Dear Friends of Kingston Inner Harbour,
Here it is mid-summer. So much happening in this crazy world of ours on the international scale.
For fun have a look at Kamala and her “Brat Summer”
https://www.indystar.com/story/entertainment/2024/07/26/what-is-a-brat-summer-kamala-is-brat-explained-brat-coded-who-is-charli-xcx-brat-album-meaning/74556148007/#:~:text=1%3A10,Gen%20Z%20badge%20of%20honor
Thanks so much Hilbert Buist for the picture of wild turleys on Belle Island. Who knew?
Here’s what’s up for August.
LOCAL NEWS, ISSUES AND EVENTS
1. LaSalle Causeway
2. Recent Inner Harbour Heritage Designations
3. If You Have an Issue with the City?
4. The Furies
5. Mayoral Requests?
6. Local Artists: Apply to exhibit in the Market Wing Cultural Space at City Hall – Deadline Aug 23.
7. CRCA Seeks Public Input on Watersheds and Strategies
8. Sleeping Cabins at Crossroads Church near Kingston Centre
FROM FARTHER AFIELD
8. As Arctic Heavy Fuel Ban Comes into Effect, Critics Want More
9. 1.15 Billion Project to Keep Invasive Carp out of the Great Lakes
10. U. of Windsor Works with Community to Help Protect Great Lakes
11. U.S, Canada, Finland Effort to Build Ice-breaking Ships as China & Russia Cooperate in Arctic
12. Climate-driven Ice Breakage Shortening Shipping Season in Northwest Passage
13. Holcim Drives Decarbonization with 99.2% Clinker-free Cement in North America
14. Gov. of Canada Invests in Marine Industry Transition to Green Ship Technology
15. Great Lakes Water Levels Normalizing
16. Microplastics Levels in Lake Ontario Fish Higher Than Global Average
FOR FUN AND GENERAL INTEREST
17. Kids’ Story & Craft event at Library with Marine Museum, Thurs, Aug 2
18. Two Interesting Features: Facts about Alcohol & Age + “Raise a Glass to Park Drinking”
19. Heat’s Effects on Human Bodies
20. Local Author Recounts Hemingway’s Time in Kingston in New Novel
21. Princess St. Promenade, Sat, Aug 3
22. Frontenac Arch Biosphere Free Trails Fest 2024 – Aug 16, 17,& 18
23. Things to Do in KIngston in August
LOCAL NEWS, ISSUES AND EVENTS
1. LaSalle Causeway
Received from the City of Kingston July 19
On July 19, 2024, Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) provided an update on the LaSalle Causeway.
PSPC has been working closely with Priestly Demolition Inc. (PDI) to complete the analysis of options to reinstate access for vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians. As a result, PDI will be installing a temporary modular bridge, which is anticipated to be open by the end of September.
The temporary modular bridge will allow vehicle crossings and will also include space for pedestrians and cyclists to cross the bridge on 1 side. The temporary modular bridge is expected to be in place until the construction of a permanent, replacement bridge is complete.
The City of Kingston understands that this extended closure has deeply impacted residents and business owners. We are committed to ensuring the community is informed about traffic conditions, travel options and collaborative efforts to restore vehicular and active transportation.
As part of this ongoing effort, the City has launched a new webpage –
https://www.cityofkingston.ca/roads-parking-and-transportation/road-maintenance/road-closures/lasalle-causeway-closure/
with the most up-to-date information on the LaSalle Causeway closure, alternative travel options and the current and upcoming work by the City of Kingston, including:
- Adjusting traffic signals to respond to congestion issues
- Adding transit service during congested periods to manage delays and help keep routes detoured by the closure on time
- Advocacy to PSPC on behalf of affected residents and businesses
- Expediting constructions projects including increasing turning lane capacity at the intersection of Montreal St. at John Counter Blvd.
- Collaborating with partners on services such as the pedestrian water taxi
Peak traffic congestion is generally from 7 to 8:30 a.m. and 3:00 – 4:30 p.m. Consider taking an alternate route (Highway 401, Division St., or Sir John A. Macdonald Blvd.) to your destination.
