Globe Climate: Inuit science and knowledge help combat climate change in the Far North

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Good afternoon,Globe Climate is your newsletter about climate change, environment, and Canadian resources.

Johanna Busch was ready to teach her students climate change. But she didn’t expect the strong emotional reactions she would have to the lesson. Some students were unable to cope with the anxiety that climate change brought on, and some needed counselling. They wanted to know if the world was ending or if they were doomed.

It is not enough to simply explain the mechanisms and effects of climate change to young people, as with many other science topics. These difficult topics require adults to be available to support and encourage youth. Here are some ways to do this.

Now, let’s catch you up on other news.

Let’s Talk ScienceThe Royal Society of Canada have partnered to provide Globe and Mail readers with relevant coverage about issues that affect us all – from education to the impact of leading-edge scientific discoveries.

This week’s notable reporting:

1. Ottawa Is failing to deliver on key climate policy goalsCarbon-pricing is also available too hard on Indigenous groups,Small business, too weak in industry: Environment commissioner
2. Resources: Newfoundland’s Mi’kmaq Future with natural gasPartnership
3. Report: It will cost $40 to reduce oil sands emission by 40% Between $45-billion- and $65 billion From 2024 to 2030
4. Wildlife:Calgary is being questioned choose the city’s official bird – it has pitted magpie against chickadee, but also underscores the need to protect them
5. From The Narhwal On Edmonton’s fringe, Only one part of refineries is a refinery A larger air pollution puzzle

A deeper dive

Far North requires a Spear-meets–sensor approach to address climate change

Jenn Thornhill is a freelance reporter who is also a member the Oxford Climate Journalism Network. For this week’s deeper dive, she talks about an Inuk fisherman who’s tackling climate change by combining traditional knowledge and scientific process.

The first time Joey Angnatok crossed the ice, he was an infant, bundled up in his mother’s arms, returning home from the hospital. That was 1976 and the ice around Nain, the northernmost community on the Labrador coast, was as strong and dependable as a mother’s love.

But the first two decades of Angnatok’s life then coincided with the beginning of a warming trend. The sea ice around Nain continues to decline since the mid-1990s when Angnatok was first able to sail his own fishing vessel. Fast-forward to last year, which was one of the weakest sea ice seasons on record — not just in Nain, but the entire Northwest Atlantic Ocean. Record-breaking temperatures at the ocean’s bottom and in the atmosphere are also contributing to the declining sea ice. The region has seen the three lowest sea ice seasons, the warmest air temperatures, and the warmest ocean floor temperatures in the past 10-15 years.

These record-breaking years – what scientists call anomalies, outliers and extremes – are the telltale signs of the world warming due to climate change.

It is becoming more difficult to keep up with the warming trend, but also much more urgent as sea ice is crucial infrastructure in this area. Based on 200 Nain residents, a 2010 community survey found that 75% of respondents could not predict the weather for the next winter.

“Once upon a time, you could almost predict that something was coming but I find it’s getting harder and harder to even try and predict the weather and conditions,” says Angnatok, whose work commonly combines traditional Inuit knowledge with scientific process to gauge and mitigate the changing environmental conditions and their effects – be it on people or wildlife.

Nain, like many coastal communities, is dependent on those wearing the boots in the fishing boat in harbours as the lifeblood. Angnatok’s ice spear meets ice sensor approach is exactly what the Far North needs to keep ahead of the effects of climate change — as a first step, understanding what those effects are in real time.

Jenn

Read Jenn’s full storyAngnatok’s combination of Inuit knowledge and scientific expertise is how they fight climate change in Far North.

What else did you miss?

Opinion and analysis

Jeffrey Jones: Energy crisis only complicating Canada’s green transition

Editorial board These are the holes to patch in Canada’s climate policy

Green Investing

This week’s ROB Magazine:

The saying goes: the wind doesn’t always gust, and the sun doesn’t always shine. That’s why investors are placing big bets on Hydrostor’s energy-storage technology.

A Toronto inventor had modified a technique known as advanced compressed-air storage to store compressed gas underground. He is now poised to play a crucial role in accelerating the adoption of renewable energy in the face of the climate crisis.

Also, read: Companies are being pressured to disclose more about their ESG activities.Is there finally a reporting standard?

Making waves

Each week, The Globe will feature a Canadian who has made a difference. This week we’re highlighting the work of Alex Ince-Cushman, Daniel MacDonald thinking up ways to help with digital energy management.

I’m Alex Ince-Cushman, a science buff with a Ph.D. in nuclear physics and co-founder of Branch Energy, a renewable energy company. And I’m Daniel MacDonald, an architect, serial entrepreneur, and co-founder of Branch Energy.

Our friendships from Toronto have shaped the way we view sustainability and climate resilience. We’ve seen firsthand the impact that climate-friendly technology and policies can have on a community. Branch Energy was founded because of that realization, along with the realization that climate-friendly technology and policies can be used to combat climate change, one carbon footprint at each time.

Toronto has made it a goal to be net-zero by 2040. We want to promote a net zero lifestyle across the globe. We believe data-driven solutions backed by research. For instance, AI tech in the house to help homeowners with digital energy management. We are honored to be part of the international climate resilience conversation as renewable energy thought leaders. This is a battle that can only be won by one homeowner at a given time, and our team is ready to lead the charge.

– Alex & Daniel

Do you know someone who is committed? Someone who represents the real engines of change in the country. Email us [email protected]Tell us about them.

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