August was the first time in more than ten years that the temperature in Ottawa didn’t once hit 30 degrees Celsius. Now, a week into September, we have already set heat records for the month.
As I am typing this the humidex, the measurement of what it feels like as opposed to the actual temperature, is 42. And it is expected to get warmer before the day is out.
Canadians love to talk about the weather. It is one thing we can agree on. We support different political parties and different hockey teams, we like different music, but we are united when it comes to weather. We are more used to discussing extreme cold than unseasonal heat, but we’ll take what we can get
When I lived in Liberia, weather really didn’t come up much in conversation. It was either rainy season or dry season. The radio station didn’t have weather forecasts. The weather changed every six months, more or less. In Canada our weather can change daily.
Canadians are concerned about climate change. That makes complete sense given the unpredictability of what we have experienced this year. August’s cool and September’s heat could be a blip and things might return to the way they were before, but no-one is betting on it.
But how do we deal with climate change? The government seems to think higher taxes will reduce emissions. I’m not sure I buy that one – you still have to heat your home in winter. For most people there are no alternatives to heating with fossil fuels.
A bigger problem may be that we are a large country with a small population. Our contribution to global warming pales when compared to some other countries with less geography. If they aren’t serious about changing their habits, why should we?
Which may be the root of our problem. The experts say change or become extinct. We humans say we believe that, but we aren’t willing to change our ways. After all, we’ve never been extinct. It’s a theoretical concept that most people probably don’t expect will ever happen.
Is a solution possible? Can we as a planet change our ways and halt the warming that the experts say will bring about our demise? Or do we gamble that they are wrong?
Given the fallen state of human nature, I expect the gamblers will carry the day. It will be interesting to see what happens. And possibly fatal for all of us.
I’d write more, but not in this heat.
random thoughts from lorne 
With respect to climate change, I don’t think there is any point in denying it, it’s happening. It what we do about it. The world population grew from 2+ billion to 8 in our life time. That must be the root cause.
It’s convenient to blame the Chinese, but they are the ones producing all the products in Dollar stores and Wal-Mart so us North Americans, and everyone in the world can live more affordably. They are also the country who has to change most drastically and quickly because their own population is adversely affected.
My reasoning may be flawed, but I think our younger generation need to focus on solutions instead of angry protests and blame. Disfiguring a Tom Thompson painting in the NGC does not solve climate change, it shows immaturity. We need effective solutions to reduce and reuse our ‘waste’ so we can take care of the earth & to live responsibly in it.