2. Recent Potential Inner Harbour Heritage Designations
Received from the Frontenac Heritage Foundasion, July 18, 2024
140 – 155 Montreal St. and 15&17 Rideau St. Celebrating working class history.
https://www.cityofkingston.ca/news/posts/july-18-notice-of-intention-to-pass-a-by-law-to-designate/
3. If you have an issue with the City?
Received from the Portsmouth District Community Association, July 17, 2024
Useful post from Don Amos, City Councillor – Portsmouth District
Now that I’m 1.5 years into my role as your Councillor, I’m seeing a trend with some of the inquires I receive. Use the “contact us” page through the City of Kingston website.
https://www.cityofkingston.ca/council-and-city-administration/contact-us/#:~:text=By%20phoning%20613%2D546%2D0000,a.m.%20to%204%3A30%20p.m
The “ contact us ” is a tracking mechanism that the city staff uses to address concerns such as parks, bylaws, roads etc. Whenever you use the “contact us “page, please ensure that you cc your local councillor on the submission so that they can assist your inquiry with staff.
To find your local councillor visit https://www.cityofkingston.ca/council-and-city-administration/council/
The other service is the Utilities Kingston customer service call centre (613 546-1181). If your power goes out or you have water issues, it’s handy to have that number available to reach the right support.
In closing, I hope you have you and your family have a great summer. Take a minute or two to read a good book, don’t forget to laugh a little bit and meet up with a friend or two to reconnect. Socialization is also good for the soul!
Kind regards, Don Amos City Councillor – Portsmouth District
4. The Furies
Received July 18, 2024 from Diane and Judi of the Furies
The Furies are a small street theatre group you will begin to see at
events in Kingston. They can be found walking single file toward public
spaces where they will present a brief skit while dressed in red velvet
robes and leafy garlands with their faces painted white. While a narrator
reads a script about the necessity of humans and corporations to behave
very differently by transitioning to a low-carbon world,
The Furies use slow-motion movements to accompany the narrative. A gathered audience is
given a few moments to think quietly to themselves while they envision
more clean energy in our lives. Because of shared interests and goals,
The Furies have loads of fun together practicing in each other’s homes; there
are lots of laughs and conversation flows freely keeping each other’s
spirits high and hopeful.
More volunteers are very welcome.
More Info? Diane and Judi of The Furies at: TheFuries@myyahoo.com or https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?fs=1&tf=cm&source=mailto&to=TheFuries@myyahoo.com
5. Mayoral Requests?
If you are interested in any of the following here is the link:
https://www.cityofkingston.ca/council-and-city-administration/council/mayor/
Congratulatory Certificates, Invite the Mayor, Letters of Welcome, Military Retirements, Proclamations.
6. Local Artists: Apply to exhibit in the Market Wing Cultural Space at City Hall – Deadline Aug 23
Received from the City of Kingston, July 29, 2024
The City is inviting local, Kingston-based artists to apply to exhibit artworks in the Market Wing Cultural Space (MWCS) at City Hall.
“We’re excited to feature the works of local visual artists in City Hall and to help promote the talented artists who call Kingston home,” says Danika Lochhead, Director of Arts & Culture Services, City of Kingston. “This unique space will, over time, showcase diverse exhibitions that help to tell the stories of Kingston’s past, present and future, and include continued opportunities for Kingston-based artists.”
Artworks that can be exhibited in the MWCS include but are not limited to photography, sculpture, mosaic, collage, printmaking and illustration. Individuals and groups are invited to submit their work. There is no fee to submit. The full call for submissions including terms of entry and an online application form can be found on the City website. Applications are due Friday, August 23 by 5 p.m.
The Market Wing Cultural Space at City Hall is an accessible site for cultural programming that combines cultural heritage and the arts. Created to highlight Kingston through heritage- and arts-based storytelling, the MWCS offers exhibitions and programs that reflect the diverse issues, stories and ideas that are relevant and meaningful to the Kingston community. MWCS is open Tuesday – Friday, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m., open late on Thursday until 8 p.m., and Saturday, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
More Info? https://www.cityofkingston.ca/arts-culture-and-events/opportunities-for-artists/
7. CRCA Seeks Public Input on Watersheds and Strategies.
Received July 8, 2024
Cataraqui Conservation is inviting members of the public to share their views and ideas on draft versions of Cataraqui Conservation’s new Watershed-based Resource Management Strategy and Conservation Area Strategy to help us learn more about the values and priorities of our watershed residents and property visitors.
