NSclimate

Erosion project picks up speed

2011-03-07T14:45:00.002-04:00

Chéticamp announces new coastal erosion mapping project

Aerial view of coastal erosion in Chéticamp harbour

Image courtesy of: GAMS

Rémi Aucoin on Information Morning:

Audio recording courtesy of CBC

A new project in Cape Breton is looking at how coastal erosion is affecting the small community of Chéticam, in Cape Breton. Through new funding from Environment Canada, the Gulf Aquarium and Marine Centre Cooperative (GAMS) is using GIS technology to try and assess the changes in the coastline that many suspect have been accelerating recently due to climate change.

Rémi Aucoin of Grand Étang has been hired to collect the data, and was interviewed on CBC`s Information Morning Cape Breton on January 13th, 2011:

For more information on the project, or to give Rémi some information about how climate change has affected your coastline, phone GAMS at: 902-224-1623

Climate Stories contest winner announced!

2011-03-03T16:14:00.001-04:00

Congratulations Stefan Messenger!

The Climate Change Centre is proud to announce that the winner of the Climate Stories contest is Stefan Messenger of Cape Sable Island, Nova Scotia. Stefan won the contest , and the $500 grand prize, with his video of the flooding in southwestern Nova Scotia last November.

Stefan keeps a YouTube channel where he documents extreme weather as it happens in Nova Scotia. I asked Stefan why he shoots video of extreme weather, and what his views are regarding climate change. Here is what he had to say:

I guess my interest in the weather all started in early 2001, when the area I live being Cape Sable Island was hit by a freak windstorm unlike anything I had previously seen before. The Coast guard station about 5 minutes down the road from me was told to have recorded a gust of 110 mph at the height !! Of course damage was widespread the next morning with some areas of woods completely leveled, akin to what Hurricane Juan did in Halifax a few years later. The strange thing about the system was, outside the Cape sable island area you wouldn't have known such furry had took place the night before. I've yet to experience such an awesome force since that storm, although there has been some close ones !!

Regarding climate change, for me after reading what Peter Coade said in his entry turned a light on. I though maybe we are in a natural cycle of climate change, but then again I'm sure all the Co2 we pump into the Atmosphere everyday must have some effect on the process. I guess time will tell but if anything us as humans should really look at finding a new resource to power our way of life other than drilling for natural gas, lets face it there can only be so much oil out there, it will run out!!

Stefan's latest video shows ferocious waves rolling into shore in his community of Cape Sable Island in southwest Nova Scotia:

New poll says: climate change and issue in Canada

2011-02-23T09:56:00.001-04:00

Atlantic Canadians believe in climate change the most
by Tom MacDonald



Click to view larger images - Images courtesy of CBC

A new poll suggests that a majority of Canadians believe in climate change and would like the federal government to intervene on the issue.

The poll was commissioned to study the differences in attitudes on the issue of climate change between Americans and Canadians. The poll clearly shows that 80% of Canadians believe that there is solid evidence that the earth has warmed over the past 40 years, compared with only 58% of Americans.

Furthermore, the poll shows that a majority of Canadians believe that the government bears a great deal of responsibility for addressing climate change, with 65% of Canadians agreeing that their federal government bears great responsibility for addressing climate change, compared to just 43% of Americans.

Of particular interest to those of us in Atlantic Canada is that the highest level of belief in global warming among the provinces is the Maritimes at 89%.

This is sharply contrasted, however, with the fact that Atlantic Canadians only have 61% agreement that the federal government has a great deal of responsibility for addressing climate change.

This is indicative of our attitude towards climate change and economic considerations in Atlantic Canada. In fact, a poll commissioned by the CBC last September shows that Atlantic Canada has the highest support for the Tar Sands among all provinces in Canada.

The new poll also shows that a majority of Canadians favour Federal and Provincial renewable energy portfolios (69%) and cap and trade systems (51%).

Another area of particular interest in the survey results is the analysis of the demographic factors that determine a Canadian's view on climate change issues.

