Climate solutions can cut household costs, improve health
The challenge for groups like Climate Action Newmarket Aurora is to get people to think seriously about climate change when we have not yet been exposed to climate disasters
Summertime and the living is …. Not easy. The George Gershwin tune does not ring so true these days. This summer has seen wildfires raging in northwestern Ontario and in many parts of western Canada. Soaring record high temperatures have been roasting most of Europe and south Asia. The recent floods in Nepal have been devastating. Climate change as a result of global warming is the cause.
Although there are a small group of climate change deniers, the scientific evidence is clear (see Canada’s Changing Climate Report 2026). Current global warming is a result of human activity — the releasing of large quantities of carbon and methane into the atmosphere since the beginning of the industrial revolution amplified by increasing emissions each decade.
Polls show that climate change is a large concern for Canadians (75 per cent of Canadians are concerned it is about climate change and its potential impact on the future. However when prioritizing, climate change is lower on the list than things like inflation, housing and the economy. And this is understandable as people look at what is impacting them now as opposed to further down the road. Although if you live in the Okanagan Valley in B.C. or on a reserve in northwestern Ontario and your house has burned down, there is an immediate effect.
Here in Newmarket and Aurora, we seem to avoid catastrophic weather events (for now). We did have darkened skies, and the GTA was the most polluted city in the world for a couple of days as the smoke from northwestern Ontario wildfires spread south, but generally we have not had the emergencies other jurisdictions have had.
The challenge for groups like Climate Action Newmarket Aurora is to get people to think seriously about climate change when we have not yet been exposed to climate disasters. There are immediate impacts such as increased summer heat waves and heavier rainfall as experienced in Toronto recently, but the impacts seem subtler. But when we can link climate change to the other priorities perhaps people will start paying more attention. Addressing climate change can reduce costs and stimulate the economy.
For some, the challenges seem too great. It seems inevitable and there is nothing we can do about it. But there are signs that we are making progress, things are ramping up, and before you know it things may turn around. For this to happen, we need to do more and do it more quickly. But hope is busting out all over.
One of the key pieces is related to the concerns Canadians have about inflation. Renewable energy resources have become cheaper than oil and gas. Solar and wind power costs have come down significantly over the past 10 years. Heating and air conditioning your house by heat pump and refuelling your electric vehicle will be a huge savings for households.
Building wind and solar farms is far cheaper for the government than gas and nuclear power plants. Insurance costs as a result of fire and floods are rising and in some cases making some areas uninsurable.
Critics keep talking about the costs and how we cannot afford to move to renewables. This just is not the case anymore. Addressing climate change will bring costs down and spur the economy. Resourcing renewable power generation and battery technology will produce jobs and grow the economy.
It is not only the climate that is affected by emissions, pollution affects the health of our families (and increases the burden on our health care systems). Check out our website for information about school bus diesel fumes and our children’s health. When Ontario finished closing all the coal energy plants in 2014, air quality became significantly better and the GTA rarely has smog days anymore.
The good news is other parts of the world are changing to renewable clean energy at a pretty fast pace. This is good for the world climate, but Canada needs to jump in and be part of this change both for the climate and for the economy. We do not want to be left behind in the creation of the 21st century renewable energy economy.
So there are positive things happening, it is feasible to address global warming, we know the solutions. We just have to make them happen. As citizens, we need to ensure our politicians and governments are doing the right thing. We have municipal elections coming up in October and our next Power of Yes column will provide some guidance on what to demand from our mayors, councillors and trustees.
We have successfully handled acid rain and the ozone crisis. We could be on the cusp of a great transition that will hopefully avoid the worst of global warming. Hope is abundant. Lets push the powers that be in the right direction.
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