These strategies have been drafted to comply with the provincial government’s 2021 legislation (Ontario Regulation 686/21: Mandatory Programs and Services) which mandates the creation of both the Watershed-based Resource Management Strategy (WRMS) and Conservation Area Strategy. The legislation requires both these Strategies to be completed by December 31, 2024.
Members of the public, including those from outside the watershed who may visit one or more of our properties, are invited to participate in the online surveys hosted at https://cataraquiconservation.ca/pages/get-involved. An initial 30-day consultation period opens July 8 and is open until August 7, 2024. A second 30-day consultation period will occur in September 2024.
Watershed-based Resource Management Strategy (WRMS):
Crafted through science-based data and evidence, the purpose of the WRMS is to assist conservation authorities with improving programs and services to help address and manage possible risks. Risks can include the underlying issues or ‘triggers’ that may lead to damage to persons or property, from natural hazards, such as flooding.
Additionally, through this process Cataraqui Conservation will be able to focus on other aspects of our mandate related to non-mandatory programs and services and set priorities with our municipal partners for more effective and efficient delivery.
Conservation Lands Strategy:
Cataraqui Conservation is a major landowner within the watershed, with 245 individual parcels totaling more than 4,700 hectares (11,600 acres) of land. These lands are locally, provincially, and in some cases, deemed to be internationally significant. Cataraqui Conservation properties include features such as forests, grassland, wetlands, watercourses, karst (irregular limestone region with sinkholes, underground streams, and caverns) and lake/river shorelines.
The purpose of the Conservation Area Strategy is to broadly outline priorities for conservation lands and provide an opportunity for the community to tell us what they think about our conservation areas and what is important to them. Part of the new document will see the creation of comprehensive Conservation Area Management Guidelines and updating/enhancing the current property Acquisition and Disposition Guidelines. These will all be posted for public comment as they are brought to the draft stage.
For further information on the two Strategies and to download the draft documents, please visit https://cataraquiconservation.ca/pages/get-involved.
8. Sleeping Cabins Coming to Parking Lot at Crossroads Church near Kingston Centre
Received from United Church of Canada In Focus July 4, 2024 – Anne Theriault
Crossroads United steps up to save Kingston’s sleeping cabin program
The program, which is currently housing 17 people, is due to end this fall, but the church has proposed a permanent solutionA Kingston, Ont., program providing private sleeping cabins for people experiencing homelessness is slated for cancellation by the end of the year. But a recent offer from a local United Church may be enough to save the project and give it a permanent home.
Like many other Canadian cities, Kingston is in the midst of a homelessness crisis. As of March, there were 539 unhoused people on the city’s By-Name list, a registry for unhoused people meant to provide the community with real-time information on homelessness. By contrast, there are only 166 shelter beds available.
In 2021, the City of Kingston partnered with Our Livable Solutions (OLS), an organization dedicated to addressing homelessness in the community to launch a pilot project called the Sleeping Cabin Program to address the crisis. In its first year, the project saw the creation of 10 heated and insulated cabins that were financially supported by the city, but overseen day-to-day by OLS. Today, there are 17 cabins – and 17 residents – that will be affected by the program’s cancellation.
There have been challenges over the past three years. Since there wasn’t anywhere that could host the cabins year-round, they had to be moved between two city-owned facilities (a marina and an ice rink during their respective off seasons), where residents could access kitchens, laundry, and washrooms. A fire also destroyed three of the cabins in late 2022. Despite this, Chrystal Wilson, executive director of OLS, describes the program as a success, pointing out that it has led to more permanent housing for three former residents. But last November, Kingston city council voted to end the project this fall, citing high operating costs and the fact that the cabins were only meant to be a stopgap pandemic solution. Without access to city funding, land, and facilities, the project will have to end if a new home can’t be found.
