On Oct. 6, I heard part of an interview with our local Conservative Party candidate, Mel Arnold, in which Mr. Arnold expressed his belief that humans were not responsible for climate change. With credible information on climate change so readily available today, it is astonishing that any Canadian of voting age could be so ill-informed.
Climate change is real and it’s costing us dearly. The costs to taxpayers in Canada and around the world to repair damage due to extreme weather, and to make our infrastructure more resilient to extreme weather, amounts to many billions of dollars every year, and are increasing. Climate change is hurting our economy.
The climate is warming 10 times faster than it did coming out of the last ice age 10,000 years ago. In the 15-year period 2000 – 2014, the world experienced 13 of the top 15 warmest years in recorded history (135 years).
Anyone can tell that’s unusual. In fact the website “climatecentral.org” has estimated the odds of that happening without a human influence on climate at 1 in 27 million.
Climate change is arguably the most important issue of our time, and we simply must get a handle on it. Societies can no longer afford to elect representatives who don’t understand that.
On Oct. 19, please think hard about your children and grandchildren before you consider supporting a man who thinks that 1 in 27 million is a pretty good bet.
Brian Guy