We just experienced, barely a month ago, a rare meteorological phenomenon in Quebec, a derecho. This storm produces strong gusts and causes significant and extensive damage.
Posted yesterday at 4:00 p.m.
You know ? A word that was completely unknown to me before May 21st. In all, $155 million in insured damages in Quebec and more than $70 million in costs for Hydro-Quebec. Some 550,000 people lost power during this storm.
Like many of you, I had a good scare… two big 40-foot trees fell on the family cabin, broken like matches by violent winds, dragging the electrical cables with them. My son, on the road, was trying to join us. He was stopped by a tree that crashed in front of him a few feet in front of his moving vehicle. In this sector of Lanaudière, we were without water, without electricity and without a cellular network.
Stories like this, there are dozens. And last week, another extreme storm hit Quebec and Ontario.
Meanwhile, unprecedented heat waves are overheating Europe.
Spain has gone through four episodes of extreme temperatures in recent months, exceeding 40°C in the south and center of the country. Fires ravaged the mountains and firefighters evacuated entire villages.
A third of France experienced temperature peaks reaching 42-43°C last weekend.
Like Europe, a third of Americans have been suffering the consequences of climate change in recent days: heat wave alert, thunderstorms, tornadoes, fires, flash floods, drought. Extremely dangerous conditions.
So how can we still propose to put in place measures for future generations? Let’s be realistic, future generations are us today. And this observation brings with it the urgency to act.
For more than 30 years, environmentalists, scientists and activists have been warning us of the consequences for our planet of our rampant consumption, sustained growth, production and use of fossil fuels. More than a generation later, here we are. Touched by our denial.
And the costs of this denial are and will be enormous.
And to add to this picture, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) announced last August that climate change was happening faster than expected.
If it is the responsibility of all countries to act, as an individual, I feel powerless. My recycling bin, my compost and my water saving, although good gestures, are certainly not sufficient measures to put a stop to the climate emergency.
We need government policies, regulations that will frame our actions and those of companies.
Am I ready to pay more, to deprive myself of certain goods, to review my ways of doing things? Definitely. Do I want it? Not really. Change requires an effort that is sometimes demanding, but which is imposed on us, responsible citizens.
Now it’s up to you, politicians, to guide us towards new ways of doing things, as recommended by the IPCC, and to help us review our consumption, our food, housing, work, transport and the development of municipalities.
Fortunately, a new generation of municipal politicians with sound practices is imbued with great sensitivity to the climate emergency. In close collaboration with the provincial and federal government, we can make this shift. We need politicians aware of the urgency, ready to put in place strong measures to reverse this trend for us now… and for future generations.