This is a difficult chirp because it is kind of personal. When we first moved to Alberta back in the mid 1990s, the summers were pleasant. We had a couple hot days and then it would cool off. We sure did not need air conditioning. We would plant our gardens after the Victoria Day weekend and watch the gardens thrive with the long days of sunlight.

Here we are in 2024 and we can plant our garden a week, or, if we are really brave, two weeks before the Victoria Day weekend. We have just endured eight days of +30 C weather and the air conditioner has been running the whole time

Back in 2011, Slave Lake, Alberta, was hit by fire and a number of structures were destroyed while the town was evacuated. In 2016, Fort McMurray, Alberta, a city of 80,000 people was evacuated, and the city suffered significant fire damage.

Now, as I do this chirp, there are forest fires at the boundary of Jasper, Alberta. The fire has already taken buildings such as the historic Maligne Lodge, pictured above. The fire is on the grounds of Jasper Park Lodge, and threatens to consume the entire town of Jasper. Jasper is a tourist town known throughout the world. Of the 25,000 people evacuated, 20,000 are either tourists or out of province/country service workers. The loss of tourism dollars will be enormous.

I have stayed at Jasper Park Lodge a number of times and have many fond memories. So many people, in Alberta, and throughout the world, can associate with Jasper. Many people take our national cross country passenger train, the Canadian, which goes through Jasper national Park and has a long stop in Jasper. the train station in Jasper is reportedly one of the casualties of the fire.

The government in Alberta has a climate change denial platform. It has cut funding in this area. This is a province that has had, now three, forest fire catastrophes costing millions in current and future dollars. By that I mean, for example, Jasper. It will cost dollars to fight the fires and rebuild. It will also cost potential tourist revenues for years to come. We can’t keep denying the fact that climate change is real. it is costing us far more to deny it than it is to try to address it.

All I got for today.