According to the poll, Liberals have the highest level of belief in the existence of global warming, at 91%, with Green party supporters showing the second highest level of belief at 87%. Meanwhile, the best indicator of whether or not a Canadian believes in the existence of global warming is whether or not they support the Conservative party of Canada (28% of Conservatives don't believe that global warming exists).

Podcast #3 | "Human remains were starting to wash down the bank"

2011-02-01T17:20:00.008-04:00

Annie Johnson walks the battered shore


Click to view larger images Images courtesy of UINR

Interview with Annie Johnson
by Tom MacDonald

Listen to the interview:

Description:

In this episode of the Climate Stories Podcast, I interview Annie Johnson from the Unama'ki Institute of Natural Resources in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.

There is a big problem of coastal erosion in the Mi'kmaw community of Malagawatch, where an ancient cemetery and sacred shrine are on the verge of falling into Bras d'Or Lakes. I find out what is happening to the cemetery, and what steps the community is taking to try to address this urgent situation.

Click here to subscribe to the podcast!

"A magic bullet for ameliorating climate change"

2011-01-18T14:48:00.003-04:00

Climate Change Demonstration Site

by Wind Horse Farms


Click to view larger images

In the old gravel pit between Juniper Lodge and Sunshine House is new development --- a wind turbine, a biochar kiln, and a kiosk which will display real-time results from wind and solar electrical generation.

The wind turbine was built here at the farm during a "Wind Turbine Construction Workshop" taught by Hugh Piggott from Scotland. Just last month it was installed during another program, this one coordinated by Jonathan McKeever of Halifax. The beautiful windhorse turbine is spinning beautifully, generating lots of power.

The pilot biochar kiln was built by Logie Cassells and Alex Holroyd-Smith, good friends who are involved in "LaHave Forests", a brilliant new initiative in Lunenburg County, whose purpose is to restore forest land which has been degraded over time through poor forestry practices. The production of low-temperature charcoal (biochar) is an ancient technology, which is little known in North America. It involves "cooking" wood at temperatures below that which would burn the wood. Thus all the carbon is locked into the charcoal and not released into the atmosphere as CO2. The biochar is then crushed and mixed with a liquid (e.g. water, compost tea, or kelp tea) to make a slurry for soil fertilizer. The advantages, in terms of slowing the global-warming process, derive from using woody material that has grown very rapidly (e.g poplar or willow) and then holding its carbon in the "carbon sink" (in this case, the soil) for a long time. In addition, the use of biochar for fertilizer, if adopted on a large scale, could significantly reduce the need for petroleum-based chemical fertilizers, thus further slowing global-warming. One can see why some very bright folks consider low-temperature charcoal production, along with its use as a soil fertilizer, to be a magic bullet for ameliorating climate change. We are initiating experiments to evaluate its usefulness in growing crops here at Windhorse Farm. We'll keep you posted.

"Sustainability through Diversity" is our Windhorse by-line. One aspect of this is our experimentation with a diversity of methods for generating heat and electricity. The Climate Change Demonstration Site increases our range of activity and speaks to our growing commitment to practical, on-the-ground, solutions. If you're interested, ask us about our other initiatives and share with us your ideas about how we can progress along this path of ecological responsibility.

"I am not convinced we are responsible nor that we can do anything about it,"

2011-01-17T10:17:00.006-04:00


Peter Coade (image: CBC)

by Peter Coade

One reason it has taken me so long to write something is because in my experience, my memory - the events that come to mind are before the era that we were made aware of Climate Change. I remember some of the snowstorms I have witnessed, lived through - both here in Nova Scotia, in Labrador and Ontario, many much more severe than those of the past 10 or 20 years with the exception of "White Juan".

So, when I am asked about my thoughts on Climate Change, I can only relate that to Global Warming.

As far as I am concerned, the facts are in - yes, the planet is warming up, and has been for a number of years. However, I am not convinced that we are responsible nor that we can do anything about it, that is to slow it down or stop it. I have attended too many conferences and debates on the subject, enough to convince me that we may not be responsible and that this warming is a very natural event that takes place every so many years, or decades or centuries or whenever.

