Building Climate Change Resilient Parks

Withdraw (above) and Dieppe Park both sustained heavy damage to trees during and after the ice storm two years ago.

In the face of rapid, man-made climate change, Toronto’s parks are facing some major challenges.  This is especially true around soil erosion, soil compaction, changing bio-diversity and most importantly, tree canopies.

As many of you know, I’m a student of AGW (Anthropogenic Global Warming) and I’ve just finished a little course sponsored by the World Bank Group.  You might be interested in one of my video artifacts – dealing specifically with Toronto Parks.  It speaks directly to the challenges and ways to overcome those challenges as we drift towards the year 2050.  I hope you’re inspired – at least a little ~ Ed.

A Ryerson Student on Climate Change

Bud burst is dependent on changes in weather

As some of you know, I’m a student of environmental science with a very special interest in anthropogenic global warming (or AGW)  and how urban parks can be made more resilient in the face of a changing climate.

Last week, as part of an assignment, I interviewed a Ryerson student about climate changes and asked her four questions.  Below are her responses that I thought I’d share with you.  The take-away is that this student sees very few changes in attitudes or behaviors of people or companies as they relates to climate change. 

A Low Carbon Economy

Can a Low Carbon Economy help reduce the chances of Global Warming?

An LCE has the potential to reduce planet-warming Green House Gases (GHGs0 and steer humankind away from dangerous, irreversible climate change.

An LCE is a system in which electricity is produced and energy is consumed using methods and fuels that emit a far lower quantity of GHGs than the carbon intensive systems we employ today.  The LCE extends beyond mere electricity production to embrace home heating, production of goods and see vices, transportation, agriculture, fishing, mining and almost every industry or activity you can imagine.

To learn more about a Low Caron Economy, please follow the link below to a recent paper I wrote for a University of Melbourne climate change course.

Ed Horner

Low Carbon Economy 2

A Deadly Lake That’s So Beautiful!

It’s a lake, yes. But it’s also a bomb. Those pale blue blobs, stacked like floating pancakes down at the bottom of this photograph? They’re astonishingly beautiful, yes, but they can be dangerous.

Toronto failing to act on alarming climate change predictions

Click to read Environment Canada’s view on climate change

November 11, 2011  – Toronto Star — Tess Kalinowski

The summer of 2012 was a hot one, preceded by a barely-existent winter. But in 30 years, Torontonians will look back on this as a relatively chilly year, compared with the temperatures being forecast in a dire report from the Toronto Environment Office.

The study predicts triple the number of above-30C days from about 22 on average annually to 66. It forecasts five times as many heat waves in the average summer and it warns that the days when the humidex hits 40C or higher will increase from nine a year to 39 on average.