Globe Climate: The dangers of breathing wildfire smoke

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Good afternoon, and welcome to Globe Climate, a newsletter about climate change, environment and resources in Canada.

Food waste is a big problem in Canada. A whopping 58 per cent of all the food produced here annually winds up as landfill or compost, according to Second Harvest, the country’s largest food-rescue organization. As we gain a better understanding of the environmental impact of growing, processing and transporting food, more people are paying attention to reducing food waste at home.

Food writer Julie Van Rosendaal recently shared some more tips for going zero-waste in the kitchen, including how to use up stale bread, extend the life of fragile greens and recipes that take advantage of sour milk.

Now, let’s catch you up on other news.

Noteworthy reporting this week:

1. Wildfires: Progress made, but battle against wildfires rage on in Quebec, Alberta, B.C.
2. Agriculture: Indigenous farmers can teach the world about food resilience, says head of UN’s farming agency
3. Wildfires: Operation WildFireSat set to change how we track Canadian wildfires and smoke
4. Recreation: Ottawa River’s surfers and kayakers follow a different kind of current affairs in the capital
5. Wildfires: More U.S. firefighters on standby as wildfires continue to rage across Canada
6. Emissions: Atlantic Canada at risk of being locked into fossil fuels for too long, says new study
7. Extreme weather: In Port aux Basques, Newfoundlanders who lost homes to post-tropical storm Fiona make the hard choice to stay or go
8. Infrastructure: With rising seas at its doorstep, an Indigenous nation in Washington State is building on higher ground
9. From The Narwhal: Why a Winnipeg neighbourhood is fighting for its right to a healthy environment

A deeper dive

The dangers of breathing wildfire smoke

Carly Weeks is a health reporter for The Globe and Mail. For this week’s deeper dive, she talks about the health impacts of air pollution caused by wildfires.

I was walking my son to school last week when he asked why the air outside smelled like a campfire. I explained that it was the result of forest fires that were burning hundreds of kilometres away – a concept that I suspect he had trouble fully grasping, likely because it’s been difficult for most of us to wrap our heads around the enormity of the fires and our planet’s climate crisis.

While the air quality has improved dramatically in recent days, experts say we shouldn’t be lulled into believing that the worst is over. Already, this year is on track to be the worst year for wildfires in Canada on record. And that can have serious implications for our health.

Breathing in wildfire smoke is dangerous for a number of reasons. The air pollution caused by forest fires can be especially problematic for at-risk individuals, such as people with asthma, lung disease and other conditions.

But wildfire smoke poses health risks to everyone. That’s because it contains a mix of fine particles, which can include volatile organic compounds and ozone, that enter into our bloodstream when we breathe them into our lungs. According to Environment and Climate Change Canada, there’s “no evidence of a safe level of exposure” for these pollutants.

Research into the impacts of this kind of air pollution is still evolving, but there are concerns that it can be linked to a higher risk of heart attack and stroke, for instance. It’s a sobering reality. Many of the researchers I spoke with were very frank about the fact that poor air quality events will become a bigger fact of life, even in areas far flung from wildfire hot spots. And they urge the public to consider how to protect themselves, whether that means keeping their kids home from outdoor recreational events during times of poor air quality, or wearing a mask if they have to be outside for an extended period when pollution levels are high.

- Carly

What else you missed

• Research advances date for likely summer ice-free Arctic by a decade
• Alberta Premier Danielle Smith downplays link between wildfires and climate change
• Amount of warming triggering carbon dioxide in air hits new peak
• Britain puts coal plant on standby as warm temperatures ramp up demand
• Campaigners want fossil fuel firms to pay into climate calamity fund; diplomats dubious
• Protest derails planned celebration of 20-year ban on oil drilling near Chaco national park
• FIFA made false claims about ‘carbon-neutral’ World Cup in Qatar, Swiss regulator says

Opinion and analysis

Eric Reguly: Canada’s efforts to compete with Biden’s onslaught of energy-transition funding seem misdirected

Andrew Coyne: After this season of fire, the Conservatives must make their peace with carbon pricing

Editorial board: The new reality of a country on fire

Green Investing

ESG backlash may be dampening investor interest in U.S., but there’s a rebound in Canada

At least 19 state governments in the U.S. have launched attacks against environmental, social and governance investing. Will this attack on ESG spill over into Canada? So far, the trend is going in the opposite direction. But it’s not that Canadian ESG doesn’t have its critics – rather it hasn’t registered as a hot-button political issue.

• Members of Climate Action 100+, the largest investor coalition focused on convincing the corporate world to act on climate change, rarely put pressure on the worst polluters, according to an analysis of shareholder voting records.
• More companies setting ‘net-zero’ climate targets, but few have credible plans, report says
• Why every investor has to be more climate aware

Making waves

Each week The Globe will profile a Canadian making a difference. This week we’re highlighting the work of Raluca Radu combining health and climate change work.

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Raluca Radu (MSN, RN), 33, from Vancouver. I am a nurse with a passion for environmental stewardship. I support decarbonization efforts in the NGO sector, by means of my knowledge specialization in health impacts of climate change through my role as a climate and health educator working for Doctors Without Borders.

I have engaged in multiple sustainability initiatives over the last few years. From providing mentorship on a graduate student’s project on mental health and climate change, to developing a case study on wildfires in B.C., or inspiring current and future healthcare professionals to engage in climate action. Today, I feel ever more so energized to continue this work after receiving a Faculty Sustainability Leadership Award for my contributions.

It’s practical to reflect upon your values with respect to environmental protection and to align them with your life. Notably, building an understanding of the macro/meso/micro, three major levels in society, can help you take next steps. Whether you’re passionate about policy-making (macro), community building (meso), or behaviour change in your daily life (micro), you will soon learn that any level of action will naturally motivate you to become a climate champion.

- Raluca

Do you know an engaged individual? Someone who represents the real engines pursuing change in the country? Email us at GlobeClimate@globeandmail.com to tell us about them.

Photo of the week

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Guides and Explainers

• Want to learn to invest sustainably? We have a class for that: Green Investing 101 newsletter course for the climate-conscious investor. Not sure you need help? Take our quiz to challenge your knowledge.
• We’ve rounded up our reporters’ content to help you learn about what a carbon tax is and just generally how Canada will change because of climate change.
• We have ways to make your travelling more sustainable and if you like to read, here are books to help the environmentalist in you grow, as well as a downloadable e-book of Micro Skills - Little Steps to Big Change.

Catch up on Globe Climate

• Canada’s data gap in tracking wildfire risks
• The Indigenous community fighting fire with fire
• How climate change is fuelling a new kind of ‘fire weather’
• Wildfires are another climate change wake-up call

We want to hear from you. Email us: GlobeClimate@globeandmail.com. Do you know someone who needs this newsletter? Send them to our Newsletters page.