Just three days after that vote, Rev. Carmen Lansdowne, moderator of The United Church of Canada, spoke at Kingston’s Crossroads United as part of her Flourishing Project, an initiative which sees the moderator engage church members on how to create a society that’s flourishing instead of just surviving. “What is one positive thing, one imaginative thing that you can do in your faith communities?” Lansdowne asked.
Crossroads council member Allan Baer says that question gave the church an idea. It had an empty eighth of an acre on its property. Could that be used to host the sleeping cabins?
When a second vote by city councillors in mid-April reaffirmed the conclusion of the program, Crossroads began to seriously consider taking over the project. Ahead of a vote on the matter at their congregational meeting on June 2, Baer drafted a document to provide parishioners with information about what hosting the cabins would entail. Under the subheading “Why?” he quoted the Gospel of Matthew: “I was hungry and you fed me; thirsty, and you gave me a drink; I was a stranger and you received me into your homes.” The motion to host the cabins was approved by a wide margin.
There are still some hurdles that Crossroads will need to clear before the cabins can be moved onto their property. A service module with washrooms, shower, laundry facilities and a kitchen will need to be added to the site, and the church will have to figure out how to hook up the utilities needed to operate the cabins. Crossroads also still needs to get city council’s approval, which will mean reassuring residents in the neighbouring apartment buildings that the program won’t negatively impact their lives.
But an initial meeting with city council has left Baer feeling optimistic, and the church wouldn’t be working alone, since OLS would continue to oversee day-to-day operations at the cabins. The church has even come up with a name for the project: Crossroads Village. Baer says that they hope it evokes a sense of community for everyone involved, from those living in the cabins, to the Crossroads parishioners, to neighbours in nearby apartment buildings and townhouses.
It’s all been a bit of a whirlwind for the church but, says Baer, it feels like an instance of being in the right place at the right time. He adds that God doesn’t always provide a leisurely approach to these kinds of things. Sometimes He, like city council, operates on tight deadlines.
Anne Thériault is a journalist in Kingston, Ont.
FROM FARTHER AFIELD9. As Arctic heavy fuel oil ban comes into force, critics want more, Cabin Radio, July 5, 2024. A long-awaited ban on heavy fuel oil in the Arctic is now in force, but not without criticism from some environmental and Indigenous groups. The United Nations International Maritime Organization, or IMO, adopted the ban in 2021, prohibiting the use or carriage of heavy fuel oil in Arctic waters with the aim of reducing the risk of dangerous spills. The ban came into effect on July 1 this year.
10. Agreement Advances $1.15 Billion Project to Keep Invasive Carp Out of Great Lakes, Urban Milwaukee, July 5, 2024. lllinois has signed a key agreement with the state of Michigan and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that will advance a $1.15 billion project to keep invasive carp out of the Great Lakes. The agreement devotes $274 million in federal funding, as well as $114 million in state money, for construction of the project at the Brandon Road Lock and Dam along the Des Plaines River in Joliet, Illinois.
11. University of Windsor works with the community to help protect the Great Lakes, The Globe and Mail, July 8, 2024. Growing up in Windsor-Essex County in southern Ontario gave Lauren Damphousse a unique appreciation for the area’s natural beauty. So, after Damphousse graduated from the University of Windsor with a biology degree in 2020, there was only one ecosystem she wanted to study while pursuing a PhD – the small streams and waterways that feed the Great Lakes.
12. US, Canada, Finland launch effort to build ice-breaking ships as China and Russia cooperate in Arctic, Reuters, July 11, 2024. The U.S., Canada and Finland will form a consortium to build icebreaker ships, a senior U.S. administration official said, a move intended to bolster the allies’ shipbuilding and counter Russia and China in increasingly strategic polar regions. The initiative, called the Icebreaker Collaboration Effort or ICE pact, is being unveiled on Thursday on the sidelines
13. Climate-driven ice breakage is shortening shipping season in Northwest Passage: Study, The Hill, July 11, 2024. A surging supply of thick sea ice – fragmenting due to the warming effects of climate change – is shortening the shipping season through the Northwest Passage, a new study has found. While previous analyses have explored whether the Northwest Passage might become a more viable alternative to traditional shipping routes as the climate warms, the study authors expressed fear that the opposite may be true. The sea ice, which is flowing south from the Arctic Ocean, already slashed the ice-free shipping season in several parts of the channel between 2007 and 2021, according to the study, published Thursday in the journal Communications Earth & Environment.
