We’ve had an amazing summer with beautiful weather – the hot, sunny summer days you dream of. We had perfect weather for Astrid’s outdoor birthday party. It was sunny for Folk Fest. We spent a lot of time camping, cycling, and swimming and barely saw a drop of rain.

It almost feels like paradise and I should feel blessed. But this weather is not normal. We’ve been lucky in Vancouver as we’ve avoided the most extreme weather (this year at least), but the rest of the world has been on fire.

The impacts of climate change this year are staggering. The wildfires across the country have been devastating. Every Canadian has dealt with smoke, if not the fires themselves.

And outside of Canada, things are just as scary.

• Phoenix is melting
• The Mediterranean is on fire
• Florida’s coast feels like a hot tub.
• Antarctica is melting rapidly.
• Climate records are tumbling everywhere.

If you’ve stopped reading the news, I don’t blame you. It’s depressing.

The saddest part for me is there are still too many people who believe the lies that climate change is some kind of hoax. What will it take for everyone to realize our actions have consequences and that we can’t keep burning fossil fuels without seeing the impact of that pollution? The warnings that this would lead to severe weather are now our reality. It’s too late to stop it, but we can prevent things from getting even worse.

So what can we do about it?

We’re past the point of voluntary actions having any meaningful difference. If you want to eat less meat, sell your car, and stop flying – that’s great, but we need systems change to get everyone moving in that direction.

That means voting for politicians who understand the urgency and are committed to pushing the changes we need:

• investments in public transit, bike lanes, and high-speed rail
• carbon taxes and road taxes that discourage driving and flying
• huge investments in renewable energy
• ending fossil fuel subsidies
• rebates for electrification – like EVs, heat pumps, and convection stoves
• zoning for increased urban density

Life is going to get more expensive because of climate change. Droughts across the prairies and the Colorado River Basin are going to result in very high grocery bills. Insurance rates will go through the roof as natural disasters and wildfires become more common.

I’m worried that too many people will fall for the simple lies pushed by the oil industry and right-wing politicians. That “we don’t need to worry about climate change yet; Canada is too small to have an impact on global emissions; the carbon tax can’t prevent forest fires so we should scrap it.”

I’m usually pretty optimistic about the future but the lack of action on climate change, even while the world burns, has me feeling pretty anxious and depressed. I’m curious how other people are feeling and how you’re coping.