Durkee Milldam, Deerfield, NS

High Water
This has been one mild, but very wet winter so far here in our end of Nova Scotia.
Just in this month, since the start of the new year, we’ve had over double the normal amount of rain, and it’s just mid-month. This isn’t by itself indicative of climate change, as it’s just weather if it isn’t a trend, but what may be a sign is that most of that rain fell in one four day period, and so the very high water levels like at our cottage at Deerfield in the photo shown.
Climate change makes our storms stronger and more frequent, something it is obviously happening. We are also seeing a climate trend in that the average snowfall for the Province has gone down since the 1980s, in some places, like here in Yarmouth County, by quite a bit.
It's going to take a lot of work to get folks to do things that will stop this process, and it does need to be stopped, as a continuance of the changes would be catastrophic. This year for the first time in our 20 year ownership of our property the tide and wind drove water over the beach wall in front of us separating our pond from the ocean. Some islands in the Pacific are already being threatened by ocean level rise, and climate changes in Canada’s north are dramatic and not sustainable for much of the wildlife there.
Meanwhile here in NS, the NS Power company makes excuses why they can’t change off of coal and other fossil fuels (claiming it would cost them too much), and so even if people in NS went all in for things like electric cars, electric stoves and electric heat pumps and so on, the net effect would not be as much as we’d like as the power used is so dirty.
Today, we sit under a snowfall warning, with up to a foot of snow expected, and you can here the right wing folks saying there’s no change.
They’re wrong.
I hope people begin to think about this more seriously and realize that the old ways have to change if our children and their children are to inherit from us a planet that will support people as they wish to live.
Personal change is hard, but it all comes down to the myriad little choices we all have to make.