Atmosphere and Energy - all content

The need for a pan-Canadian water strategy in Canada has become extremely urgent. Across the nation, Canadians are recognizing that limits to this seemingly infinite resource exist. The evidence of these intense pressures is manifesting in a visibly changing climate, the degradation of our environment, health problems in Canadian communities, and the tensions surrounding the use of boundary waters with our neighbours to the south.

Climate Change – climate change is significantly changing the timing, flow and availability of water in all our communities. In many regions, changes are taking place much faster than we anticipated. In the mountain ranges of Alberta the glaciers and snowpacks that act like ‘water towers’ for the Prairies are consistently retreating. Communities in Canada’s wettest regions, such as Tofino, B.C., are now experiencing summer droughts, while in November 2006, an unprecedented winter storm in Vancouver...