Rockies’ conditions reflected in IPCC high mountains report

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Earth’s high mountain areas are so significant in terms of climate change impacts that last fall the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) issued its Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate.

Around the world, high mountain areas are places that hold much of Earth’s cryosphere, as the frozen parts of the planet are known, including snow, glaciers, permafrost and lake ice and river ice.

These high mountain areas are also where widespread changes are taking place in response to the planet’s warming temperatures. Declining snowpacks and shifts in the amount and timing of snowmelt runoff are just some of the changes happening in these areas.

The effects aren’t limited to the mountains, but have impacts on physical, biological and human systems in the lowlands downstream.

That includes the Canadian Rockies, foothills and prairies.

Read the Canmore Rocky Mountain Article full here.

Climate change, pollution and urbanization threaten water in Canada

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In recent years, the daily news has been flooded with stories of water woes from coast to coast to coast.

There are melting glaciers and ice sheets in northern and western Canada and lead in drinking water in the older neighbourhoods of many cities in Canada. We see toxic blue green algae threatening pets, livestock and drinking water as well as catastrophic floods, droughts and fires.

In 2018, parts of British Columbia experienced devastating floods, followed by wildfires a couple of months later.

Our water resources are under threat from contamination, land use, urbanization and climate change. If we’re not careful, it may not be clean enough or available when we need it.

Read the full The Conversation article here. 

Trudeau government’s promises on tackling climate change stymied by lack of data

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From The Globe and Mail:

The federal government has made climate change a priority by promising to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, put a price on pollution, plant two billion trees and help Canadians manage the risk of natural disasters such as flooding.

But interviews with more than a dozen researchers, and current and former government officials, plus scores of government records, point to the same conclusion: To keep its green promises, the federal government needs better numbers…

View the full article here

New resource ebook by Robert Patrick released!

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Robert Patrick has released a new ebook with Kendall Hunt Publishing: Protecting Sources of Drinking Water: A Guidebook for Indigenous Communities, Watershed Associations, Local Governments and Non-Governmental Organizations.

The ebook can be updated annually, and is practical as a resource book in both academic and non-academic settings. You can order the form or request a review copy at the following website:

https://he.kendallhunt.com/product/protecting-sources-drinking-water-guide-indigenous-communities-watershed-associations-local

The world is ‘losing its cool’ with the loss of snowpacks and glaciers, posing threats to water security

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The following was released by the University of Saskatchewan:

MADRID, SPAIN – At the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Madrid, Spain (COP25), University of Saskatchewan (USask) scientists are focusing attention on the world’s changing mountain snowpacks, glaciers, vegetation, and long-term effects that the thaw of snow and ice are having on the world’s freshwater and ocean water. Continue reading →

Upcoming Webinar: Water Security for Canadians: Making the Federation Work for Water

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Water Security for Canadians: Making the Federation Work for Water

Monday, December 2, 2019
11:30:00 AM CST – 1:00:00 PM CST

This webinar will explore how the federal government can provide leadership and better exercise its jurisdiction to help prevent Canada’s emerging water crisis. The speakers will outline a number of specific, achievable activities that could position Canada as a global leader in water prediction, management, and sustainability. Most of Canada’s major river and lake basins are transboundary, yet water management decisions are made locally—through provincial and Indigenous jurisdictions. Because waters cut across jurisdictional boundaries, rights and responsibilities, a more integrated approach to planning at the river basin level requires all orders of government to work together. John Pomeroy (Global Water Futures) will discuss the urgency to act now, offering an overview of water issues in Canada, including provincial and territorial water policies and the status of the Canada Water Act. Highlighting recent agreements in the Mackenzie Basin as an example of what is possible, Merrell-Ann Phare (Centre for Indigenous Environmental Resources) will discuss Indigenous water rights and reconciliation between Crown and Indigenous governments. Oliver M. Brandes (POLIS Water Sustainability Project) will then discuss the jurisdictional, institutional, and law reform priorities needed. This panel will be moderated by Rosie Simms (POLIS Water Sustainability Project) and will draw on the recent concept paper “Water Security for Canadians: Solutions for Canada’s Water Sustainability and Climate-Related Water Crisis” (April 2019), which makes the case for renewal of the Canada Water Act as a vehicle to enhance federal government engagement in water policy and governance. This special session of Creating a Blue Dialogue is hosted by the POLIS Water Sustainability Project in partnership with the Canadian Water Resources Association, Forum for Leadership on Water (FLOW), and Global Water Futures.

More Info

The Creating a Blue Dialogue webinar series has been hosted since 2010 by the POLIS Water Sustainability Project at the Centre for Global Studies, University of Victoria. The series brings together expert water practitioners and thinkers, as well as emerging water leaders, to engage with innovative ideas on water policy and governance in Canada. By creating an online community of interest, the series strengthens the national capacity to engage with and solve problems, and raises awareness about emerging Canadian water issues, best practices, and policies.