However, that is not to say that are not contributing by putting all that we do place into the atmosphere, into the air we breathe. Whenever I am asked this question when giving school talks, I tell the students that just as we shouldn't smoke because it is not "natural" to put these poisonous gases into our body, so to it is not "natural" to put pollutants and harmful gases into the atmosphere, the air we breath.

Now in regards to Global Warming, which is an undisputed fact, although records with any degree of accuracy only go back a few hundred years - a mere blip in the history of the planet, I can see the results of that. As the Planet warms, our Oceans do as well and the oceans hold the warmth much better than land masses. With the warming of the Oceans, as with most things when heated, they expand. This then gives rise to higher shorelines, more shoreline erosion and most notably - more severe storm surges. Maybe I shouldn't say more severe, but storm surges with more of an impact.

So, there is my take on Climate Change...

Podcast #2 | "It's not going to be pretty"

2011-01-04T16:05:00.009-04:00

Interview with Ralph Surette
by Tom MacDonald

Listen to the interview:

Ralph Surette


Tusket River bridge washout - November 2010 (Image: Sou'Wester)
Click to view larger images

Description:

In this episode of the Climate Stories Podcast, I interview veteran freelance journalist Ralph Surette about how climate change is impacting southwest Nova Scotia, and delve into the relationship between the weather and people's attitudes to climate change.

Ralph Surette is a freelance journalist living in Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia. Ralph has written extensively on environmental and climate change issues in the province, and regularly gets published in the Chronicle Herald and on Rabble.ca

Click here to subscribe to the podcast!

Gales, Rains, and Flooding: Northwest Nova Scotia gets hammered

2010-12-20T14:14:00.010-04:00

Three maritime province have now had communities cut off by flooding this year

by: Tom MacDonald | images: Stephanie Vogler



Click to view larger images

As snow squalls stranded motorists in Ontario last week, fierce winds and heavy rain pounded Nova Scotia, demonstrating that wild weather systems are very sensitive to temperature. Cape Breton and the Annapolis Valley were the hardest hit within the province, but New Brunswick also suffered extensive flooding."

"This is the worst I've ever seen it, out of 47 years, and I've never seen it this bad," said Max Ingram as he surveyed the flood damage in Cape Breton. Heavy rains meant heavy damage to local bridges that were fighting against the torrential flow of the Margaree River, after 138 mm of rain fell in Sydney over a 36 hour period.

It was the second time this year that Cape Breton residents were stranded by road washouts, as 600 people in Dingwall waited for flooding to subside and for emergency access to be restored.

At one point, about 80,000 people were without power throughout the maritimes. Accordingly, the comment boards of various outlets covering the story are alive with criticism of Nova Scotia Power and the apparent fragility of our electrical grid.

According to a friend of mine, wind gusts at Canadian Forces Base Greenwood exceeded 180 km/h at times. The ensuing damage was felt across the valley, and was most sensationally exemplified in the collapse of a portion of a retirement home in Windsor.

Then there's New Brunswick. The province is no stranger to heavy rains, but it was nonetheless overwhelmed by the huge downpour last week. The town of St. Stephen declared a state of emergency, as large tracts of land near the downtown core were flooded.


Predicted flooding - Fredericton (image: CBC)
Click to view larger images

Meanwhile, in Fredericton, the now habitual sight of the St. John River flooding has the provincial capital bracing for major flooding. The flood waters were expected to hit 7.6 metres, a level that would totally overwhelm the city's 6.5 metre flood stage.

This storm is just the latest in what has been a devastating string of extreme weather events that has seen communities in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland facing their vulnerability to climate change head-on.

Only a few short weeks ago, the "worst flooding in a century" hit southwestern Nova Scotia, washing out bridges and causing extensive damage to people's homes and businesses. The provincial government is expected to request even more disaster assistance for this catastrophe than it did as a result of the heavy rains that washed out and isolated the tiny community of Meat Cove in Cape Breton last August. The province has already asked for $4.5 million dollars in federal disaster assistance for that work alone.

Add to this Newfoundland's experience with Hurricane Igor in September, which prompted Environment Canada to say: "There are no hurricanes/post-tropical events of this magnitude striking Newfoundland in the modern era."

