Tony Kryzanowski
Canadians faced with escalating fuel costs, crushing grocery bills and higher rent are understandably less concerned about the environment these days, according to the latest public opinion polls. And predictably, politicians eager for re-election are following the polls in terms of their own priorities. But the numbers don’t lie. The world is becoming warmer and climate change is real. The consequences go far beyond the recent ferocity of repeated massive forest fires right across Canada. Given what appears to be a more muted voice in environmental advocacy these days, this is the forestry sector’s moment to present itself as Canada’s strongest champion for the environment because we undeniably have a great story to tell. …A good starting point for industry to develop its environmental advocacy strategy is to take stock.
We should revisit past important research and development initiatives as it relates to wood fibre as the feedstock. This includes further commercialization of bio-based nanotechnology from cellulose, expanding the market for mass timber products, exploring afforestation potentially with fast-growing wood species to grow the wood basket while also expanding the forest footprint to achieve greater carbon sequestration, substituting wood pellets for diesel to provide power to northern communities, and rehabilitating landscapes marred by industrial activity. …It’s astounding to think of how many billions of dollars of investment are being considered for such unproven practices as carbon dioxide sequestration from Canada’s oil and gas industry, when trees represent the largest, single natural carbon sequestration tool on the planet—and Canada has the second largest landmass in the world. …The field is now so much more wide open and desperately looking for a champion to remind us that climate change is here to stay—unless we take action and that forestry can and should be a much bigger part of the solution.
The long-anticipated El Niño is here. …In its monthly update in June, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), issued an El Niño advisory, confirming that the warmer conditions had developed in the specific part of the Pacific Ocean known as Niño 3.4. In order to be considered an El Niño, temperatures need to be 0.5 C above the average. Ocean temperatures are now close to 2 C above average. …The strongest El Niño in recent years was the one in 2015-2016, where the ocean temperature anomaly was roughly 2.75 C. ….Nat Johnson, a meteorologist at NOAA’s geophysical fluid dynamics laboratory, said the transition from a La Niña to El Niño has been very quick. …Meanwhile, in Canada, the effects will be seen in the winter months, bringing milder temperatures, but also drier conditions, something that is of great concern for wildfire development in the spring in Western Canada.
Thick, choking plumes of smoke from Canadian wildfires are pouring into major cities across the Great Lakes, Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, bringing dangerous air quality to more than 100 million people. The polluted air will last through at least Saturday in some areas as new waves of smoke waft south. …More than 100 million people in 18 states are under air quality alerts, many of which note that the air pollution is so high, even healthy adults will be affected. “The risk of health effects is increased for everyone,” the DC, air quality council said. …The smoke is being carried south from Canada in the wind. On Friday, the plume pushed farther south, making the DC area the new East Coast-epicenter of air pollution. Relief is coming as the wind pushes the smoke back into the Northeast and rain and storms are in the forecast
