We might have to gradually start withdrawing from the coastline because of climate change with rising sea levels. That warning was delivered to the Legislature’s Climate Change Committee by Alain Bourque of the Ouranos Climate Change Network in Quebec.
He also says there’s more to climate change than just reducing greenhouse gas emissions. We also have to think about greening of the system and limit the amount of water that’s going into the sewer system. Bourque doubts, however, whether we’ll dig out all our sewer systems in the next ten years to increase their capacities.
The Executive-Director at the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reducation in Ontario, Paul Kovacs says the government will have to decide how much money to spend on adapting to climate change. Kovacs says most of the benefits for people will be from money that’s spent on adapting to the effects of climate change.
He has advice for homeowners……….If you’re connected to the sewer system, you should have a back water valve to lower the risk of basement flooding as well as a sump pump and grade your property so water flows away from your home.
The provincial Climate Change Committee has been told insurance companies are now paying out more in claims for rain getting into homes from extreme weather than for fires. Provincial Green Party leader David Coon says homeowners aren’t the only people affected by climate change. He has been told by farmers that their crop insurance doesn’t cover their financial losses caused by the damage from extreme storms.
Another concern for Coon is higher acidity levels in water and what effect that will have on fish stocks especially lobster.
