Climate change

Students await their bus on Douglas Highway Tuesday morning for the first day of the 2023-2024 school year. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)

Back to school arrives with affordabilty, AI, climate change issues

Most families, however, are focused on the usual change of routines

Students await their bus on Douglas Highway Tuesday morning for the first day of the 2023-2024 school year. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)
Tyler Basham paints the grass outside a house in Maple Ridge, B.C. on Thursday, August 17, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Paint it green: B.C. firm offering lawns Mother Nature won’t allow

Tinted Turf Grass Solutions spray-painting away the browns of our ongoing drought

Tyler Basham paints the grass outside a house in Maple Ridge, B.C. on Thursday, August 17, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
B.C. farmers say they’re increasingly concerned about climate change and the impacts of extreme weather on food production in the province. People work on a farm as gantry cranes used to load and unload cargo containers from ships sit idle in the distance at Global Container Terminals at Deltaport, in Delta, B.C., on Friday, July 7, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

B.C.’s agriculture industry at forefront of climate change reality

B.C. producers are still trying to get a clear picture of the damages wrought by the ongoing fires

B.C. farmers say they’re increasingly concerned about climate change and the impacts of extreme weather on food production in the province. People work on a farm as gantry cranes used to load and unload cargo containers from ships sit idle in the distance at Global Container Terminals at Deltaport, in Delta, B.C., on Friday, July 7, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
The Lower East Adams Lake wildfire in B.C.’s Shuswap region is shown in a handout photo. Wildfire crews in British Columbia are bracing for an incoming weather system expected to bring strong winds and dry lightning by Thursday, but conditions are already flaring in at least two areas of the province. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-BC Wildfire Service

Winds, heat and lightning trigger concern as 2 B.C. wildfires surge

Okanagan-Similkameen, Squamish-Lillooet issue evacuation orders

The Lower East Adams Lake wildfire in B.C.’s Shuswap region is shown in a handout photo. Wildfire crews in British Columbia are bracing for an incoming weather system expected to bring strong winds and dry lightning by Thursday, but conditions are already flaring in at least two areas of the province. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-BC Wildfire Service
A marine layer hangs in the air as a SeaBus passenger ferry crosses Burrard Inlet, in Vancouver, on Monday, Aug. 14, 2023. As temperature records are shattered across southern British Columbia this week amid a scorching heat wave, the Wildlife Rescue Association of BC is sounding the alarm about the ongoing risks to animals. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

B.C. wildlife association reports uptick in heat-related calls

Group offers advice as health issues, clashes with people and pets climb with the temperature

A marine layer hangs in the air as a SeaBus passenger ferry crosses Burrard Inlet, in Vancouver, on Monday, Aug. 14, 2023. As temperature records are shattered across southern British Columbia this week amid a scorching heat wave, the Wildlife Rescue Association of BC is sounding the alarm about the ongoing risks to animals. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Portable air conditioners are seen at a store in Vancouver, on Saturday, August 5, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Air conditioners ‘a necessity’ as B.C. breaks nearly century-old heat records

Lytton registered the hottest temperature in B.C. — 41.5 C on Monday

Portable air conditioners are seen at a store in Vancouver, on Saturday, August 5, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
A firefighter directs water on a grass fire burning on an acreage behind a residential property in Kamloops, B.C., Monday, June 5, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Forecasted winds pose biggest wildfire threat amid heat wave

BC Wildfire Service expects the worst impact of heat to be felt later this week

A firefighter directs water on a grass fire burning on an acreage behind a residential property in Kamloops, B.C., Monday, June 5, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Motorists traveling on the Cariboo Highway cross a bridge over the swollen Bonaparte River, north of Cache Creek, B.C., on Sunday, May 14, 2023. Environment Canada says unseasonably hot temperatures in British Columbia will persist over the coming days, with special weather statements warning of high river streamflows due to melting snow in hard-hit communities in the province’s interior. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Records tumble as B.C. heat wave spreads, hitting 40 C

By 4 p.m. Monday at least 12 daily heat records had fallen across B.C.

