How Climate Change Will Impact Canadians
Climate change isn’t a far-off threat; it is happening right now. It is a global issue that will take a coordinated effort to stop, but in the meantime, the effects can already be seen. Now, climate change isn’t a problem that uniquely affects Canadians, but since Canada is such a vast and diverse country, it will impact us in so many ways. Some of the key issues are rising sea levels affecting coastal communities, melting of the permafrost in the Arctic Circle, and more abnormal weather in the form of heatwaves, droughts, and flooding.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in an intermediate scenario, the sea level is expected to rise by a meter by 2100. These rising sea levels will harm Canadian coastal communities in various ways, with the Atlantic provinces and the Vancouver metropolitan area being at the greatest risk. In the short-term to medium-term, coastal communities will have to deal with flooding becoming a more common occurrence and an increased rate of coastal erosion. These factors will lead to extensive property damage and loss of wetlands and natural ecosystems; in the long term, entire communities could be wiped out.
The melting of the permafrost in Arctic Canada is happening at an astonishing pace, and while it will impact Northern communities the most, what is happening in the North will not only impact all of Canada but the entire world. The communities there will primarily be impacted by their infrastructure relying on the permafrost to stay frozen, and as it thaws; roads are damaged, houses shift damaging them and the ecosystem is harmed making hunting harder. As for the world, there are massive quantities of methane and carbon dioxide stored in the permafrost, and as it melts, these gases will be released, only accelerating the problem of climate change.
This may all seem overwhelming, but there are solutions. Here at Borrum Energy Solutions, we are doing our part by utilizing wind, a renewable and sustainable energy source, and designing wind turbines in a way that minimizes their carbon footprint. We are maximizing what we can do to prevent climate change and avoid rising sea levels and melting permafrost.