Dear Mayor and Council
RE: The City of Kamloops Climate Action Plan (KCAP)
In an effort to effect action in combating climate change, there has been an exaggeration generated by proponents of climate action, an exaggeration that has a very serious challenge elevated to a “climate emergency”. This exaggeration has wrought the public's map of reality with respect to environmental challenges and most egregious, it has taken our collective “eye” off of very real environmental challenges; environmental challenges we can do something about. The document associated with this policy initiative reads as much as a social engineering initiative as it does an environmental initiative, as is often the case, social initiatives come under the guise of environmental concern. It is a combination of climate “emergency” exaggeration and environmental issues being highjacked for social purposes that has generated a mountain of ineffective environmental policy – as the Kamloops Climate Action Plan largely is.
I submit that the KCAP will have no positive effect on climate whatsoever. The KCAP was very lean on financial data by which to judge the cost/benefit picture, so I have no idea what the total cost will be. One thing I am certain of, there will be costs. So, there will be costs and no effect on climate whatsoever.
I’m finding the parking in the downtown a deterrent; I find myself going elsewhere to shop. The envisioned reconfiguration to a “10 Minute” neighbourhood should terrify anybody in the present retail space.
There was a suggestion that funds for the plan may come in part from an increase in Development Cost Charges. I was unable to ascertain a total figure for DCCs from the bylaw data on the city’s website. Anything that increases the cost of housing attacks Kamloop's livability. It is important to remember young people purchasing a home, in the main, do so with credit. While interest rate dependent, as a rule of thumb, triple any cost you add to a home to account for the total mortgaged amount paid. Transaction costs on homes are astronomical when contextualized to this reality.
Rebutting the Premise of the KCAP
“Unfortunately, climate change threatens this future, and many of its impacts are already being felt, including increasing extreme summer heat waves and droughts, more frequent and intense wildfires, seasonal flooding, warmer winter temperatures leading to pine beetle infestations, changes to stream flow affecting salmon populations, and stresses to natural ecosystems and agriculture. Climate scientists predict that these impacts will only intensify as average global temperatures continue to rise.”
This
Excerpt from the KCAP is the kind of comment that presents an emergency
where a challenge exists. Attributing short-term analysis to a long-term
problem is always foolhardy, the degree to which people attribute every event as proof positive climate change is real is embarrassing. We had the dust
bowls of the 1930s, millions displaced and starved, and there were large forest
fires during that decade. This has been
true throughout history.
I share people’s concerns regarding issues like habitat depletion, pollution, and extinction. What is never mentioned, nor entered into the cost-benefit analysis, are the benefits of a warmer climate. Canada has millions of acres of marginal farmland, farmland marginalized by cold climate. Where we can only grow forage crops now, we’ll be able to grow grain. Just a marginal increase in temperature will allow a farmer to transition from Barley to Wheat for example. The Climate issue tends to have people touting fantasy solutions. We will never feed humanity on little local gardens; they can contribute but they’ll never be the solution – the green revolution and all the trappings of modern agriculture is what is needed to feed the world.
“But the worst impacts of climate change are not inevitable. By working together as a community and with all levels of government, we can minimize our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that contribute to climate change and increase our resilience to its impacts. This plan is a call to action, and it will require municipal, public, and private collaboration to combat climate change.”
There is nothing in this plan that will impact climate change. The only thing we can be sure of is that there will be disasters befall us, weather and otherwise. So, a call for preparedness makes sense. If we are prepared for weather events we are prepared for war, food shortages, and other negative events.
Framing the Issue
A full-sum discussion on the issue of climate change is outside the scope of this document, however, allow me to make a couple points. Please note the infographic below. If Canada eliminated all emissions, we’d have no effect on CO2 emissions and no real impact on climate change since the non-OECD nation’s gains in emissions would negate our reduction in emissions. So rather than directing funds toward something that no domestic effort can impact, we should direct resources to preparedness and adaptation.
I think any rational person can look at these facts and deduce that nothing Kamloops does will have any effect on climate change. That is true of Canada also. There is only one solution to carbon emissions, an emission-free $50 / barrel of oil equivalent. I should note also that these estimates are very optimistic given even Canada seems unable to meet climate targets.
What
to do
They say, if you criticize absent a suggested course of action, you’re just complaining.
Environmental Actions
Reducing the impact on the environment is always a good thing, so seeking efficiencies in transportation and housing makes sense. The plan recognizes this as an important part of the way forward. We can pursue that goal absent seeking to restructure our society, that is to say, we can do business as we do now and effect better use of resources.
The Fraser Basin Watershed is a gift to be treasured. A constructive thing that Kamloops can do is reduce the city’s downstream effect on the watershed. I’ve observed several instances where our “storm drainage” system spills directly into the North and South Thompson Rivers, this is a detrimental event, particularly for Salmon. We can take measures to direct runoff in a manner that prevents debris from road surfaces from finding its way into the river. We could put building code requirements that segregate gray water from black water, better allowing us to manage waste flow, perhaps directing gray water to irrigation – a practice used in other jurisdictions. We can encourage the use of composting toilets; if properly done, human waste becomes an asset rather than a liability.