Motorists traveling on the Cariboo Highway cross a bridge over the swollen Bonaparte River, north of Cache Creek, B.C., on Sunday, May 14, 2023. Environment Canada says unseasonably hot temperatures in British Columbia will persist over the coming days, with special weather statements warning of high river streamflows due to melting snow in hard-hit communities in the province’s interior. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Crews worked quickly to douse flames that broke out Sunday on a hill just above Teck Resources’ Trail operations, potentially threatening the work site as well as some homes near the community of Warfield, B.C. Smoke from the fire is shown in this handout from BC Wildfire Service. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-BC Wildfire Service

Sizzling hot spell settles over B.C., adding to wildfire woes

Wildfire crews battling several major blazes around British Columbia had a busy…

Crews worked quickly to douse flames that broke out Sunday on a hill just above Teck Resources’ Trail operations, potentially threatening the work site as well as some homes near the community of Warfield, B.C. Smoke from the fire is shown in this handout from BC Wildfire Service. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-BC Wildfire Service
People dance and gather at English Bay Beach during a heat wave, in Vancouver, B.C., on Monday, June 21, 2021. Advocates for renters in British Columbia say it’s time to consider setting a maximum temperature for rental housing, to protect already vulnerable tenants from increasingly rising heat. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

As B.C. temperatures soar, advocates call for rules to keep rental housing cool

Municipal bylaws mandate minimum rental unit temperatures not maximum

People dance and gather at English Bay Beach during a heat wave, in Vancouver, B.C., on Monday, June 21, 2021. Advocates for renters in British Columbia say it’s time to consider setting a maximum temperature for rental housing, to protect already vulnerable tenants from increasingly rising heat. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
A person cools off in Lynn Creek in North Vancouver, B.C., on Thursday, July 6, 2023. Health authorities as well as local and provincial governments across British Columbia are providing guidance on how best to deal with a sweltering heat wave that began in British Columbia’s southern coast this weekend is expected to expand into the Interior starting today.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Heat wave that hit B.C.’s south coast expected to spread to Interior

Highs in the 30s expected across the southern portions of the province

A person cools off in Lynn Creek in North Vancouver, B.C., on Thursday, July 6, 2023. Health authorities as well as local and provincial governments across British Columbia are providing guidance on how best to deal with a sweltering heat wave that began in British Columbia’s southern coast this weekend is expected to expand into the Interior starting today.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Minister of Environment and Climate Change Steven Guilbeault speaks during a news conference in Longueuil, Que. on Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

Federal government releases new draft regulations on clean electricity

Regulations expected to help Canada reach target of making the electricity grid net-zero by 2035

Minister of Environment and Climate Change Steven Guilbeault speaks during a news conference in Longueuil, Que. on Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes
Minister of Natural Resources Jonathan Wilkinson arrives to take part in a press conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Thursday, June 15, 2023. The federal government is considering restricting billions of dollars in tax credits and grants for electricity projects to provinces that commit to the 2035 target for an emissions-free electricity grid. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Provinces may have to agree to 2035 clean power target to access funding

Federal government considering tying grant money and tax credits to deadline

Minister of Natural Resources Jonathan Wilkinson arrives to take part in a press conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Thursday, June 15, 2023. The federal government is considering restricting billions of dollars in tax credits and grants for electricity projects to provinces that commit to the 2035 target for an emissions-free electricity grid. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
Buildings are seen in floodwater following a major rain event in Halifax on Saturday, July 22, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darren Calabrese

Extreme weather risk changing Canada’s insurance industry, raising costs

Unusually high premium hikes happening in the West and parts of Atlantic Canada

Buildings are seen in floodwater following a major rain event in Halifax on Saturday, July 22, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darren Calabrese
Tiembe, a 15-year-old Angolan lion, licks his frozen breakfast, chunks of red meat and bone packed in a block of ice, at the Attica Zoological Park in Spata suburb, eastern Athens, Friday, Aug. 4, 2023. A large number of animals being fed frozen meals at the Attica Zoological Park outside the Greek capital Friday, as temperatures around the country touched 40C (104 degrees Fahrenheit) and were set to rise further, in the fourth heat wave in less than a month. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)

