This life preserver withstood Fiona. Now, it will be a reminder of the effects of climate change
Mark Lomond lost his fishing stage, but the life preserver attached to it stayed in Port aux Basques
A pop-up exhibit at the upcoming United Nations General Assembly aims to show world leaders a physical representation of the damage caused by climate change, including a piece of history from Port aux Basques and post-tropical storm Fiona.
The exhibit will include a life-preserver that blew off Mark Lomond's fishing stage. He lost the stage, a boat and fishing gear in the storm, which happened two years ago next Tuesday.
But the life preserver — like the people of Port aux Basques — persevered.
"After Fiona, everything had changed down there so much. The entire area was unrecognizable, but the life-preserver there was still in the middle. It was in the middle of the cove, and it was attached to the bottom by its throwline. So it stayed there for about a year and a half," Lomond said Thursday.
"I was going to take it in, but someone said I should leave it there.… I guess it was a little piece of a special place."
The life-preserver was removed from the area when people cleaned the area of ghost gear, but Lomond knew he had to have it back. It now hangs in his garage, where he said it serves as a reminder of how quickly Mother Nature can change things.
The storm destroyed dozens of homes, including the homes of five of Lomond's family members, and killed one resident of Port aux Basques when parts of her home were swept into the ocean.
"There's a lot that's not gone back to normal. Never will. It changed the town forever," he said.
Conor Curtis, communications manager of Sierra Club Canada — which is organizing the exhibit — said the group hopes it will be a symbol of the impact of climate change as world leaders gather to discuss the future. The Sierra Club hopes the exhibit prompts advocacy and policy discussions on climate change, and the organization is pushing for the federal government to impose an emissions cap on oil and gas corporations.
"It's one thing to talk about these things and to understand them in a scientific way. It's a totally different thing to see these objects that have come, again, from people's homes," Curtis said.
"It adds a totally different level and context to the climate discussion we're having in Canada. And it brings home the fact that, you know, these are very real consequences."
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With files from Carolyn Stokes
