For a generation now, governments have played a dangerous, costly game with wildfire in British Columbia. Government must do many things to win this game. It must prevent wildfire outbreaks, put fires out and help communities recover from the aftermath. Unfortunately, wildfire is in first place.
Climate change is the biggest culprit here. It has pushed B.C. across the threshold to a new reality. Wildfires are now more frequent, intense and costly.
Mr. Vaillant is the author, most recently, of “Fire Weather: A True Story From a Hotter World.”
On Thursday, as flames from the Smokehouse Creek fire raced eastward across the Texas Panhandle for the fourth straight day at speeds faster than a person can run, a cold front, driving a snow squall, swept southward over the Great Plains. In an elemental collision, the fire and snow met east of Amarillo, the swirling flakes joining and then melting into the smoke and ash of the colossal prairie fire.
Revenue from forestry has topped natural gas royalties in 12 of the past 13 fiscal years, but the sector will likely play a supporting tole in the foreseeable future with reduced timber supplies
The natural gas industry is poised to take centre stage in British Columbia’s economy and overtake the forestry sector as the largest contributor to the province’s resource revenue.
Despite commitments to align their portfolios with net-zero emissions, Canada’s largest banks are increasingly financing fossil fuel companies and pushing their decarbonization goals out of reach.
While the world burns, conservative governments in both Alberta and Ontario continue to spend billions hiding and protecting their failed hydro deregulation schemes. This is money that should be spent combatting the climate crisis.
