Impacts of Climate Change on Biodiversity in Northern Canada

Climate change will create a number of health problems in the near future and become a top social issue. Climate will create more smog which will lead to higher rates of and other heat related illness.” Montreal currently has approximately 70 annual heat related deaths, while Toronto has 20. According to the (World health organization,2015). The statistic shows why this has become a social issue because people are dying every year affecting our society. Climate change also affects our world economy. The country is spending a lot of money trying to combat the issue as the country is losing natural resources as well as expected natural disasters are taking place. In 2013 there was an increase in floodings in the Toronto and Vancouver area due to unexpected weather. The clean-up bill came to $1.9 billion — the single most costly disaster in Canadian history — and 90 per cent of it was on the federal tab because Canadians cannot buy flood insurance”(Moore,2015.) As you can see the impacts of climate change leave the government with having to pay massive amounts money when it could be used for other things like creating jobs but that money is often now lost. Climate change has an effect on the environment. The glaciers in the Antarctic are melting as a result of increased amounts of heat now we are losing a part of

Climate change has affected us in many ways, but it was even more influential on organisms and their community. The Earth is gradually heating and we are left to deal with the consequences. Homes are being destroyed, organisms are dying, and resources are running low. Since 1880, Our Earth’s temperature had increased by about 0.8 degrees Celsius. Climate change is affecting the Earth and scientists say that one more degree will greatly affect people from all over the world. There are many consequences of climate change and each one has a great impact on all of us, but organisms’ homes are being destroyed and thousands of species are dying out. These organisms are imperative to our world and how it functions.

Permafrost is very vulnerable to changes in air temperature and different snow coverages making it extremely sensitive to climate change. As the permafrost is melting, it continues to amplify the already rapidly increasing rate of global warming because it is releasing heat-trapping elements that are stored in the soil and the ice into the atmosphere. In the Beringia Upland Tundra, average temperatures in the year 2050 are expected to be 3.5-7 degrees fahrenheit higher than what current temperatures are at now. With this happening, the permafrost will continue to melt unless humans reduce the amount of heat-trapping emissions being let into the atmosphere (Hagenstein). Through warmer climate is increased evaporation, lakes are getting severly smaller and permafrost is thinning. As the climate warms, shrubs are entering into the tundra. In some circumstances and places, shrubs are taking place of other tundra vegetation such as lichen. Caribou depend on lichens for food in the winter since the tundra does not produce much food in the winter. A decline of lichen can cause a negative slope of growth and and numbers of these animals, and can possibly lead to extinction in this region. If caribou don't survive, then other animal species in this region will not be able to evolve and thrive since caribou are a solid food source for them

The article “Cold warriors,” Gregoire (2008) indicates that climate change leads to environmental issues and melting ice, and the scientists’ researches point out climatic issues in Canada. The author comes up with a point that everyone is responsible for protecting the environment because people around the world are bearing negative effects due to climate degradation. For example, residents in Grise Fiord and Inuit notice a huge differences, the landscape is becoming warmer, softer and unpredictable. Moreover, a greater risk of environmental pollution is caused by climate change. In addition to changes in environment, shrinking glaciers, earlier ice breakup, later freeze-up and less snow caused by warmer temperature bring double-edged effects

Although more agriculture opportunities are provided, the frequency of droughts, storms, and floods also increased in some regions (“Impact of climate change on Canadian agriculture”, July 3rd 2015, www.agr.gc.ca/ , accessed November 7th 2016). Which destroy infrastructure, sewer systems, and crops, increasing the risk of a downfall of the economy, and a shortened food supply. Global warming also causes health and hygienic issues, such as the increasing risk of contamination of water sources in the Northwest Territories, or the decreasing air quality in the Atlantic Provinces of Canada (“Impact by regions”, September 15th 2010, www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca, accessed November 7th 2016). These problems result in diseases, affecting the health of Canadians. And worse, global warming has a direct impact on Canada’s ecosystem (Debra Davidson, “Climate change”, February 23rd 2011, http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/, accessed November 7th 2016). Most plants and animals are sensitive to changes in temperature and water cycles, which can cause them to move, changing habitats and nature in an area. There is also a high risk of extinction for those who cannot

How do you think that Canada’s government should react towards climate change inside and outside of Canada’s national parks?

How do you think that Canada’s government should react towards climate change inside and outside of Canada’s national parks?

