Uninhabitable?

 

For many decades the state of California has had a special aura for me and I think many other Canadians. It is the place of Hollywood and movie stars, along with spectacular beaches and giant redwoods. California has enjoyed the climate we end up longing for in the dead of Winter, not to mention supplying fresh vegetables and fruit when local produce is not available here. And let's not forget California wines. 

Is this almost mythical state, with a population greater than all of Canada, becoming unihabitable? In recent years there have been protracted droughts which result in massive, almost unquenchable wildfires with their own names. These fires create havoc for humans and other creatures, including the trees of the forest. There has been loss of life as communities can no longer be protected from the encroachment of these fires and thousands have lost homes and possessions. The droughts have led food producers to look to Canada as a potential source, an irony after more than half a century of our dependence on California.

This is an apocalyptic scenario in itself, but changing weather patterns have resulted in "atmospheric rivers" and "bomb cyclones", terms which were unknown to us in the past. Drought-stricken California is now overwhelmed by relentless floodwaters, the opposite extreme. Today 90% of the population, which actually exceeds that of all of Canada, is under a flood watch. 

This lack of a middle ground has also afflicted Canada's version of Lotus Land, British Columbia, with unprecedented weather events. Whole communities have disappeared as fires swept through and this Winter there have been snowstorms which paralyzed Vancouver. 

California and BC have no immediate plans to move citizens to other parts of their respective countries, but what will happen in the years ahead if conditions become more chaotic. 

I've written about the book by the late Sally McFague with the clever title Super Natural Christians. McFague moved from the States to British Columbia to teach at a seminary and never left. Her title was a play on BC's motto at the time, a celebration of natural beauty which she explored as an earthy, grounded Christian theme. 

We really do need to wake up to the reality that huge numbers of people around the world may become climate refugees if we don't address climate change, even in the wealthiest countries of the world. The Creator graciously came up with a habitable planet, so the least we can do is make sure that we continue to have a place to call home.