14. Holcim Drives Decarbonization With 99.2% Clinker-Free Cement in North America, Business Wire, July 11, 2024. Holcim has successfully placed its first 99.2% clinker-free concrete pavement in North America, marking a milestone in its commitment to driving innovative and sustainable building. In collaboration with Stoneway Concrete, this project resulted in 74.7% lower CO2 emissions than standard concrete using Type IL cement available in the market. This demonstrates Holcim’s ability to develop high-quality solutions that significantly accelerate decarbonization without compromising on performance. Toufic Tabbara, Holcim regional head, North America, is quoted.
15. TheGovernment of Canadainvests in marine industry’s transition to green ship technology, Canada, July 16, 2024. Today, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport and Member of Parliament for Niagara Centre, Vance Badawey, on behalf of the Minister of Transport, Pablo Rodriguez, announced $1.7 million for 14 projects under the Green Shipping Corridor Program’s Clean Vessel Demonstration stream.
16. Great Lakes’ water levels are normalizing now, MLive, July 17, 2024. The Great Lakes’ water levels have been on an amazing down-up-and-now-down journey. The recent decline in Great Lakes’ water levels puts our beautiful lakes in a rare spot as of late- normal. There actually is only one Great Lake that is currently at a somewhat significant amount higher than normal. Lake Erie is currently 10 inches above the long-term level for June.
17. Microplastics Levels in Lake Ontario Fish Higher Than Global Average: Study, The Epoch Times, July 19, 2024. The levels of microplastics found in fish around Toronto are higher than global averages, according to a recent study. Co-authored by researchers from the University of Toronto and the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, the study examined 45 samples of six fish species collected from Humber Bay in Lake Ontario. Researchers measured the level of microplastics found in fish gastrointestinal tracts (GI) and in fillets. Microplastics are defined in the report as small bits of plastic that can be up to five millimetres in size.
FOR FUN AND GENERAL INTEREST
18. Kids’ Story & Craft Event at Library with Marine Museum, Thurs, Aug 2
https://www.facebook.com/events/407931732283540/?acontext=%7B%22source%22%3A%2229%22%2C%22ref_notif_type%22%3A%22event_profile_plus_create%22%2C%22action_history%22%3A%22null%22%7D¬if_id=1721752880796529¬if_t=event_profile_plus_create&ref=notif
19. Two Interesting Features: Facts about Alcohol & Age + “Raise a Glass to Park Drinking”
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/alcohol-age-tolerance?rid=C2DC149D63666E2CCEC3DF1E9C241C82&cmpid=org%3Dngp%3A%3Amc%3Dcrm-email%3A%3Asrc%3Dngp%3A%3Acmp%3Deditorial%3A%3Aadd%3DHealth_20240702&loggedin=true&rnd=1719945579182
“Raise a Glass to Park Drinking”
Received from the Globe and Mail July 20, 2024 – by Benjamin Leszcz, a writer and the co-founder of Wilda, an alcoholic beverage company based in Prince Edward County, Ont.
On a recent Saturday, my friend John and I took our kids to a small, idyllic island that is perhaps the world’s most ethnically diverse place. The sandy beaches and sprawling fields were packed with groups of day trippers. Each crew seemed to be speaking a different language, eating different foods, engaging in different pastimes. My seven-year-old son taught another kid, versed in cricket but not baseball, how to shag flies. I tried my hand at hurling, the Gaelic sport, invited in by convivial Irishmen. Later, John and I had a beer while our kids picked at barbecue chicken and explored a hedge maze.
