BY SHARON LEIGHTON
GUEST OPINION
The best science I've been able to find indicates that, if the goal of 1.5 degrees or less global temperature rise which is currently held by the international community is not met, in a mere 50 years, the sea levels will rise by a metre or more. And at or before that point, any remaining ice on Greenland and Antarctica will probably slide into the sea, lubricated by the increased ice melt, creating a further dramatic rise in sea level of from three to eight metres.
If the sea level rises by eight metres, there will be no farming on Prince Edward Island, because there will be no Prince Edward Island.
But keeping to the lower amount of one metre rise in 50 years is sufficiently alarming. If every farmer on the Island, except those in the hilly, central portion of the Island, goes out and looks at his lowest land, the areas that have to be plowed last because they're still damp, and imagines them covered by water year-round, and asks what that will do to the success of his farm, then they might have some idea of the result of such a rise in sea levels.
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If everyone who owns a cottage close to the water, and not elevated on a cliff, imagines wading through the kitchen and hanging his bed from the rafters, they might have some idea. If everyone who likes to drive along the shore imagines all the sections of road that will have to be replaced with causeways, bridges, or ferries, or eliminated as the road is replaced by one farther inland, they might have some idea. If everyone who does business in downtown Summerside or Charlottetown imagines their favorite places of business closed and moved inland, they might have some idea.
How much will it cost to move all of downtown Charlottetown to higher ground? What will be lost in doing so that cannot be replaced? Rebuilding all the harbour facilities, the legislature, the theatres, the historic churches, and the business district would carry a price tag higher than that contemplated by any carbon price being imposed. Even being proactive (which the government shows no disposition to be) and building seawalls to protect the downtown area would cost a penny or two.
On the other hand, adopting measures which will allow the planet to remain within the stated goal of 1.5 degrees or less will slow the amount of sea level rise to something more or less manageable.
Everyone talks about how much things cost, and money is most surely an issue of importance in life. It's hard to get along without it. But one thing we know we cannot afford is the rapid rise in sea levels that is now occurring. It can be slowed down by slowing down climate change, and we cannot afford to hold back.
- Sharon Leighton of Bedeque is a P.E.I. author, historian and environmentalist
