Canada 50C/120F

[Terry - Somerset]

Lytton in Canada, the subject of a catastrophic fire in the last few days as tempratues hit 50C was established in 1858 and is home to 249 people.

Although the area was inhabited before then and it was on the route to a gold rush, I suspect that any major (climate) events prior to 1800 would have been undocumented folklore. I would also guess that it is only in the last 60-100 years that the village was "connected".

Wikipedia - record temperature in June in last 100 years was 49.6C and describes the climate:

Lytton has the driest summers in the interior of British Columbia, and indeed, one of the driest summers of all places in Canada

I am not a climate change denier - but this does reinforce the need for objectivity noting that one extreme event (very close to previous extremes) does not prove anthing.

 

[thetyreman]

I don't see what we can honestly do to prevent it or stop it from happening.

 

[Rorschach]

Whatever happens with the climate man made or natural we will adapt. Climate change is a slow process, human adaptation happens in a matter of moments comparatively. The faster things change, the faster we improve and adapt. It really is nothing to worry about. Making money from hysteria though, well we all know how easy that is.

 

[Jacob]

I don't see what we can honestly do to prevent it or stop it from happening.

Actually it's simple in principle; stop using fossil fuels 100% and start planting forests, peat bogs, etc.

 

[Spectric]

We can do nothing to slow or stop global warming because our input is nothing compared to other countries, to make real change the biggest contributors need to make positive change now, not going to happen soon enough as too many still think we have time on our side. Even our government is not really taking this seriously and making plenty of noise but still not enough action. Look at housing, something that is currently not energy efficient enough and once built will contribute to global warming for many decades to come yet we are building thousands of these sheds and the government has not changed the building regs to force builders to make the real homes of the future. Then EV's which they seem to be pining an awful lot on to help but they need clean renewable energy to keep them charged, to many holes in the plans and not enough time left to put the brakes on.

 

[Jacob]

Whatever happens with the climate man made or natural we will adapt.

We will be adapted, most likely by drastic reduction in population and human activities

Climate change is a slow process,

Unfortunately it is quite fast and we may have passed points of no return already

human adaptation happens in a matter of moments comparatively.

But it's not happening

The faster things change, the faster we improve and adapt.

Not if they happen too quickly, as we are seeing all around the globe

It really is nothing to worry about. ....

Don't be silly!

 

[Jacob]

....Then EV's which they seem to be pining an awful lot on ....

I don't think EVs will save us - they'll be a flash in the pan as the world changes far more fundamentally. Basically EVs are just about boys toys, which is why they feature so prominently

 

[thetyreman]

Actually it's simple in principle; stop using fossil fuels 100% and start planting forests, peat bogs, etc.

not a bad idea, but how will we stop people driving cars? also my local council in stockport are obsessed with cutting down trees, they aren't making any effort at all to protect ancient woodland or trees in town centres, quite the opposite in fact, anyone that complains about it gets ignored.

 

[D_W]

Chicken little has arrived.

 

[Jacob]

not a bad idea, .......

It's the only idea - everything else is just about sorting out the details

 

[Rorschach]

This hysteria will still be going on when you old farts are long gone and I am gasping my last on my death bed, there will still be people saying "we only have 10 years to save the planet"

 

[Rorschach]

We shouldn't be worrying about our impact here.

 

[Jacob]

https://theconversation.com/exxon-c...-long-history-of-science-misinformation-50518

 

[D_W]

https://theconversation.com/exxon-c...-long-history-of-science-misinformation-50518

Oh, the humanity! Bring back the friendly communists!

 

[Inspector]

I was an aircraft mechanic in the late 70's working on Douglas A-26 and DC-6 air tankers. We had bases all over BC and the Kamloops tanker base covered the Lytton area. It was usually the hot spot in the province, being in the high 30s most of the summer with some periods in the low 40's. They never approached the high 40's much less getting to 50C. Forest fires were usually caused by lightning strikes, careless people and their smokes, or deliberate setting of fires and from trains tossing sparks from their wheels and brakes. I was reported last night that a woman saw a small fire by the tracks so that might have caused the fire that took the town.

As for climate change. A billion years ago there was lots more CO2 in the air and the planet was much warmer. Life put that carbon into the ground in the years since and the planet cooled. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that burning dinosaur farts over the last couple hundred years, putting it back into the air, is going to affect the climate. Adding to that the over populating of the planet by us, all wanting more of the resources and our destruction of the forests that lock up carbon, in the short term at least, makes the problem worse. There will continue to be lots of extinctions of plants and animals, worse than the meteor that killed off the dinosaurs, because of us. Best thing for the planet is if 90% of us disappeared. That won't happen so Soylent Green crackers are in our future.

Pete

 

[selectortone]

It really is nothing to worry about. Making money from hysteria though, well we all know how easy that is.

You really have no idea do you?

This country depends on weather systems like the Gulf Stream, the North Atlantic Oscillation and all the rest, for the temperate weather that allows us, here on this fragile island stuck out in the Atlantic, to exist in reasonable comfort. Just a few degrees difference could very well entirely disrupt all that. But of course that's science and we all know about experts eh?

As you said in a subsequent post, most of us 'old farts' (thanks for that) will be gone before the worst of it hits, but I have three grandchildren and I'm fearful for the life awaiting them. Not least because of the existence of the many ignorant people like you with their heads in the sand.

 

[Rorschach]

You really have no idea do you?

This country depends on weather systems like the Gulf Stream, the North Atlantic Oscillation and all the rest, for the temperate weather that allows us, here on this fragile island stuck out in the Atlantic, to exist in reasonable comfort. Just a few degrees difference could very well entirely disrupt all that. But of course that's science and we all know about experts eh?

As you said in a subsequent post, most of us 'old farts' (thanks for that) will be gone before the worst of it hits, but I have three grandchildren and I'm fearful for the life awaiting them. Not least because of the existence of the many ignorant people like you with their heads in the sand.

Two points, what do you foresee happening to our little island that will be so catastrophic? Secondly, what do you think we can do about it, given that any changes need to be global and the most powerful countries in the world don't care, as my previous post showed we account for less than 1% of CO2 emmissions so even if we all stopped producing any CO2 at all, we would have almost zero effect on climate change.

 

[selectortone]

One point, answer mine first.

 

[Rorschach]

One point, answer mine first.

You didn't ask a question.

 

[powertools]

I think that there is a problem with not only with climate change but air quality in general. I fail to understand that if governments are serious about making changes why the likes of Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos are allowed to develop space craft the only purpose of which is to propel wealthy thrill seekers to the edge of space. If we are going to change things we are all going to have to make massive changes to our life styles.