There are very few areas that aren’t affected by the consequences of climate change. There are the number of extreme weather events that cause immediate damage and casualties, ranging from tornados and hurricanes to extreme heat and drought conditions. Whether we can adjust to dealing with their consequences is a major question on many people’s minds, including mine. Trying to slow up climate change appears to be a long-term goal. This includes the introduction of new technologies to reduce the use of fossil fuels to heat and cool our homes, produce our electricity and transport people and goods. Some refer to the increased interest in electric vehicles and renewable energy sources such as solar, wind and thermodynamics — all long-term in nature. While this is all good and dandy, there appears to be a greater need for conservation and adjustment efforts on the part of all of us, especially in the short-term.
Increasingly, governments are being faced today with emerging issues resulting from the direct and indirect impacts on their citizens. For example, it has been pointed out that Congress has helped cover Americans’ winter heating costs for decades. But sweltering summers have made Americans’ energy bills soar, straining this key national safety net. Under recent extreme heat events, Americans have died. California has even recently introduced a new alert system designed to warn Californians of extreme heat forecasts. In addition, these events place a great strain of the electricity infrastructure, forcing authorities to place embargos on the use of electricity, including that for air conditioning, during certain periods. A significant proportion of the population, including the homeless, need to have access to cooling areas so as to avoid negative health impacts. These health impacts in turn place a further burden on already strained health care facilities and emergency services.
The recent flooding of the Pearl River resulted in a temporary decrease in water production across the city of Jackson, the capital city of Mississippi. According to state and local officials, the water system is failing. Boil water alerts have become common place and can last for weeks. Infrastructure from roads to water treatment is greatly in need of repair and many cases replacement. During extreme heat events, roadways have even been known to buckle. Bridges have been compromised and damaged due to flooding of local tributaries as a result of extreme rain events. This in turn can cut communities off from emergency and support services, including access routes for supplies and people. People are losing their homes. Serious consideration must be given now to where homes are being constructed in known flood plains.
Of course, major droughts can lead to wildfires in many regions of the country, threatening towns, homes and agricultural lands. Wildfires are unplanned and uncontrolled fires in natural areas, like forests and grasslands. For example, the province of British Columbia (B.C.) has always experienced wildfires, but none as bad in recent years. Evacuations of affected towns have become increasingly required. One can’t forget the “out of control” wildfire that destroyed much of Lytton, B.C. during the summer of 2021. Longer, hotter summers lead to more droughts and a longer wildfire season. It is hoped that funding partnerships and community-led work, such as Firesmart, will reduce wildfire risks in B.C. B.C. is also using climate information to set goals for resource management and to increase the resiliency of its forests. Serious consideration must be given as to where homes are located in areas dominated by forests in particular, especially where access fire roads are few and far between.
In the area of conservation, there are a number of things that individuals and families can do. For example, air conditioners (AC) and electric fans now account for about 10 % of electrical energy consumption all over the world. Air conditioning can account for a whopping 60 to 70 percent of electrical power demand during peak hours. Currently, there are companies that are in the process of developing new air conditioning technologies, thereby reducing the use of hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs, which are greenhouse gases. Hopefully, these ACs will become affordable and available in the near future. Apparently, they could be two to three times more productive than the most common ACs on the current market. In the meantime, people should now use their ACs in a restrained and sensible manner.
FROLITICKS 
Leave a comment