March, 2024
The magnitude of climate change is overwhelming. Recent news indicates that emissions from major polluters, like the oil and gas industry, are heading to record levels, even as the profound danger of climate change becomes increasingly apparent.
In the face of this, individual citizens are told that they can help, by, for example, shortening the length of the showers they take, idling their cars less, offsetting emissions from their flights, or using cloth bags for groceries.
Do you think individual actions can make a meaningful impact in the fight against climate change, or do you think they are a distraction from the larger changes needed?
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February, 2024
February’s question addressed political will, and whether there is enough of it in Canada to do what’s necessary to achieve net-zero emission goals.
The vast majority thought that we are not doing nearly enough, with one stating that even net-zero isn’t enough, and that we need negative emissions to get back on track, and few were unsure
Being unsure about this question is itself interesting, and may indicate the lay of the land, currently with respect to where we are with efforts to achieve net-zero, as opposed to simply not knowing how to answer. There certainly is ambiguity regarding the goal, since it’s been clearly communicated as something we will meet, yet there’s increasing concern regarding whether we are, in fact, doing enough to do that.
Finally, Ric took the time to share his concern that we might starve or freeze first, and so what’s the point? He is also under the impression that “BUBBLE advocates don’t have any day to day bills to meets/survive.” I’m not sure who he’s referring to as bubble advocates. My best guess would be small children, and in that case I suppose I’d agree with him, since they don’t have the primary responsibility for paying bills. And so it all makes sense.
Thanks for the feedback, everyone!
January, 2024
We had a great response to this month’s poll.
In addition to answering the provided questions, a number of people added comments, noting what they are seeing and what they are most concerned about.
Fires, in particular forest fires, and the impacts they have on air quality, featured prominently. Larry noted that they had to stay inside a number of days this past summer, which many of us can relate to.
Flooding was another major concern, with s.hirst commenting on damage experienced to their house.
Brent, Mirjana, and George all noted that climate change is likely to cause increased political instability. (This is an issue on our radar for an upcoming Issue In Brief.)
And, the very Canadian concern of the loss of ice surfaces (connecting to the loss of traditional experiences and the deep cultural impact that has) was raised by Kevin.
In what time-frame do you think climate impacts will directly affect you?
Some examples of what directly affected means: damage to your property, or an increase in the price of a product that requires you to make a hard choice (to buy it means to not buy something else).
Results
