It’s time for action as the climate clock ticks

Our province must do the hard work to create a bold plan, Carol Kroeger says.

I used to live in Chico, Calif. On hot summer days we’d sometimes drive to the town of Paradise to enjoy the blissful shade of their tall, pine trees. I’m horrified by the Camp Fire images of Paradise — houses obliterated, burned-out cars abandoned, and forests blackened. Scores of people have lost their lives. Thousands have lost their homes and their livelihoods. Prolonged summer heat and drought conditions brought on by climate change have led, and will continue to lead to larger and more frequent fires and more images of full-scale devastation on our television screens.

I used to live in San Francisco, Calif. On brisk fall days we used to walk up to Buena Vista Park and breath in the cool, eucalyptus-scented air. So much smoke from the Camp Fire made its way to San Francisco that for days breathing in that cool air was equivalent of smoking 10 cigarettes.

I used to live in North Vancouver, B.C. On warm summer days we’d take long walks on forest trails at the base of Mount Seymour. I’ve talked to family and friends who spent last summer stuck inside — hiding from the smoke and fire-tinged sky.

I live here now. We have been lucky, so far, in Saskatchewan — but it’s only a matter of time. In October, the UN IPCC released a report stating that we have only 12 years to substantially reduce our carbon emissions or global warming will go up more than 1.5 C, and we will see significantly worse droughts, floods, extreme heat and poverty for hundreds of millions of people all around the globe.

I know it’s hard to believe in rising global temperatures when the thermometer hits -40 C, but it’s happening now. Southern Saskatchewan has some of the greatest potential for solar power in Canada, yet Saskpower does not yet operate a single solar plant (although two small 10MW plants are expected to come on line before 2021). Saskatchewan has great wind-power potential, yet less than 20 per cent of our energy comes from renewable resources. As a province we have about twice the renewable potential we need to meet our present demand and yet, on a per-capita basis, we emit over six times as much greenhouse gas as Quebec and over three times as much as the national average.

There are bright spots in our province. On Nov. 23, right after the U.S. government released its massive federal climate change report warning of the devastating health and economic costs to the U.S., Stephen Hall premiered his inspirational Solar Generation video documenting Jared Clarke’s Lakeview 6/7 class visiting the Cowessess First Nation’s solar and wind project. In October, the City of Regina passed a historic motion to become a 100-per-cent renewable city by 2050.

DEEP Earth Energy Production Corporation is investing heavily in a five-megawatt geothermal project near Torquay that is projected to provide enough energy to power 500 homes and offset about 27,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year — the equivalent of taking more than 7,000 cars off the road annually.

Personally, we have made the decision to take advantage of Saskpower’s 20-per-cent rebate program and have solar panels installed on our roof. The size and configuration of our roof is not ideal for solar panels, but even so they will allow us to eliminate 75 tonnes of carbon over the life of the system — the equivalent of planting 1,748 trees or not burning 36.5 tonnes of coal. The system will pay for itself in 13 years (or sooner, if utility rates rise more quickly than expected). I never thought we’d be installing a tiny power plant on our roof and selling the power back to the power company, but when the provincial government drops the ball, someone has to pick it up.

Climate change has been called a slow-motion catastrophe, and I urge our provincial government to set aside politics and do the hard work to create and implement a bold and comprehensive plan. It is time for our province to be part of the solution and to do our part in averting this impending global catastrophe.

The clock is ticking.