Greek zoo serves up frozen meals to animals to help them beat the heat

Animal welfare concerns widespread as temperatures expected to crest 40 C again in scorching summer

Tiembe, a 15-year-old Angolan lion, licks his frozen breakfast, chunks of red meat and bone packed in a block of ice, at the Attica Zoological Park in Spata suburb, eastern Athens, Friday, Aug. 4, 2023. A large number of animals being fed frozen meals at the Attica Zoological Park outside the Greek capital Friday, as temperatures around the country touched 40C (104 degrees Fahrenheit) and were set to rise further, in the fourth heat wave in less than a month. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
Wildfires in B.C. have contributed to record-smashing carbon emissions for Canada and the world. (Photo courtesy of Pete Laing/BC Wildfire Service)

B.C. wildfires contribute to record-smashing greenhouse gas emissions

Scientists point to climate change behind the record-setting numbers

Wildfires in B.C. have contributed to record-smashing carbon emissions for Canada and the world. (Photo courtesy of Pete Laing/BC Wildfire Service)
B.C. farmers will once again be eligible to apply for funding through a joint federal-provincial program that helps producers adapt to climate change. The province announced Aug. 3, 2023 that $4 million will be available through the Beneficial Management Practices program, which aims to help farmers and ranchers throughout B.C. become more resilient and contribute to a cleaner, healthier environment. (Pixabay)

B.C., Canada promise $4M to help farmers adapt to climate change, drought

Program aims to help producers with waste management, air-quality and emissions control

B.C. farmers will once again be eligible to apply for funding through a joint federal-provincial program that helps producers adapt to climate change. The province announced Aug. 3, 2023 that $4 million will be available through the Beneficial Management Practices program, which aims to help farmers and ranchers throughout B.C. become more resilient and contribute to a cleaner, healthier environment. (Pixabay)
FILE - Tourists use foldable fans to cool off as they visit Rome, Saturday, July 22, 2023. Rising global temperatures are elevating air conditioning from a luxury to a necessity in many parts of Europe, which long has had a conflictual relationship with energy-sucking cooling systems deemed by many a U.S. indulgence. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, file)

Sweltering Europeans give air conditioning a skeptical embrace

As the summer breezes fade, continent rethinking its skepticism of cooling technology

FILE - Tourists use foldable fans to cool off as they visit Rome, Saturday, July 22, 2023. Rising global temperatures are elevating air conditioning from a luxury to a necessity in many parts of Europe, which long has had a conflictual relationship with energy-sucking cooling systems deemed by many a U.S. indulgence. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, file)
FILE - A man with a cooling pad on his forehead takes a nap on a bench on a sweltering day in Beijing, July 24, 2023. At about summer’s halfway point, the record-breaking heat and weather extremes are both unprecedented and unsurprising, hellish yet boring in some ways, scientists say. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, File)

Here’s how hot and extreme the summer has been, and it’s only halfway over

‘How on God’s Earth are we still burning fossil fuels after witnessing all this?’

FILE - A man with a cooling pad on his forehead takes a nap on a bench on a sweltering day in Beijing, July 24, 2023. At about summer’s halfway point, the record-breaking heat and weather extremes are both unprecedented and unsurprising, hellish yet boring in some ways, scientists say. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, File)
Sharon Ford outside her home in Metchosin. Ford’s home insurance went up from $4,200 to $10,210. (Bailey Moreton/News Staff)

Greater Victoria owner dinged with skyrocketing insurance after ‘luxury’ tag

Sharon Ford’s home insurance quote went up from $4,200 to $10,210

Sharon Ford outside her home in Metchosin. Ford’s home insurance went up from $4,200 to $10,210. (Bailey Moreton/News Staff)