So far, this winter has been the warmest for Yorkton in 63 years. The hero in this story, or villain depending on your perspective, is a warm mass of surface water in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean that occurs periodically and has been dubbed El Nino.
On average, for Yorkton, the average temperature in October-November-December was approximately five degrees warmer than normal. This is how an El Nino year usually affects the Canadian prairies, with milder and drier winters.
While this year El Nino is responsible for the balmy conditions, the current week notwithstanding, within the next few decades, this could become the norm for Saskatchewan.
Nobody knows precisely how climate change will play out is specific parts of the world, but the best science suggests we’re looking at a global average temperature rise of approximately two degrees Celcius. Researchers believe that will not be distributed evenly across the planet with northern regions, including the Yorkton area, warming significantly more than southern regions, perhaps as much as six degrees on average according to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.
We will have to adapt. For many people that sounds like an easy task, but adapting means a lot more than simply getting used to being more comfortable in the dark days of winter.
For years, Canada has thrown up its hands and said, “but what can we do?” Although we are one of the most intense users of energy per capita, our small population means we contribute significantly less than many other countries to the overall climate change picture.
Locally, efforts to stem climate change can seem even more futile, but we have to stop thinking like that if not for noble reasons then for economic ones.
Economic adaptation means moving away from the boom and bust cycle of fossil fuels.
Unlike the United States, Canada gets slammed hard whenever there is a slump in oil prices. The U.S. is actually benefitting from current economic conditions while the TSX is setting records for losses and the dollar is in the toilet flirting with all time lows.
The Yorkton region is still primarily agricultural. Climate change could present both opportunities and challenges for producers and we should be getting ready now to take advantage of benefits such as longer growing seasons and lower input costs and to mitigate potential hazards such as more severe droughts and increased crop pests and disease.
There are other things we should be doing locally, such as contributing to a shift toward the renewables economy. We live in a windy place with more sunshine than almost anywhere else in Canada. There are opportunities here.
Saskatchewan has at least a dozen programs to help businesses and individuals exploit those opportunities. The federal government has many others and all indications are it plans to introduce more.
Climate change is happening and there will be winners and losers. Every person should be asking himself, what can I do to ensure my family, my community, my city, my province and my country is among the former.
