money on winters that can drop down to -52 degrees Celcius....-61.6 degree Fahrenheit)
He also said:
"Get used to it -- there's more warm, warm weather across the province and we're saying that for August, September and October," he said. "Often, from a health and psychological point of view, what wears you down is the duration of something. The body can stand it for one hour or one day, but when you get to three days or four days, it just accelerates the stress and the anguish that people are going through." (we had it for the whole month of July)
I am looking so forward to WINTER, SNOW and ICE this year!!!!! (boy we'd better get some cause the 5/8th's of an inch we've had from July 1st to today just doesn't amount to anything).
This message was edited Jul 30, 2007 12:01 PM
Western Canada........what we have to look forward to
I'm scared now (re hot Sept/Oct).......I've got so many tomato plants growing I'm going to be giving away car loads (if the hail doesn't get them first).
That is just too funny!
Why not have a dip in birth rate, makes perfect sense to me. I had one 9 and a half months after Valentines day, so why wouldn't it work the other way.
Bea
LOL it really does make sense Bea! Sorry I missed your reply here. :S
Well I must say how excited I was to see this in the news!!!! http://www.canada.com/topics/news/national/story.html?id=bf90fcf9-c65d-4b69-bbf8-b79f7735ae2b
Hoping here our climate will return to the normal dry as dust Saskatchewan that I knew growing up.
For those that are interested in retrofiting their home:
ecoENERGY Retrofit Program - 1st Anniversary Progress
April 2nd, 2008 · http://dailyhomerenotips.com/2008/04/02/ecoenergy-retrofit-program-1st-anniversary-progress/
April 1, 2008 marked the first anniversary of the ecoENERGY Retrofit program, administered by the Office of Energy Efficiency within Natural Resources Canada.
This program provides financial incentives to help motivate Canadian home owners (and owners of non-residential buildings in Canada) to reduce their consumption of non-renewable resources in their homes through a variety of simple to complex home renovation activities.
So, how is the program progressing? Are Canadian home owners participating? What are the most common types of energy conservation related home improvements Canadian home owners undertaking? And, most importantly, is this program making a significant difference to reducing the the consumption of non-renewable resources in Canadian homes?
We have previously written articles about the ecoENERGY Retrofit program, our own experience with the Energy Efficiency Evaluation Report we received on our own home as well as ways we believed participation could be increased.
Now, lets look at the results from the first full year of the program (April 1, 2007 to March 31, 2008). We are sincerely appreciative of the Office of Energy Efficiency within Natural Resources Canada for not only providing the following information but providing this so quickly.
* 9,991,450 - Estimated Low-Rise House Build Prior to 2000 in Canada
* 102,845 - Number of Initial (or ‘D’) Energy Efficiency Evaluations
* 17,653 - Number of Follow-up (or ‘E’) Energy Efficiency Evaluations*
* $17,528,000 - Total Value of Program Incentives
* 59,184 - CO2 Savings (Tons Per Year)
*Home owners have 18 months from the date of the initial or ‘D’ energy efficiency evaluation (i.e. energy audit) by a prescribed / accredited organization to have the same organization return and conduct the follow-up or ‘E’ energy efficiency evaluation which determines the extent of the energy conservation measures undertaken in the home. The results from the ‘E’ energy efficiency evaluation are used to determine which, if any, grants the home owners will receive.
Think about the above numbers. They are huge, aren’t they? More than fifty-nine thousand tons of CO2 annually saved as result of Canadian home owners making their homes more energy efficient through their participation in the program. Does the old expression ‘heavy man’ apply here? :-)
Almost 18,000 Canadian homes having completed both energy efficiency evaluations. That is more homes than in some large towns.
More than $17.5 million of grants to be paid by the Canadian Federal Government under the ecoENERGY Retrofit program after the first year alone. And, many Provinces are also participating to the same or similar extent. This means that home owners who have completed the ‘E’ energy efficiency evaluation really could be receiving not just $17.5 million but upwards of $35 million (Federal and Provincial ecoENERGY Retrofit grant payments combined).
Do you want more numbers? How about an increase in the average EnerGuide rating for homes completing the ‘E’ energy efficiency evaluation from 60 (from the ‘D’ evaluation) to 70 (from the ‘E’ evaluation). That is an increase of (quick, where is my calculator) 16.7%.
Now, numbers are really only meaningful if they are measured against other benchmarks or are examined in more detail. And, would it be interesting to know which energy efficiency measures are the most common undertaken by Canadian home owners and which are amongst the least?
Where to apply for the Federal financial assistance (remember there are also Provincial programs as well): http://oee.nrcan.gc.ca/corporate/retrofit-summary.cfm
This message was edited Aug 2, 2008 8:02 AM