The conclusion that one must draw is very clear:

Heavy rain, storms, and flooding are all
having an increasing impact in the maritimes.

"Rainfall events like this one seem to be on the rise all over Nova Scotia"

2010-12-14T16:26:00.002-04:00

Flooding in Nova Scotia, November 2010
by Stefan Messenger

I'm all the time taking video's of the weather, it is in fact my biggest interest if you couldn't tell from my other videos! I had been watching that rainstorm unfold over the first 2 days without much of any concern, until someone told me how high the water had got up so I decided to go check to see what was going on and this is what I found.

The video relates to climate change to me becasue it shows that rainfall events like this one seem to be on the rise all over Nova Scotia especially in the last 10 years or so, and that if we don't do something to reverse the changes we have made to our planet, weather extremes such as this flood will only get worse and worse over time.

-Stefan

"It shows what harsh effects mother nature can have in Nova Scotia

2010-12-14T16:03:00.000-04:00

Flood in Oxford

by Nick McMasters

This video was taken in 2009, on the Kolbec road. This relates to the climate change because it shows what harsh effects mother nature can have in Nova Scotia. And i would love to share it with the community.

-Nick

"This video may be a very valuable testament to what weather looked like in this age"

2010-12-14T15:50:00.000-04:00

Hurricane Earl Hits Halifax
by Dan Robichaud

I think this video chronicles our local severe weather, which immediately may seem benign, but in 20 years, if YouTube still exists, this video may be a very valuable testament to what weather looked like in this age.

In terms of climate change research, videos published from stormchasers such as myself, may prove to be a very significant archive for the next generation.

-Dan

Podcast #1 | "People are extremely concerned"

2010-12-06T14:11:00.006-04:00

Interview with Jen Graham by Tom MacDonald

Listen to the interview:

Jen Graham

Description:

Image courtesy of SAGT

I recently had the opportunity to interview Jen Graham about the impacts that climate change is having on Nova Scotia's coastline. Jen is the coastal coordinator at the Ecology Action Centre, and has been working for years to help Nova Scotians better understand their relationship with the coast and to advocate policies that would better protect the natural areas along our 7,579 kilometers of coastline.

Jen has been working on an interesting new project on the Northumberland Strait where she is talking to landowners along the coast to find out what is being done to deal with the increasingly severe levels of erosion that many communities are facing in the area. The Northumberland Strait is experiencing some of the most alarming rates of coastal erosion in Nova Scotia.

Click here to subscribe to the podcast!

Our climate change story is about our new house

2010-11-24T11:40:00.009-04:00

by: David and Bonnie Church

Pouring the foundation for the brand new wind turbine

We are in the process of building a passive solar straw bale home ( heat is delivered from the sun to a series of 5'gal pipes in-beaded in the concrete floor) with an integrated windmill to reduce our dependancy on foreign oil and solar panels which will supply domestic hot water further reducing our carbon foot print.

All materials are purchased locally when possible to support local growth and reduce the amount of energy required to deliver the products on site. At present we have started the form work on our straw bale passive green home.

Although we are not living in our green home at this time, we are continuously inspired with this journey. It all makes common sense and we wonder why more are not taking on this challenge.

Every new home begins with a sturdy foundation

I've decided to live consciously

2010-11-22T11:10:00.002-04:00

by: Allison Horne

Having heard so much in recent years about climate change and other problems in relation to the suspected causes and the effect, I've decided to live consciously; to think and ask questions about everything that is a part of my everyday life and beyond: the things that I buy, food that I eat, and causes that I support (directly and indirectly). I've realized so much in practicing this and I've completely changed my attitude and actions in regards to many "normalcies" in our modern culture, to make a positive environmental and ethical impact rather than a negative one.

