The Climate Emergency Adaptation, Disasters & Resilience : a primer By Clarence Woudsma & Jeff Casello, University of Waterloo
CITE certainly demonstrated prophetic powers in their choice of theme for the upcoming 2022 annual conference – resiliency and planning for an uncertain future. Last year featured many Canadian communities
We know that transportation systems are climate-
absorbing extreme weather events that no doubt
sensitive, whether it be through acute infrastructure
impacted many transportation professionals and tested
damage or more chronic deterioration, operational
our resiliency in the face of disasters. Yet, we likely all
disruptions, or contributions to unsafe conditions
did a double-take of empathetic wonder in witness to
regardless of modes. Acute stressors are short duration
the impact and disruption wrought by the rainfall
or weather-related while we often associate chronic
events in British Columbia late in 2021. It wasn’t just the
stressors with the climate. For both types of stresses on
images of washed away bridges, roadbeds, and rail
transportation systems, we’re interested in the same
lines but the geographic scope of impact that caught
variables - temperature, precipitation, wind, and storm
our attention. And while the damages from this latest
events for example but the weather is what we get at a
“natural disaster” are tallied, questions about the
specific time which is contrasted with climate which is
attribution of this event to climate change, the state of
what we expect for those variables based on a 30 year
infrastructure, and our response to the event and its
average (e.g., 1986-2005).
impact emerge. Let’s explore these themes further.
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Climate Emergency or “just the weather”?
TRANSPORTATION TALK | WINTER 2021-22
Credit: B.C. Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure & Cowichan Tribes
t he cl i m a te emergency & tran s p o r tat io n