Infrastructure In Canada Threatened By Climate Change

[bananas]

http://www.planetizen.com/node/36555

Infrastructure In Canada Threatened By Climate Change

18 December 2008 - 7:00am

An internal report to the Canadian government written nearly two years ago concludes that infrastructure in the country is at serious risk from climate change. The study came to light recently under the Access to Information Act.

"The documents, sent to the senior levels of Transport and Infrastructure Canada late in 2006 and early in 2007, warned that water resources were particularly vulnerable to changes in the climate and urged the government to offer more support, guidance and leadership to help Canada's cities and communities.

The reports explained that extreme weather and rising temperatures would threaten infrastructure that was not designed for the full range of changes in the climate. It also warned that many cities were ill-prepared to tackle the problem.

'Water infrastructure is perhaps the most vulnerable of all types of infrastructure to climate change, and the importance of water to human health, the economy and the environment also makes it one of the most critical types of infrastructure. Furthermore, this type of infrastructure has the potential to suffer the greatest damages or losses associated with climate change unless proactive adaptation actions are taken,' reads an internal report, prepared by Infrastructure Canada's Research and Analysis division, titled Adapting Infrastructure to Climate Change in Canada's Cities and Communities."

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/todays-paper/Cities+face+ravages+warming/1080832/story.html

Cities face ravages of warming
Urban areas are ill prepared to prevent damage to critical infrastructure, report says
By Mike De SouzaDecember 16, 2008

The federal government was warned nearly two years ago by its own experts that climate change was threatening critical infrastructure across the country, putting human health and the economy in jeopardy, reveal newly-released federal reports and memorandums obtained by Canwest News Service.

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The internal report was sent along with at least two memorandums and other reports about sustainable community planning and the link between infrastructure and economic growth to deputy minister Louis Ranger -- the department's top-ranking official.

The reports were later edited and posted on the Infrastructure Canada website, but the internal version of the climate change report, released under the Access to Information Act along with the memorandums, reveals that the issue was flagged as an issue of concern in correspondence between several high-ranking members of the department.

The memorandum highlighted the report's calls for more research on the impact of climate change and the vulnerability of existing infrastructure. The report also noted that although many elected officials were conscious of the importance of reducing or mitigating activities that produce the greenhouse gas emissions linked to global warming, few were knowledgeable about the importance of implementing strong policies to adapt their infrastructure to a changing climate.

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[Liberal_and_proud]

1. While I admire the sentiment behind the warning

It's tough to get behind it when we have been in a deep freeze here (-25c) for the last few weeks and there is no end in sight to it ;-)

[HeresyLives]

2. Depends where you live in Canada.

Big country ya know. Lots of climates here.