ENVS 2270 03_24

Review ● How might climate change affect projected global food production? - Lower yield caused by changes in weather ● Describe several ways in which climate change impacts human health - Increased risk of disease due to changes in vector ecology, reduced water quality, more risk of acute heat stroke, respiratory problems caused by decrease in air quality ● What two age groups are particularly vulnerable to extreme heat? - Infants and seniors ● What does HDI stand for? - Human Development Index, measures education, life expectancy, and income ● Name the three elements required for a vector-borne disease - Pathogen, vector, and a host Cont’d: Impacts on Humans - Infrastructure & Tourism ● Impacts on transportation - Extreme temperatures cause railroad buckling and road distress (potholes) - Storms can damage roads and flood major cities (NYC flood in 2012) ● “The CSIRO’s climate change modeling predicts, under a low-risk scenario, the average snow seasons across Victoria and some of New South Wales will become 20 to 55 days shorter and, under a worst-case scenario, 30 to 80 days shorter - all but obliterating the 112-day ski season.”

● Tourism has a massive carbon footprint, with an increase of four times the amount of greenhouse gas emissions in the last two decades, accounting for 8% of total emissions ● Main factors of tourism that have the largest impact are transport, shopping, and food Climate Impacts in Canada Climate Sensitive Areas ● Natural Resources - Mining: Extreme weather and warming north; impact on built and transportation infrastructure (e.g. winter roads) - Forestry: Increases in fire, pests/diseases, drought, and other extreme weather; impact on forest productivity (socio-economic impacts) ● Food Production ● Crop productivity - Ex: Maple Syrup: Canada produces >70% of the world’s production (Quebec accounted for ~90% of this production) - Climate Change Challenges: Sap season is getting shorter: Optimal temperatures for the maple sugaring season are -5C at night and +5C days - Sugar Maple may have trouble expanding their range (seed predation; soil quality, etc) ● Pollinator health ● Animal production ● Water supply & quality ● Food storage ● Fish stocks - Ex: Pacific Salmon - Warmer waters cause salmon to burn energy faster - Warmer waters increase bacterial/fungal infections of salmon - Salmon die en route due to exhaustion and infection - Stressed salmon reach spawning grounds but fail to spawn - Longer summer drought - Warmer winter reduced snowpack and snowmelt ● Pests & disease ● Northern communities - Impacts on Indigenous people (Inuit) - Culture, health, & well-being: personal safety, food & water security, & mental health - Traditional activities (e.g. hunting) - Melting of permafrost (permanently frozen ground for >2 years)

● Transportation Infrastructure Impacts on Human Health ● Air quality - Allergens: ragweed season in northern latitudes is becoming longer ● Temperature extremes: heat related mortality could more than double by 2050 in S. Ontario cities ● Climate sensitive disease - Ex: Lyme disease (an infectious disease caused by a bacteria carried by ticks)