Seven Lessons For BC From June's Lethal Heatwave
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Problem 1: The destruction of the rural economy
Logging, mining, cattle, fishing and tourism will be under unheard-of stress due to lack of water and the threat of more wildfires. During the June heat wave, BC Hydro dealt with scores, if not hundreds, of local power outages, often resulting from heat-related equipment failure. One blacked out Sointula, on Malcolm Island, for half a day; another shut down electricity for the north Vancouver Island region for almost 24 hours. Food spoiled, and backup generators were needed to pump water out of wells. Internet access was down for days.
Future heat waves will aggravate and extend such events. Homeowners and businesses will find it harder and more expensive to get insurance. Aging energy infrastructure will fail in heat waves and fires. Communities may decide it’s easier to go off the grid and rely on local renewable energy like solar instead.
Problem 2: Water
Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands are already dealing with drought. Meanwhile, B.C.’s 17,000 glaciers are melting too early and too fast in the heat, bringing the threat of floods to the Fraser River now, and drought later in the summer. The consequences for Okanagan vineyards and orchards, Fraser Valley farms and wild salmon could be catastrophic.
How do we conserve the water we have? More dams aren’t the answer: apart from the carbon emissions from making concrete, dam reservoirs can evaporate, as Lake Mead in Nevada is currently doing. Maybe we can rebuild our wetlands, or create new ones. “Flood the swamp!” could become a new political slogan. And can we keep our rivers and lakes at tolerable temperatures? If not, we lose our wild salmon. If they go, so do bears, orcas and even the forests fed on nutrients from salmon.
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https://thetyee.ca/Analysis/2021/07/19/Seven-Big-Warnings-Killer-Heat-Wave/