Now I buy organic, unprocessed foods, as local as possible. I support small companies over large corporations. I buy fair trade products made from organic materials using sustainable resources with as little mechanical processing involved as possible. I walk and bicycle whenever possible and I appreciate the exercise, fresh air, and beautiful scenery whenever I do. I never idle my car, I turn it off completely whenever I'm not driving it. I turn off and unplug everything in my home when not in use. I always recycle and compost. I've also become mainly vegetarian to reduce my negative impact on animals and nature. I eat fish a few times a month and only buy from independent fishermen. I also avoid artificially created and artificially altered things; a positive change for myself and all other biotic aspects of the environment due to the absence of the products as well as the absence of the energy and means used to make and ship and utilise the product.

These changes may seem small and insignificant but I know that every time I go for the positive option rather than the negative, I'm one less reason for the negative to exist, I'm setting a good example for anyone paying attention, and if nothing else, I get to feel good about the positive decisions that I make every day.

The storms here are getting worse

2010-11-17T15:52:00.004-04:00

by: Kenneth Loy

Photo Courtesy of Tim Gage

The storms here are getting worse. My dogs and I have moved around throughout Nova Scotia. Everything is getting crazy. Our last hurricane I had to chase everything down the road, my garage came tumbling down, and the road through to town was cut off. My dogs where going nuts. I did not prepare for the storm so this was all my fault, so please take storm warnings seriously everyone!!

Thanks

-Kenny

Worst flooding in a century!

2010-11-09T15:24:00.010-04:00

Welcome to the new Nova Scotia
by Tom MacDonald

A person in Deerfield, N.S., observes the flood waters
of the Annis River around the house on Sunday.
(Craig Paisley/CBC)

This past weekend, southwestern Nova Scotia received 250 mm of rain - twice the monthly average! About 120 families were evacuated throughout Nova Scotia, in some cases being rescued by boat.
The resulting rising water levels behind Nova Scotia Power's Carleton Dam on Raynard's Lake overwhelmed the makeshift spillway that had been installed prior to the storm in an effort to avoid dam failure. "Carleton dam is further deteriorated and we expect a dam failure is imminent." said Harold Richardson of the District of Yarmouth.

A neighbourhood near Yarmouth. The area received
two months of rain over a span of 4 days (CTV)

At the time of writing, the dam was still holding, however as the watersheds in the surrounding area empty over the next few days, the dams are still at risk of giving way. "This emergency is far from
over, event though it seems to be fine weather." said Leland Anthony, Yarmouth district warden. "It takes a couple of days for all the watershed areas to dump its water into this lake system. This isn't over for us for the next three to four days."

The province is worried about the destruction that increased storms in Nova Scotia have caused over the past year, and when you look at the track record of the last few months as an example, you can see why.

Residents of meat cove chart a course out of their
stranded community using a makeshift bridge last August
(CBC)

The storm comes less than three months after the community of Meat Cove in Cape Breton was isolated by heavy rains that washed out the only road connecting it to the rest of the province. The remote community with a population of about 100 was stranded for a full five days before vehicles were able to maneuver themselves past the washout.

A few weeks ago, Premier Dexter announced that he will seek over $4.5 million from the federal government to help pay for the damage sustained in Meat Cove. The total cost of repairs is expected to top $7.2 million

The damage in southwestern Nova Scotia is expected to cost even more.

With these catastrophes becoming routine, many are asking whether or not we need to start looking at the alternatives to rebuilding damaged roads and bridges each time they are destroyed.

"What were acceptable standards and what were infrastructure requirements of
the past may not be the infrastructure requirements of the future."

- Premier Darrel Dexter

The premier plans to travel to southwestern Nova Scotia in the coming days to survey the destruction.

A road near Queensland Beach lays in ruins after
Hurricane Noel slammed the province in 2007
(Natural Resources Canada)

In late September it was announced by the Department of Transportation that an assessment process would be started to review how it responds to road damage and whether or not there are roads that are so vulnerable that they should be abandoned. They named Queensland Beach, Green Bay, and Western Head as location that are of high concern.

A few weeks later, it was announced that the Canso Causeway would be assessed with high-tech sonar in order to determine how much damage it has sustained over the years, and how well it will fair under the increased stresses it is likely to face due to climate change.

