Dear Editor:
Do Wellington Advertiser readers want to take action on climate change? I definitely do.
On May 4, 2018, a violent windstorm that tore across Southern Ontario and Quebec took the lives of my only son, a 28-year-old arborist, and his 19-year-old assistant. They had just rescued a student stranded on a school bus by a fallen tree in Milton, when a second tree suddenly snapped and fell, killing them both.
With winds gusting to 126km/h, this was one of the first weather-related catastrophes the Canadian insurance industry linked conclusively to climate change. Claims reached $680 million, to that point one of the highest extreme storm payouts in Canada.
Since 2018, climate catastrophes in Canada have accelerated from coast to coast and up to the Arctic Circle, including devastating wildfires, floods, atmospheric rivers, hurricanes, tornadoes, heat domes, and droughts. The human toll and personal losses have been enormous. And given our continued addiction to fossil fuels – coal, oil, and gas/methane, the prime drivers of global warming – there’s much more to come. Last year was the hottest year ever recorded globally, and the first months of 2024 have followed suit.
After my son’s death, I joined a local Erin climate action group that researches and advocates for solutions to address the climate crisis with all levels of government.
On the municipal level, the Town of Erin is slated to add huge residential developments in the near future – it has already begun – which will double our population over the next 30 years. In late November, our climate action group recommended to the town planner that fossil-based heating and cooling units be replaced with super-efficient heat pumps – which also air condition in summer – in all new buildings. Another green option is to heat and cool new neighborhoods with district geothermal energy systems rather than climate-destructive natural gas units.
Now, Wellington County is inviting every resident concerned about climate change to contribute our input to the creation of new Green Development Standards. This is a policy tool that embeds sustainability and greenhouse gas emission reductions at the core of planning, design, construction and management of all new buildings in our county.
This meeting takes place on March 25 from 5 to 7:30pm at the Wellington County Museum and Archives (register on the county website). Please join me there. I know that my son Adam would endorse this critical green initiative.
Debbie Wickham,
Erin