Let's get going again

 

I'm stuck in writing the next chapter of Yankee, so let's talk about something else for awhile. We're right in the middle of winter and that's a good time to muse about things. I did this on the old blog one other time. See Shadow. 

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Want to reduce your risk from global climate change? Move! That's a joke.

Seriously, if you live in a community with river, falls, island, rapids, canal, creek, beach, bay, cove, point, lake or stream in its name, get out now. Head to higher ground but not to where there are trees or other vegetation that can burn. Don't go near the coasts. Better to stay where you are because the coasts will soon be coming to you.

Things could be worse. You could live in British Columbia. In 2021 that province saw record drought, record precipitation, record high temperatures and record low temperatures. In one mega precipitation event ALL of its highways were wiped out. The good news is...well, actually there isn't any other than they actually have traffic slowly moving again after months of around-the-clock repairs.

If we have learned anything from the fires, floods, tornadoes and hurricanes it is to keep a full tank of gas in your car and don't store valuables in the basement. No one is going to laugh any more if you have your tent, sleeping bags and camping equipment ready to go in the trunk or back of the truck. We need to be ready to move at a moment's notice and to survive for weeks until we can get back to what is left of home and make an insurance claim.

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I would like to report that we have bought our first electric vehicle. I would like to do that but unfortunately, it wouldn't be true. Even if we had the money for one, which we don't, there are none for sale in Thunder Bay and barely any in Canada. I just read a survey that found 70 per cent of Canadians would consider buying an electric vehicle. The carmakers heard our plea and gave us gas vehicles with hands-free driving and really big computer screens on the dash. Pretty much the same thing, they figured. 

It reminds me of the energy crisis in the '70s. The public wanted small, energy-efficient vehicles and the North American automakers gave us little crappy cars that rusted-out in a year and got about a mile more per gallon. Pretty much the same thing. That's when we all turned to Japanese vehicles.

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I've been thinking a lot about Cognitive Dissonance. That's the psychological term when you have two conflicting beliefs in your head. It causes you so much grief that you must choose between them. That choice could be to accept a new belief but it can also be to make absurd rationalizations to keep the old one. It explains why people can make so many ridiculous choices.

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All around Red Lake, including right at our cabin, there are sections of the lake shore that are eroding. No one has a good explanation for this but one possibility is that the shoreline is still reacting to the higher water level created by a dam on the Chukuni River back in the '40s. It resulted in the lake being four feet higher. Whatever the reason, many of us with the problem would like to find a remedy. Plants with long roots would likely hold the soil in place but picking the plant is a bit of sticky wicket. It needs to be fast-growing, have long roots, and (here's the rub) be beaver-proof. 

After spending decades planting every native species of tree only to eventually see them all carted away to the big rodent's lodges, I came up with a new idea and it's one that should fit with the extreme drought and heat we are getting from climate change. Promise you won't laugh now. Cactuses! Or Cacti, if you prefer. I said don't laugh! I would like to see the varmints try to sink their buck teeth into these. For a fact, there are cacti that grow in Northern British Columbia that tolerate winter temperatures of -40. We're going to try a couple but as well we are thinking of planting some prairie grass species, like Little Bluestem. 

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Speaking of the Prairies, shouldn't we be changing Woodland Caribou Provincial Park west of Red Lake to Prairie Dog Wilderness Park? It is perpetually on fire every summer. The Prairies are just to its west and with all the fires that prevent the forest from growing prairie species must be starting to take over.