With Nova Scotia sinking into the Atlantic Ocean at a rate of about 1.3 mm/year, sea level rising at about 3 mm/year, and more intense and frequent severe storms expected to hit Nova Scotia, it is become all too clear that our way of living, including our construction methods, will have to be changed to adapt to the new climate realities we face.

Road closures as of 2 pm Tuesday:

Digby County — Bonnie Road, Municipality of Clare.

Yarmouth County — Tinkham Road.

Yarmouth County — Route 308 in Quinan.

Yarmouth County — Saunders Road.

Yarmouth County — Polly Road.

Yarmouth County — Spinney Road.

Yarmouth County — Gray Road.

Yarmouth County — Minor Road.

Yarmouth County — Raynardton Road, including Raynardton Bridge.

Yarmouth County — Depot Road.

Yarmouth County — Crosby Road (Leonard Sabean Road).

Yarmouth County — North Kempt Road.

Yarmouth County — Captain Landers Court.

Yarmouth County — Hardwood Hills Road.

Yarmouth County — Lake Vaughn Road.

Yarmouth County — Chemin de la Pre.

Yarmouth County — Valley Crescent.

Yarmouth County — Dayton Road.

Yarmouth County — MacCormack Road.

Yarmouth County — Mood Road.

Yarmouth County — Perry Road.

Yarmouth County — Belleville.

Yarmouth County — Canaan Road.

Shelburne County — Upper Clyde Road West.

Shelburne County — Upper Clyde Road East (Local traffic only at the Hemlock Branch Bridge).

Shelburne County — Back Lake Road.

Shelburne County — Bowers Road.

Shelburne County — Welshtown Road.

Letting Igor out of his cage

2010-09-30T14:24:00.011-03:00

Residents of Newfoundland reminded of the power of mother nature
by Tom MacDonald

With tens of thousands of people affected by Hurricane Igor, military and emergency management scramble
to restore access and basic services to communities stranded after massive storm. (Globe and Mail)

As communities in Newfoundland struggle to return to normality, some have interpreted the destruction wrought by Hurricane Igor as a sign that normality may be a thing of the past.

“This is the worst storm this town has ever seen and this is the most damage we've ever seen.” said Keith Rodway, councillor in the town of Clarenville.

Environment Canada agreed in a prepared statement, saying "There are no hurricanes/post-tropical events of this magnitude striking Newfoundland in the modern era." Emphasizing how rare this type of event has been traditionally, they added that "in statistical terms, this was effectively a 50- to 100-year event, depending on how one chooses to define it."

In fact, the unprecedented storm wrought so much havoc and destroyed so many roads that Transportation Minister Tom Hedderson expects that the cleanup effort will take months - despite 900 military personnel being deployed to help with the process.

Road damage on Random Island, N.L. (Denise Robertson)

More than 100 road breaches occurred as a result of the storm, and it is expected that the rebuilding process will have to be delayed until the spring since winter road construction remains unfeasible.

Perhaps perturbed by the massive road failures in Newfoundland, Nova Scotia's Department of Transportation announced this week that they would be reviewing how they deal with road destruction from natural forces, and whether to abandon roads at high risk of continual pounding as climate change ramps up.

The Canadian media is paying close attention to the incredible stories and images coming out of Newfoundland, but so far very few have made the obvious link between Igor and Climate Change.

The link is quite clear, especially in light of the recent report issued by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that concluded the northern hemisphere ocean temperature for August was the fourth warmest in history.

It has been established that global warming, particularly of the ocean surface waters, results in an increase in the frequency and severity of hurricanes. Popular Science, the Union of Concerned Scientists, and National Geographic have all spoken up on this issue.

August temperatures relative to average (NOAA)

Given the amount of disinformation currently dominating the conversation about climate change, it would seem that it is the responsibility of journalists covering hurricanes to point out the relevant links. Anything less is a disservice to the Canadian people, and particularly to those who have lost their homes, livelihoods, and even their lives at the hands Igor.

If we are to pull together as a country to do something about climate change, the first step is admitting that we are affected, and that we all bear partial responsibility for letting Igor out of his cage.

Road giving way, floating barn.

