Meet the people fighting climate change in Windsor-Essex
From the skies to the lakes, locals are working hard to improve the environment
Floods from big storms, wildfires in northern Ontario, intense heat waves — a lot of what we've been seeing is predicted to only get worse. But some Windsor-Essex residents are working hard to change that.
A recent report from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warns that without a radical reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, we are on a course for global warming that will have grave consequences.
The planet has already warmed almost 1.2 C above pre-industrial levels, according to the report. The IPCC is calling on world governments to reduce CO2 emissions to limit that warming to 1.5 C.
Here are some people in Windsor-Essex who are working to protect the environment and fight the impacts of climate change:
WATCH | Meet Anellah Orosz, who is protecting the lakes.
For about two years, 16-year-old Anellah Orosz has been working with Caldwell's Youth Advisory Committee.
"The youth advisory committee is working on getting Lake Erie person-hood status," she said. "This would mean that Lake Erie would have personal autonomy ... this is important because it teaches people the Indigenous belief that the water has life and should be treated as such."
The group is holding an event on Aug. 28, when people are invited to paddle from Lakeside Marina to Caldwell First Nation-owned property on Bevel Line in Leamington. The paddle session will teach people about the toxic algae blooms, plastics and invasive species in Lake Erie.
Caldwell First Nation's economic development officer, Kyra Cole, also spoke with CBC News about future sustainability plans. Cole said they are working on building a community on the 80-hectare piece of land that Caldwell recently secured reserve status for, after a 230-year fight.
"We're really looking at how the nation is going to develop their homes, businesses, any of the structures, in a way that is sustainable [and] passive. We're looking into net-zero home construction, so really living up to the responsibility as stewards of the land."
WATCH | Meet Mahayarrahh-Starr Livingstone, who is advocating for 'dark skies.'
Mahayarrahh-Starr Livingstone, Windsor branch president of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, is pushing against light pollution.
He presented to Kingsville and Leamington councils about the damage light from greenhouses has on the region, with the lights disrupting birds and butterflies.
His talks led to bylaws that require companies to reduce their greenhouses' light output. While the skies don't have as much of a glow now, Livingstone said greenhouse lights aren't used much in the summer. The true test will be to observe the skies in the winter, he said.
"We don't have a dark sky," he said. "We're missing out on a natural rhythm that's been going on for thousands of years, with humans and natural and plants."
He wants to see the City of Windsor implement a light pollution bylaw.
WATCH | Meet Lori Newton, who is working to grow Windsor-Essex's cycling community.
Lori Newton, executive director of Bike Windsor-Essex, has been advocating for cycling in Windsor-Essex for the last decade.
Newton said there are many reasons people should cycle, including for the environment and their own health.
Her organization is launching an initiative encouraging people to continue cycling into the winter months.
"We're seeing so much not happening in the City of Windsor," she said, adding that despite an active transportation plan, there hasn't been a lot of change in bringing the right cycling infrastructure.
"There's no sense of urgency here ... we have to do much more than we're doing and investing in cycling ... is something that is very vitally important."