The part about the moose was horrifying to me too (another reader mentioned it).. And have read about that illness where people become allergic to meat from a certain tick disease, it's very worrisome!
Here in Nova Scotia, on Canada's east coast, Lyme disease is endemic, we have lots of black legged ticks and Lyme. And winters are milder,…
The part about the moose was horrifying to me too (another reader mentioned it).. And have read about that illness where people become allergic to meat from a certain tick disease, it's very worrisome!
Here in Nova Scotia, on Canada's east coast, Lyme disease is endemic, we have lots of black legged ticks and Lyme. And winters are milder, less snow, the ticks are not taking a break I understand from dog-walkers. We've had two humungous snow storms in February this year but mostly none otherwise, at least here in the southwestern part of the province. Today is rain, the ground is bare again in my South Shore region, 50 F. We do have milder winters than many due to dangling out in the Atlantic, but we no longer have the late Jan-February cold snap that used to last for about 2 weeks. Now it's a day or so. Still enough with the Polar Vortex last year in a day or two to kill a big part of Nova Scotia's small wine industry. (I have read that the big wine industry in BC's Okanagan was wiped out this year by a similarly extreme cold snap.)
Last year we had our province's biggest forest fires ever due to the driest April on record. I don't know that our couple of big snowfalls will prove enough to stave off another spring drought, but March may change things yet.
Recent disturbing news about our coastline as sea levels rise and hurricanes increase in intensity (we've had some major destruction in the past couple of years, partly from storm surge), is our conservative provincial gov't has just announced they will NOT proclaim the Coastal Protection Act that has been in the works since 2019. It was passed in the legislature, they just needed to proclaim it into force with regulations. Then they said they were going to get more public input. Now it is dead, and instead they're creating an "app" so coastal property owners can evaluate their own risk!! Good grief.
This does not account at all for the impacts to neighbouring coastline of building hard seawalls that result in beach erosion, not only under them but next door. It's enraging and, as in most cases, it appears individual wealthy property owners or business owners are being placated at the expense of the greater good. Business as usual. To everyone's detriment.
The topic of fast fashion and the microplastics from our clothes is also a tough one and I am committed to avoiding fleece and such as much as possible. Am already a rare purchaser of clothes (am fashion avoidant), and try to make use of thrift and consignment stores to find quality stuff that endures.
It is all so overwhelming the numerous crises we have wrought, but we have to try what we can in our spheres of influence. Our current project is to take advantage of govt incentives for converting our old oil furnace to heat pump. Thanks for your reporting.
PS the other notable change here is the ocean temperatures. When I was younger it was around 11C in the summer at our local beaches. Past couple summers have seen 17-24C. I now actually can enjoy swimming at our beaches! AND we now know we have quite a few great white sharks that are along the coastline as well. AND our favourite local beach lost a huge part of it's tree-lined dune due to being scoured out in hurricanes last year, trees are toppled all along the edge, roots dangling out. The whole slope of the beach has changed, a rocky headland has been totally exposed where it used to be partially sand-covered. We know sand comes and goes in winter storms but this was the most dramatic change at this beach that I can recall. And the beach side part of the campground (it's a provincial park) was destroyed, trees toppled and parking places flooded with sand. So, there's that. Just what I notice in my tiny corner of the world.
The part about the moose was horrifying to me too (another reader mentioned it).. And have read about that illness where people become allergic to meat from a certain tick disease, it's very worrisome!
Here in Nova Scotia, on Canada's east coast, Lyme disease is endemic, we have lots of black legged ticks and Lyme. And winters are milder, less snow, the ticks are not taking a break I understand from dog-walkers. We've had two humungous snow storms in February this year but mostly none otherwise, at least here in the southwestern part of the province. Today is rain, the ground is bare again in my South Shore region, 50 F. We do have milder winters than many due to dangling out in the Atlantic, but we no longer have the late Jan-February cold snap that used to last for about 2 weeks. Now it's a day or so. Still enough with the Polar Vortex last year in a day or two to kill a big part of Nova Scotia's small wine industry. (I have read that the big wine industry in BC's Okanagan was wiped out this year by a similarly extreme cold snap.)
Last year we had our province's biggest forest fires ever due to the driest April on record. I don't know that our couple of big snowfalls will prove enough to stave off another spring drought, but March may change things yet.
Recent disturbing news about our coastline as sea levels rise and hurricanes increase in intensity (we've had some major destruction in the past couple of years, partly from storm surge), is our conservative provincial gov't has just announced they will NOT proclaim the Coastal Protection Act that has been in the works since 2019. It was passed in the legislature, they just needed to proclaim it into force with regulations. Then they said they were going to get more public input. Now it is dead, and instead they're creating an "app" so coastal property owners can evaluate their own risk!! Good grief.
This does not account at all for the impacts to neighbouring coastline of building hard seawalls that result in beach erosion, not only under them but next door. It's enraging and, as in most cases, it appears individual wealthy property owners or business owners are being placated at the expense of the greater good. Business as usual. To everyone's detriment.
The topic of fast fashion and the microplastics from our clothes is also a tough one and I am committed to avoiding fleece and such as much as possible. Am already a rare purchaser of clothes (am fashion avoidant), and try to make use of thrift and consignment stores to find quality stuff that endures.
It is all so overwhelming the numerous crises we have wrought, but we have to try what we can in our spheres of influence. Our current project is to take advantage of govt incentives for converting our old oil furnace to heat pump. Thanks for your reporting.
PS the other notable change here is the ocean temperatures. When I was younger it was around 11C in the summer at our local beaches. Past couple summers have seen 17-24C. I now actually can enjoy swimming at our beaches! AND we now know we have quite a few great white sharks that are along the coastline as well. AND our favourite local beach lost a huge part of it's tree-lined dune due to being scoured out in hurricanes last year, trees are toppled all along the edge, roots dangling out. The whole slope of the beach has changed, a rocky headland has been totally exposed where it used to be partially sand-covered. We know sand comes and goes in winter storms but this was the most dramatic change at this beach that I can recall. And the beach side part of the campground (it's a provincial park) was destroyed, trees toppled and parking places flooded with sand. So, there's that. Just what I notice in my tiny corner of the world.