I chose this article because I think it’s an important topic that affects Canada greatly. People all across the world are affected by climate change, but Canada will experience it more than any other place due to the fact that we are far from the equator and higher up North. This should be a concern to Canadians everywhere, because although people in Nunavut will feel warming worse than in Ontario, we are all still going to be affected by this in some way. It’s never too late to take action, and before conditions get worse, we should look into ways of reducing climate change. Not only is it worrying that people will be harmed and forced to move because of this, but we are hurting our planet, and now is the time to change that. Gregory Flato

Canadian citizens are witnessing the devastating effects of climate change on our world. These major impacts are a result of human behavior and will get worse without any actions taken. Most of how Canadian’s produce greenhouse gas emissions is through Home energy, food/shopping, and cars/transport as this strategy of living can cause polar ice caps to melt in the northern and southern hemisphere causing habitat loss, sea levels rising/decreasing, temperature change, and El Niño. This global warming issue has taken a huge effect in Canada as finding alternative ways to reduce consumption of transportation, clothing, food, and shopping is required.

The potential harm that climate change could have in Canada is concerning because Canada has one of the most diverse landscapes which is host to a countless number of species and ecosystems that are examples of “at-risk habitats” (David Suzuki Foundation, 2017). Natural resources Canada believes that climate change will affect many of the forests in Canada in a range of complex ways. These affects include changes in plant mortality, disturbance in plant growth and distribution. These impacts are cumulative and can increase insect vulnerability or cause more wildfires. These problems can weaken the plant population and increase their chances of being disease-prone or attacked by insects. Some habitats may disappear, because of changing weather patterns. Many forestry-dependant communities and aboriginal communities will be affected and loss in their wood supply like timber would hinder their economic strength and harvesting potential (Natural resources Canada, 2017). In the Atlantic, the affects of climate change would result in an increase of weather inconsistency. The region may face more storm events, storm intensity, rising sea levels and coastal erosion. Since much of the Canadian population lives in costal regions this can have grave implications. It can affect the socio economic-well being of Atlantic communities in vital infrastructure, and industries like fishery and tourism (Climate Action Network,

In Canada, the average annual temperature increases by 1.6oC, which is a higher warming rate when compared to other regions of the world. Canada’s far northern region has shown the strongest warming trends. At the rate Climate Change is affecting Canada, there will be huge amounts of precipitation, and risks of other natural disasters, such as heat waves, flooding, forest fires, and dry spells. As Canada is a maritime nation, the country will be affected by oceanic environments. There will also be reductions in the Arctic sea ice cover, resulting in extreme sea levels, ice conditions, and wave regimes (Government of Canada- Impacts of Climate Change, 2015). Canada’s forests will be affected in many complex ways, affects varying from dramatic, to subtle. Rapid climate change will affect the rate trees grow ate, mortality rates, and the distribution of tree species. Present day scientists have already recorded changes in the forests due to climate change. One recording was increased fire activity in the Western Boreal Forest. Scientists have predicted that forest-dependent communities and Aboriginals will be the first to feel the impacts. This is because the timber supply will suffer losses due to forest fires and smoke pollution (Government of Canada- Natural Resources Canada,

The first driver is observed climate change impacts. In Canada, and in Ontario specifically, the ways in which the climate is changing are generally known to us. Shorter and warmer winters, earlier snow melts, increased extreme precipitation, and extreme heat events. These observed climate impacts and more frequent extreme weather events are proving to be very costly. The Insurance Bureau of Canada, for instance, reported that the value of total insurance claims related to weather events has increased 40 fold between 1983 and 2013 (Burgess, 2014). Impacts on the health and well-being of Canadians are also displayed beyond monetary costs and frequently involve displacement, injuries and loss of life (Lemmen & Warren, 2008). Without aggressive

"We call them dumb animals, and so they are, for they cannot tell us how they feel, but they do not suffer less because they have no words” (Anna Sewell). There is undeniable evidence that animals are being affected by climate change. Even though the effects are difficult to measure, there are many different ways animals are being affected. With the loss of predator and prey species it affects the life cycles in the food chain. The earth’s climate change causes habitats such as snow, ice, or forest areas to alter, resulting in loss of habitat and food accessibility as well as causing extinction.

It has been observed through various researches that in the last century, average temperatures across the globe increased by over 1.3°F with an increase of more than two times in the Arctic. (Bates, Kundzewicz, Wu, & Palutikof, June 2008). The results of climate change can also be seen in changing precipitation patterns, increases in ocean temperatures, changes in the sea level, and acidity and melting of glaciers and sea ice (USEPA, 2014).

Climate change is one of the major issues surfacing earth over the past century. The earth’s temperature has increased over the years leading to detrimental effects on the economic and life sources of people, especially that of agricultural production and livestock. The Merriam-Webster online dictionary (2014), defined climate change as a change in global climate patterns apparent from the mid late 20th century. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC, (2007) predicts that by 2100 the increase in global average surface temperature may be between 1.8° C and 4.0° C. With increases of 1.5° C to 2.5° C, approximately 20 to 30 percent of plant and animal species are expected to be at risk of extinction. Moreover, the IPCC (2007)