It is still technically illegal to drink publicly on Toronto Island, but this detail has never deterred me (nor anyone, it seems). I felt especially unworried on my recent visit, knowing that drinking had been legalized in 45 other Toronto parks after a 21-1 April council vote. The horse, clearly, is out of the barn. With the decision, Toronto joined Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver, all of which recently legalized park drinking following successful pilot projects. (Montreal, of course, is light years ahead.) Toronto’s 2023 trial run, in 27 parks, generated a grand total of two complaints. The storm of social ills, predicted by critics, never materialized. To the contrary, it is becoming increasingly clear that park drinking actually improves parks, helping them fulfill their highest purpose: to bring diverse people together – as Toronto Island does so well – and to remind us, in the words of 19th-century landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, of our “commonplace civilization.”
Before Olmsted became the architect of the modern park – he designed Central Park, Yosemite, Montreal’s Mount Royal Park and many others – he was a journalist, commissioned in 1852 by The New York Times to report from the antebellum South. There, Olmsted found an individualistic, quasi-feudalistic society, bereft of a sense of common humanity. Back in the North, by contrast, he described a flourishing of “social enterprises” – communal efforts to build libraries, theatres, skating rinks, schools. Parks, for Olmsted, were the ultimate venue for the weaving of social fabric. He was so convinced, in fact, that he left journalism and dedicated the rest of his life to designing them.
Olmsted was plainly correct. What element of urban infrastructure connects us more strongly to our fellow citizens? Parks are a pin prick in the algorithmic bubbles that encase us today. A place where we meet neighbours and connect with strangers. Where kids befriend others entirely unlike them. Parks are fertile ground for the accumulation of what the sociologist Robert Putnam calls “social capital”: the relationships and loose ties that imbue societies with a spirit of trust, co-operation and reciprocity.
Fittingly, something else that correlates strongly with elevated levels of trust, co-operation and reciprocity is – you guessed it – moderate, social drinking. “Alcohol opens the social pores, allowing more relaxed social interaction, calms the nerves, and creates a sense of community,” write Robin Dunbar and Kimberley Hockings in Alcohol and Humans. According to UBC historian Edward Slingerland, the author of Drunk, alcohol’s capacity to diminish inhibitions and facilitate connection isn’t merely its highest use; it’s likely the reason that booze exists at all, or at least continues to exist, given the obvious downsides of inebriation during, say, hunter-gatherer times.
Thus, the legalization of park drinking is a victory not only for libertarians and for hedonists like myself, who view a crisp Riesling as an integral accompaniment to a baguette and cheese; it is a victory for all park-goers, and for society itself. Mr. Putnam writes that Olmsted designed parks as “a means to overcome isolation and suspicion.” Alcohol, it turns out, has the exact same function.
So what took so long?
Canada’s park-drinking pilots demonstrated that fears of unruliness, fist fights and car crashes were overblown. Once we acknowledged that litter and public urination were failures of civic infrastructure, not moral character, park services improved, too. And if we’re being honest, the informal pilot project of drinking in parks had been running smoothly – albeit illegally – forever, and notably during the COVID-19 pandemic. But this is Canada. For a stark reminder of that fact, look at Ottawa, where park drinking remains verboten. According to parks department general manager Dan Chenier, the city that fun forgot still needs to undertake “a thorough evaluation of safety considerations.” This, of course, is shorthand for the moral panic that ensues here any time someone proposes loosening liquor laws. It’s an old story: By allowing alcohol in parks – or selling it in corner stores, or on Sundays, or at baseball games – the weak-willed citizenry will descend into depravity. The puritans have been bolstered lately by the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction, which now recommends a draconian limit of two drinks a week, and by the intermittent-fasting-and-cold-plunge set, who prefer living “clean” to living well.
Still, legalizing park drinking isn’t a rebuke to the naysayers; rather, it’s a way of changing the conversation, focusing more on how people are drinking and less on how much. Park drinking can represent an incredibly constructive model for alcohol consumption. It is generally moderate: We are constrained by what we can pack into a cooler, and we attend to the rhythms of nature, taking cues from a cool breeze or darkening sky. It is democratic: Parks are for everyone, and are vital for city-dwellers without backyards. It is often accompanied by physical activity: Did you know a Frisbee can hold three pints of liquid? Most importantly, it is social: In city parks, we are seldom alone. This last feature is critical, according to Mr. Slingerland. “In most societies and for most of human history, the consumption of … alcohol has been a fundamentally social act,” he writes. “We are all not well equipped to control our drinking without social help.”
