[tohm]

I found this on the Rogers Yahoo! E-mail Portal.

DENNIS BUECKERT
Mon Aug 8, 9:02 PM ET



OTTAWA (CP) - From Toronto to Hans Island, the summer of 2005 is providing new material for the debate on climate change.

Much of Central Canada has been sweating through a heat wave that is setting new records and stressing the electric power system to the breaking point.

As of Monday, Toronto had sweated through 39 days with temperatures above 30 C, roughly three times the 30-year average for the whole summer, according to Statistics Canada.

"In many ways it is a preview, a dress rehearsal, of what we may see more often," says Environment Canada climatologist David Phillips, referring to projections of the greenhouse effect.

Although the heat has been most intense in southern Ontario, temperatures have been above average across much of Canada.

Montreal had 22 days above 30 C, compared with an average of seven or eight. Winnipeg had 16 hot days, compared with an average of 13 for an entire summer.

Then there's the smog, which is in large part a function of the heat.

So far this summer Ontario Ministry of the Environment has recorded a record-setting 45 days with smog above health limits, with smog advisories as far north as Sault Ste. Marie.

"It's often tied to the heat," said David Yap, a scientist at the ministry.

With the higher temperatures there is more evaporation of chemicals from gasoline and chemicals and even from trees. The chemical reactions that cause ground-level ozone, one of the most toxic elements of smog, are accelerated.

Air conditioning offers comfort but has driven Ontario electricity demand to unprecedented levels, leading to blackouts, brownouts, and the purchase of electricity from other jurisdictions at high prices.

Climatologist Andrew Weaver, at the University of Victoria, says this year's heat wave is just a shadow of life in a greenhouse world.

"The thing to say is, you ain't seen nothing yet. To say this is a glimpse is probably one of the greatest understatements of all time. The projections of what is likely to happen in this century would put events like this as minor."

John Bennett of the Sierra Club says the weather across the Canada - not only the heat wave in Ontario but the droughts, downpours and floods in other regions - are consistent with what computer models predict.

"We may in fact be seeing real changes linked to climate change now but even if this is just some freak weather this is what we have to look forward to in the future."

Then there are the geopolitical issues that global warming is sure to highlight such as sovereignty over the Arctic. There is speculation that this is the reason for the Danes' sudden interest in Hans Island, between Greenland and Canada.

Experts have been warning for years that Canada's sovereignty over the passage is likely to be challenged as the ice melts. The Northwest Passage route from Tokyo to London would be 40 per cent shorter than that using the Panama Canal.

Neither the United States nor the European Community recognize Canadian sovereignty over the passage.

[bassetman]

Glad to see you know the correct term for it rather than Global Warming!

[iltos]

Originally Posted by bassetman

Glad to see you know the correct term for it rather than Global Warming!

fwiw, stoner posted an interesting article over on the 'the sun is dimming' thread...http://www.newscientist.com/article....ine-news_rss20

[bassetman]

Thanks