‘Connect the dots’ on climate change

So, the smoke-filled skies have cleared and three days of choking, eye-scratching, sleepless nights have become something to forget. Or, at least, somebody else’s problem.

Let’s get in the gas-guzzling vehicle and go for a ride in the countryside, leaving our worries behind, to enjoy these end-of-summer days. Like the child’s book of “Connect the Dots,” it’s hard to get the big picture unless the numbered “dots” are followed.

That contemplated car ride is burning fossil fuel, like the home furnace and the transportation of food from around the world. That airplane or cruise ship you’re taking on vacation run on fossil fuels.

The federal and provincial governments are investing in fossil fuel infrastructure to sell to offshore refineries to be burned in foreign lands. Greenhouse gas emissions create the global warming effects of drought, famine, out-of-control wildfires, resultant floods and soil erosion, leading to food insecurity.

What can anyone do to stop “new dots” being created — such as more severe hurricanes, tornadoes, sea level rise and the melting of the Arctic permafrost?

Stop driving that internal combustion-powered vehicle and demand electrified buses, electrified light rapid rail (over the Malahat) and convert your home to an energy-efficient Step Four building code that will save you money. Plant a few trees in your backyard.

Connecting the dots can save us from a repeat of this year’s choking, smoke-filled summer and prevent further negative effects to our communities. Rafe Sunshine Victoria