Essex Region – October 24 is the International Day of Climate Action and to mark the day, Essex Region Conservation and the Windsor-Essex Climate Change Collaborative (WEC3) have developed an informative fact sheet to identify some of the local impacts of our changing climate, and actions we can all take to help reduce our carbon footprint.
The Windsor Essex Climate Change Collaborative is a partnership between ERCA, all municipalities in the region, the County of Essex, the Windsor-Essex Health Unit, the University of Windsor, and others. It was established to address regional issues and the multitude of climate change vulnerabilities and risks facing different sectors. Additionally, the collaborative is building on work from the City of Windsor to develop a county-wide community energy plan will help advance regional priorities around energy conservation to achieve lower emissions.
“The climate determines almost everything about how we design, build and live in our communities,” says Claire Sanders, ERCA’s Climate Change Specialist. “Ontario is warming faster than the global average, so action must be taken now to protect the safety, prosperity and livability of our region in response to problems we are seeing today, and to plan and prepare for those we will experience in the future.”
Climate change means more extreme weather – heat waves and droughts, and fewer cold days. Daily temperatures are projected to significantly increase in every season, putting some of our region’s most vulnerable people at risk. These high and prolonged temperatures can also impact air quality, increase the risk of fire, facilitate the spread of harmful diseases.
This year, our region was under an extended flood for 189 days – the longest state of enhanced flood concern in our region’s history. There were homes in every municipality that were subjected to overland flooding, and roads, marinas, trails and Conservation Areas were closed for the season.
“There are actions being taken by municipalities across Windsor-Essex to mitigate and adapt to our changing climate, but as individuals, we all have a role to play,” says Sanders. “Actions we can all take to reduce our own carbon footprints include consuming and using less of everything. We can choose to drive and fly less. We should be composting our food waste, and doing everything we can to conserve home energy.” The fact sheet can be viewed at essexregionconservation.ca/climatechange.
Since 1973, Essex Region Conservation has been sustaining and enriching the environment of the Windsor-Essex-Pelee Island region to ensure it is the Place for Life.
Media Contacts:
Danielle Breault Stuebing
Director, Communications & Outreach Services
519-776-5209 ext.352
dstuebing@erca.org
