Hazel Breton: Climate Change And The Hamilton Conservation Authority

Hazel Breton is a water engineer and manager of water resources with the Hamilton Conservation Authority. She brought the topic of global climate change to the local level and stressed the importance of building resilient water sheds. Global warming is a fact and over the last 40 years the temperature has risen almost one full degree Celsius with a prediction of almost two degrees by 2050. Some of this increase is due to the green house effect. Combined with other natural causes that affect temperature variations on a global level this increase in temperature has been accompanied by heavy rains, flooding, severe storms, heavy erosion and extreme drought within the Hamilton Conservation Authority watershed.

The trend is towards more big storms that are approaching those of the 100 year storms that are of extreme intensity and cause devastating damage. At the same time severe drought is occurring. At present the watershed is at a level 2 drought condition, something that has rarely happened in the past.

The ongoing climate change has a variety of impacts on Ontario. It affects infrastructure, water, agriculture, health, forests and ecosystems while putting communities at risk. To deal with the issue the HCA has a 4-part climate change strategy: understand the problem, share information, integrate into existing policies and develop new policies. Those living in the watershed can do their part to deal with climate change. They can mitigate the problem by reducing green house gases, they can adapt to help cope with current impacts and they can learn more about the situation by going to www.conservationhamilton.ca or www.climatechangehamilton.ca.

In closing Hazel indicated that the planet is approaching several tipping point. She suggested that we beware emerging technologies, secure input from those closest to the ground, integrate sustainability and apply governance to effective sustainability.