We could have and should, transform our water system from pumping water from the river to using the abundance of high-elevation water near the city, thus, saving money and energy in the delivery of water – freeing up grid space for charging electric cars perhaps.
We could and should encourage the creative use of low-carbon, local materials in building processes. I had given some thought to this challenge; I prepared a discussion paper in 2013 that I submitted to the City of Kamloops and the Regional district – neither saw fit to reply. Click Here to View I should note that the building system is well established, it was substantiated as good and safe by the government of Manitoba so First Nations people could build homes from scrub timber.
There are thousands of piles like the one above in our region slated to be burnt, just wasted, I could likely build 2 or more houses out of this pile alone, inexpensive and enviro-friendly. Cooperation from authorities is required to pursue this type of solution for environmental and low-cost housing challenges.
I submit that the forest fire challenge we’ve been experiencing and our very expensive response to it is in large measure a manageable problem. I submit that successive provincial governments have failed to manage the forest aggressively enough, so once again the municipalities are forced to. I have noticed around the city that some initiative has been taken in interface areas, others are still in need of attention.
We need to expend more effort on developing wildlife corridors. Our city has an abundance of wildlife, we need to manage the wildlife. They often come into conflict with human activities. They often cross thoroughfares to access water, for example, with undesirable results. Simple actions like putting watering facilities to permit the deer to drink without going to the river; this simple act would have saved a dozen or so deer/car encounters on Westside Road that I am aware of.
Kamloops has large tracts of land left unattended that are a source of pestilence. Noxious weeds are growing in population. While efforts have been made in this regard, greater effort is required to avoid the city contributing to negative externalities.
Kamloops
is blessed with an abundance of park space; the challenge is to access it, one
nearly always needs to get in a car. What is deficient in the city is urban green space. Go to any 7-Eleven in the city and buy a Coffee and a muffin, then
look for a place to sit and eat, you’ll be frustrated.
There are many opportunities for our city to contribute to, and make a difference to the environment, we should focus our efforts on what we can do to effect positive impacts.
Preparedness
Preparedness tends to be a bit of an abstraction or a hypothetical, so people tend to turn a blind eye to it. No level of government in the country is investing at a sufficient level. As with most issues, like homelessness, when higher levels of government neglect the problem municipal governments are forced to deal with it.
At the risk of sounding alarmist, our circumstances have never been as perilous since the Cuban Missile Crisis. There are several viable scenarios that could lead to war. Tensions are very high. A disruption to the life of Kamloops citizens is as likely to come from a political misjudgment as a climate issue.
As we learned with something as normal as the Fraser River flooding, food and the basics of life can run out very quickly. Credit to retailers for making the adjustments necessary to the supply chain to get food to us from the east, had that corridor been blocked for some reason our lives would have become very difficult. If we allow our minds to go to WW2-type experiences where European cities experienced famine, we might begin to think about substantive means to ensure food security. While local producers are a critical element of the food security picture, they would likely be unable to fill the gap in a scenario of extended disturbance to the food supply.
One method that may be cost-effective is to have the Railroads leave railcars intended for the port of Vancouver loaded with eatable crops, lentils for example at a designated siding to be cycled out to ensure the food’s viability. The constant rotation of eatable crops would require some management. It may be a fee could be paid to hold them here for a time. It may mean the city purchases and sells the eatable crops; in bulk – one car in one car out. This would ensure a large enough volume of food stored in our city to feed people for an extended period of time at a fairly low cost. A “winter’s” supply perhaps. The rail transport of LNG may be a viable option in the future, the same arrangement may apply. One can contextualize the value of this strategy to Germany’s present circumstances.
There may be merit in approaching local producers like Blackwell Dairies to formulate a plan to expand production in the event of an extended interruption to our food supply. There is a substantive supply of beef in our area, the use and processing of this resource should be considered.
Of course, we need to coordinate with provincial and federal governments – they are seemingly unconcerned. If the Covid response is any indication of how governments would react to a “war” type threat, we’d better take the initiative to take care of ourselves.
In a war-type scenario, we’d have the prospect of the lower mainland’s population needing to be cared for inland. I am unsure where the city is on this issue, it would be a herculean task.
We have had the good fortune in Canada to have been free of war and to live with limited exposure to natural disasters. We did have the great depression and the dirty 30s. The great depression brought on by weather events was a painful chapter; the 80’s less so. If you put your head on the pillow believing that this condition is bound to continue, you are engaged in a failure of leadership. I’m not suggesting we build a Diefenbunker for us all to jump into, we do need to be prepared.
Kind
Regards,
Neil E.
Thomson
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