We had rain last week and it helped a bit, but not for long. I woke early this morning and noticed a distinct odor of burning conifers but that didn't lasted very long.
I saved this map a few minutes ago-
We are at 164 at the moment, so back in the RED zone. We are not really in fire season yet. So I fear that the worst may be yet to come. Since this all started we have only had a few stretches of a few hours where the air quality has been rated as good. This is now the second week in a row we have gone into the red zone. Last week we got into the purple zone. I understand that in this area the smoke is mainly from Ontario fires at the moment, but also still western fires. Either way it looks and smells bad, and I'm sure is harmful to health.
For a couple due any day for a half day out with the undertaker, we can't be cavalier about this. I don't have to bee outdoors very long before the effects are adverse. I was two days ago for unavoidable reasons and paid a penalty. The winter was long and spring late. We have only had one day this year were we could sit out on a patio, either because of smoke or adverse weather.
However the medical costs of this and the heat dome, which is getting ever closer to us, is thought to have cost over 1 billion dollars in excess medical cost so far.
However, as a physician I fear that this will be dwarfed by the long term medical costs. These 2 and 2.5 micron particles, go straight from lungs to blood stream. These carbon particles are highly reactive and the whole cardiovascular system is exposed to them. So what I worry about is future excess costs mortality and morbidity to the young, including children. I fear we are stoking future troubles. I fear this may all dwarf the effects of Covid by many miles and leagues.
The problem is that solutions are all long term, requiring massive changes to the organization of society, and costly. No one has any idea how to pay for all this, and that includes remediation. The effects of failing to act and the time it takes to act are mounting fast. Obviously the question is, how do you fund all this without setting off ruinous inflation? I have no clue.
I do think though, that we can not rely on one energy source, namely electricity. If we do the world will be a bird's nest of wires and transformers.
So we do need diverse energy resources, including electricity, gas and liquid fuels. This was garner maximum benefit from existing infrastructure.