With luck, park drinking will nudge our norms forward, treating alcohol less as a dirty secret, and more as a healthy part of a socially connected life. We are living amid a historic crisis of loneliness and social isolation. We need strong measures to pull people out of their homes, off their screens, and back into each other’s lives. One prescription, at least, is an incredibly pleasant one: Pack a picnic, raise a glass, and let a warm breeze wash over you and your friends. I need not remind you that life is short, and summer is shorter.
19. Heat’s Effects on Human Bodies
Received from worksinprogress + notes=on-progress@substack.com Jul 12, 2024 – Deena Rasky
| The window of safe internal temperature for the human body is remarkably narrow: 36.1°C to 37.2°C. Outside it sits hypothermia on one end, heatstroke on the other. As the body’s internal temperature changes, it begins to thermoregulate to stay within that window. To handle overheating, blood vessels near the skin dilate to increase heat loss, the heart beats faster and harder, more than doubling its output to support this, and sweat cools the body through evaporation. Singapore’s founding father Lee Kuan Yew said that his first act as prime minister was to install air conditioners in buildings where the civil service worked. Air conditioning, Lee argued, ‘made development possible in the tropics’ – cooler indoor temperatures kept workers productive in the midday heat. Temperature extremes, he recognised, weigh down on people’s health, mood, cognition, and productivity. This summer, a heat wave struck Mexico and temperatures soared above 45°C in much of the country. Heat-related illnesses overwhelmed some hospitals, and the surge in electricity demand for air conditioning led to rolling blackouts. In Saudi Arabia, more than a thousand pilgrims died as temperatures hit 50° C. There have been six heat-related deaths of hikers in Greece since the start of the tourist season, including British doctor and television presenter Michael Mosley. This summer’s heat is not yet over, so it is difficult to approximate its burden, but researchers estimate over 60,000 people died due to the heat in Europe in the summer of 2022. These are not isolated incidents: there are something like 500,000 heat-related deaths annually. Without a substantial shift in how people and governments approach extreme heat, that toll will only increase as the planet gets hotter. Heat and human health The first sign that the body is getting too hot is heat cramps: heavy sweating and painful muscle spasms. Next is heat exhaustion, which involves a fast and weak pulse, nausea, headaches, or fainting. Last comes heat stroke, which can be life threatening. Those who recover aren’t necessarily in the clear. Exposure to heat injury is also associated with much higher long term risk of heart disease, cerebral stroke, immunosuppression, and chronic kidney disease. High temperatures also impact mood and mental health; heat makes people more irritable. Emergency-room visits for mental health conditions are eight percent higher in the United States on extremely hot days. Heat also spurs aggression. When temperatures are high, drivers honk their car horns more often and for longer, and people are more likely to post hate speech. In correctional facilities, one study found that high temperatures increased daily violent interactions by 20 percent. Hotter weather is associated with violent crime, including murder, aggravated assault, rape, terrorist attacks, and mass shootings, though this may be not only because heat relates to stress and aggression, but also because people spend more time outside and in public spaces in warmer weather. Researchers analyzed 60 studies from the literature on the connection between weather and violence – graphs showing the relationships from some of these studies are included above. As the climate warms, we may be living in a fundamentally less stable world. Rising temperatures could erode social cohesion at a time when cooperation is most needed, and institutions that are critical for helping us coordinate in the face of these challenges may be more likely to crumble in the heat. Cognition in high temperatures The brain represents two percent of body weight, but consumes around a fifth of the body’s energy. This high metabolic rate makes it particularly susceptible to heat stress. Higher temperatures can worsen decision-making, reaction time, the ability to sustain attention, and working memory – which are critical for learning, productivity, and safety. One study found that judges dismiss fewer cases, issue longer prison sentences, and levy higher fines when ruling on hotter-than-average days. In