(caution: strong language in video)

Nova Scotia's Summer of Climate Change

2010-09-01T16:23:00.033-03:00

Media fails to link weather to climate change

A heat wave last summer sent people
flocking to Rainbow Haven beach near Halifax

by Tom MacDonald

Amid soaring temperatures, sunny days, and the allure of ocean temperatures warm enough to entice even the most squeamish in for a swim, it has been by many accounts a great summer to be living in Nova Scotia. Surfers from far and wide have been flocking to Nova Scotia beaches to cash in on the pristine surf conditions that have resulted from hurricane Danielle. The warm spring and summer have meant that the valley apple harvest is a few weeks ahead of schedule, making it the earliest the apples have been ready since 1946.

Yes, it would seem that our abnormal summer weather has been welcomed by most Nova Scotians, but there have been bad weather stories this summer for Nova Scotia as well. Heavy rain closed the Black Rock and Dingle beaches several times this summer after the new Halifax sewage treatment plant was forced to dump raw sewage into the harbour due to excessive stormwater runoff. Massive rainfalls in Cumberland County in early July caused farmers fields to innundate while washing out road shoulders and overwhelming an aboiteau. More recently, heavy rains marooned residents of Meat Cove from the rest of Cape Breton, washing out the only road linking the community to the rest of the country. And those soaring temperatures have caused the Spring Garden and Captain William Spry libraries to close early today due to "extreme heat and humidity in the building" and "a failure with the heating and cooling system".

Behind these weather stories lurks a theme that is almost never mentioned by the mainstream media: climate change is impacting Nova Scotia.

It can be problematic for journalists to draw a direct link between strange or extreme weather and global warming. This is because climate and weather are not the same thing. You cannot draw a direct link between any single weather event and climate change, since that weather event might well have happened regardless of climate change.

On the other hand, Climate science says that rare and extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and intense, as the drought in Russia, flooding in Pakistan, and landslides in China have reminded us.

The conflict between delivering the day's news accurately and drawing links between daily events and larger themes is one of the many challenges of the 24 hour news cycle that has come to dominate today's reporting. News is trimmed down to include only the hard facts, often precluding any analysis of the broader significance of the story. The temptation to exclude the big picture from the story is even greater when the topic of the story is considered to be relatively mundane, such as the flooding of some farm fields due to heavy rains.

Meteorologist Jeff Masters recently suggested an alternative narrative for media to use to link weather events with climate change:

"You have to talk a little bit carefully about it, because no single event can be blamed on climate change or global warming. But what I like to say sometimes is that we load the dice in favor of more extreme events. And perhaps it’s a better analogy to say we’re putting more spots on the dice. It used to be, when you roll the dice, you’d get snake eyes or you’d get double sixes. But I think now, particularly when we’re talking about extreme temperature events, where there’s more spots on the dice, you can’t roll snake eyes anymore, but you can roll a thirteen. And that’s what happened to Russia this year; they rolled a thirteen. I don’t think that kind of event was possible until recent decades, because global warming increased the baseline temperature of the world. So, I talk all the time about global warming and say, you know, we have to be cognizant of the fact that global warming is making heavy precipitation events and extreme heat waves more likely. Can’t say this particular heat wave is to blame for it, but, boy, it sure is going to be more and more the case, as the decades go on, we’ll see these type of events"

It could be argued that linking warmer swimming and better surfing conditions to climate change could have the effect of making Nova Scotians less concerned about it. By the same token, many people might become more concerned about global warming when the link is made between harbour pollution and climate change.

Both of these reactions are needed, and welcomed.

Nova Scotia is in an interesting position since it stands to benefit from climate change through increases in crop yields, more tourism, and lower heating costs in the warming winters that lie ahead. If we are to fully take advantage of these new opportunities, then we need the media to raise awareness on the positive aspects of climate change in the province.

Conversely, if we are to aggressively tackle climate change and build capacity to deal with the impacts of it, we need the media to raise awareness about the negative aspects of climate change in the province such as the prediction that hurricane season will be particularly intense this fall.

But simply choosing to exclude climate change from the story altogether at best does little to serve the interests of Nova Scotians, and at worst is irresponsible and dangerous.