Costs of Climate Change - Deaths

 I supposed the ultimate cost of any catastrophe would be the deaths the catastrophe causes.  Climate change has been identified as a cause of a significant number of deaths globally.

The World Health Organization has estimated that close to 500,000 deaths globally can be attributed to heat.  And we all know that climate change is making things hotter.  In Europe, the number has been estimated to be around 175,000 heat-related deaths, as described here:

Heat in European region kills 175,000 a year, WHO estimates

Mostly what the heat does is make various chronic conditions worse.  Conditions like cardio-and-cerebro-vascular diseases (strokes and such).  Diabetes-related conditions as well.  Of course, many of these chronic conditions are more common in the elderly.  However, as we saw during the pandemic, some people see the elderly as expendable, especially when it comes to taking any kind of proactive measures like masking, vaccinating or, in the case of climate change, actively working to reduce greenhouse gases.

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released an analysis looking into the various ways climate change was impacting people.  It can be seen here:

Climate Impacts on Human Health

Basically, the report looks at things like temperature, vector-borne diseases, food safety and nutrition, mental health concerns and air quality impacts.

Air quality, of course is affected in a number of ways.  With increasing temperatures, ground level ozone is expected to increase.  More forest fires, already happening because of more hot and dry conditions, causes increases in particulate matter in the air.  These all have quite negative effects on health.

Food and nutrition will be affected, as shown in the following picture (a larger image can be found on the link above):

The Climate Atlas of Canada also has an article dealing with Climate change and Health.  The article considers many of the same issues and includes a number of actions that can be taken to mitigate the effects of those issues.

Once again, it's clear that inaction on climate change is going to be costly, particularly in terms of human health.

Danielle Smith - Meet Jasper Alberta

On July 24, 2024, a forest fire swept through Jasper, Alberta.  Preliminary reports say that over 30% of the structures in that town have been destroyed.  Insured losses are estimated to be in excess of $700 Million.

As the fire advanced on the town, it was described as being "a wall of fire 100 m high".  It must be difficult to be a climate change denier and have to go online to claim that this is just a normal fire season.

One story about how the fire engulfed Jasper appeared here, complete with video footage.

Jasper wildfire: Here’s how quickly flames engulfed a town

A number of factors likely contributed to the intensity of this fire.  Weeks of higher than average temperatures.  Months of less than average rainfall.  Decades of fire suppression and a buildup of fuel in the forest.  Climate change driven wild by more and more burning of fossil fuels.

A few of them are explained in this article:  A history of cuts to Alberta's firefighting budget, explained.

Two different government administrations were responsible for cuts to Alberta's firefighting capabilities.  The current UCP government continued those cuts.

Alberta’s UCP Government Has Cut Tens of Millions of Dollars From Wildfire Preparedness Programs

Danielle Smith performed well for the cameras.  Expressions of sadness, perhaps a few (fake) tears.  But it was all for the cameras. Danielle has gaslighted for oil and gas. She's pimped for oil and gas. She's defended oil and gas. She denied human-caused climate change. She is one of the politicians who is partly responsible for this mess.

Danielle, of course, has identified what or who is to blame.  Arsonists.

A climate connection to Alberta wildfires? Smith says most in province caused by humans

Danielle should resign and let someone else be Premier.  Preferably someone with a better grip on reality.

Costs of Climate Change - Tourism

 Human-caused climate change is simply a fact.  We've known about it since the late 1800s, Exxon scientists knew about it over 50 years ago, and data continues to pour in confirming what we've known all along.  Burning fossil fuels, releasing giga-tonnes of CO2, is changing the climate in ways we haven't seen in all of human history and at a rate that is unprecedented in the Earth's history.

We know that we need to change energy sources.  We need to adapt for greater changes in climate still to come.  None of this will be cheap.  However, doing nothing is not an option because not doing anything will cost even more.  As this series tries to make clear, we are already paying for the effects of climate change, and one casualty of climate change is tourism.

A recent article from the BBC was titled "Will extreme weather change when (and where) you go on holiday?"

This summer has seen what was referred to as "a slew of heat-related deaths" in the Mediterranean.  And tourists are taking note.  Cancellations, booking at different times of the year and even heading for cooler destinations (think Iceland, Sweden, the Netherlands, Norway....). 

And it's not just heat.  There have been other natural disasters, such as fires, hurricanes and floods.  Remember, it was only last summer when temperature infernos and a lack of rain triggered massive fires in Spain, Italy and Greece.  

Wildfires: 2023 among the worst in the EU in this century  These fires produced an estimated 20 megatonnes of CO2 emissions, "nearly a third of the CO2 emissions from international aviation in the EU in one year."

Closer to home, forest fires have disrupted travel more and more each year recently.

The recent massive fire that burned 30-40% of Jasper closed major highways, throttling commercial truck traffic and essentially closing down certain businesses in the area, as this article makes clear. 

Business craters for open tourist spots outside Jasper National Park.  Highway 16 has been closed since July 24 and only recently opened for short periods to allow commercial truck traffic through.  The Icefields Parkway has also been closed, one of the major routes to and from Jasper.  Campers in Jasper who had to flee as the fire approached have still not been able to retrieve their camping equipment, RVs and such.  It's unknown when that will happen.  Now that so much of Jasper has burned, one wonders how long it will be until many tourists return to the Park.

An article in the Vernon Morning Star from September 19th, 2023, suggested that Climate change cost B.C. tourism ‘$100s of millions, never to be recovered’.  A fire on Vancouver Island in June 2023, forced a 2.5 week closure of Highway 4.  A survey of businesses affected indicated a loss of $44 million.  What is also means is that potential tourists might avoid BC in the future, especially since smoke-filled summers, road closures and forest fires makes travel in this province less appealing.

And it's not just summer fires and heat waves.  Climate change is resulting in less snow in winter, so tourism for skiing is suffering.  On a personal level, snow levels were so bad last winter where I live that I didn't do a single day of alpine touring skiing all winter, choosing instead to spend my time at a few nearby cross country ski locations.

It's also worth mentioning that tourism isn't just a victim of climate change.  According to one source, tourism is responsible for 8% of the world's carbon emissions.

Globally, tourism is a $7.7 trillion business and contributes 7.6% to the global economy.  This and other effects were mentioned in Climate change, global warming posing serious challenges to global tourism.

And this is just a start.  It's going to get worse.