New York City, research found that taking an exam on a 90° F versus a 72° F day was associated with worse exam performance, a 10.9 percent lower likelihood of passing a subject, and a 2.5 percent lower likelihood of graduating on time. Similar results have been found in research in Ethiopia, China, and Vietnam, the PSAT, and the Peabody math test – though other studies in Brazil and Australia found no relationship. A study of New York City public schools found an association between average test-time temperature and the rate of on-time graduation. Higher temperatures not only influence cognition in the moment, they can also cause permanent damage – for example, between 10 and 28 percent of heat stroke survivors experience persistent brain damage. These cognitive impacts shape everything from educational attainment and job performance to a society’s capacity for innovation and problem-solving. A growing, uneven burden Add that up and the economic costs are staggering. Already, some estimates of the economic losses from extreme heat put it at 1.5 percent of GDP in the wealthiest regions and 6.7 percent in the poorest. That translates into a lower standard of living for everyone, not just those directly feeling the heat. The harms of extreme heat are growing. By 2100, nearly three quarters of the population may be exposed to dangerous environmental heat for at least 20 days each year, up from 30 percent. Heat-related mortality for people over 65 increased by 85 percent between 2000–2004 and 2017–2021. Countries in the global south were hardest hit – leading to worsening global inequalities. The Lancet Countdown tracks the change in heat-related deaths among adults over age 65 by country in 2018-2022 compared to 2000-2004. The situation is worsening, but it is not insoluble. We can take adaptive measures while reducing emissions and capturing carbon from the atmosphere, to eventually reverse the changes in climate that are exacerbating these challenges. One of them is moving heat out of the places where humans are to places where they are not, for example with two-way heat pumps – air conditioners – like Singapore did. Unlike Singapore in the mid-twentieth century, we can now do it without contributing to global warming, as solar panels tend to produce the most energy precisely when it is hottest and air conditioners are most needed. We can also adjust architectural plans to take into account warming temperatures. Areas that are used to extreme heat are well practiced in doing this: with design elements that can support more cross-ventilation and shading, and more reflective material for roofing that can reduce the heat naturally absorbed by buildings. Humans have repeatedly transformed hostile environments into livable ones. The growing threat of extreme heat will similarly require urgent adaptation to help us ensure we live healthier and more productive lives around the world. Deena Mousa is Chief of Staff for Global Health and Wellbeing at OpenPhilanthropy 20. Local Author Recounts Hemingay’s Time in Kingston in New Novel Received from the Kingstonist, July 11, 2024 – Jessica Foley “We were the Bull Fighters” by Marianne K. Miller |
21. Princess St. Promenade
https://downtownkingston.ca/blogs/upcoming-events/princess-street-promenade
22. Frontenac Arch Biosphere Trails Fest 2024 – Aug 16, 17, & 18
Received July 29, 2024
Join us for free Trails Fest 2024, Aug 16,17,&18. Free. All welcome!
Trails Fest is an opportunity to connect with nature in the UNESCO designated Frontenac Arch Biosphere Region through a series of guided hikes at various locations within the Arch.
Hikes are FREE (pay-what-you-can donations are welcome) and hosted in partnership between the Frontenac Arch Biosphere Network and various people and orgranizations that steward the land, water and trails.
Guided hikes available for registration include:
Mac Johnson Wildlife Area, Brockville (Saturday morning)
Landons Bay, Lansdowne (Saturday, 1pm)
Foley Mountain, Westport (Saturday, 1:30pm)
Wintergreen Studios, South Frontenac (Sunday, 9:30am)
Charleston Lake Provincial Park, Lansdowne (Sunday, 10am)
Rock Dunder, Lyndhurst (Sunday)
See all hike and trail details and register to attend on our website here: https://frontenacarchbiosphere.ca/event/fab-trails-festival/
Spaces are limited. Contact communications@fabn.ca for more information.
23. Things to Do in Kingston in August
https://www.kingstonist.com/news/things-to-do-in-and-around-kingston-august-2024/
Editor’s Note: Worth subscribing to the Kingstonist for timely and useful info like this. Best organized source in my opinion.
Cheers,
Mary Farrar,
President, Friends of Kingston Inner Harbour
www.friendsofinnerharbour.com