Episode 9: Doomsday Prepping and other Adaptation Approaches

You’ve probably heard more about #preppers in the media lately with the current COVID-19 stuff going on. But trust, the doomsday preppers have been at it already for literal YEARS. While it may be easy for some people to get carried away thinking of “surviving extreme weather events” related to climate change...it’s important to remember that global climate change is a gradual process... One that’s already taking place.  That's what today’s episode is all about.  How we respond to this transition. The ways we’re preparing our cities, buildings and even wild spaces to deal.   And it's not all doom and gloom, a big part of this prep is about imagining the world of the future, about dreaming up sustainable living cities... And the coolest thing? If we do it right, this prep can actually help us stop global warming. Today we are exploring our two options when it comes to helping us figure out how to deal: mitigation and adaptation. Mitigation is about reducing emissions to slow or stop global warming. Things like pollution deterring carbon taxes and carbon sinks. Yay tree planting!  Adaptation focuses on making adjustments to better cope with the effects of climate change, hopefully before they happen.  Things like shoring up buildings to deal with severe storms or making sure hospitals and old folks homes have backup power. ....So I guess today's vibe is that; focusing on resilience and long term sustainability really is the best option... And working with nature is pretty much the only way we can avoid the more destructive effects of climate change.  Also, any future we imagine for ourselves has to be built to last. Also: I mention the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change - more info on that here: **This episode features interviews with: ** **Julian Tersigni: **Julian manages the Earth Rangers Center for Conservation on the ground of the Kortright Conservation Area. It’s an incredibly amazing, eco-friendly building. Like, absolutely every part of its construction was designed to be environmentally friendly... Even the pavement outside! And there are also these really cool things called “earth tubes” that help the building manage temperatures. Literally, so, so cool!! Website: http://www.earthrangers.org/about/our-facility/ Emma Tamlin  Emma is the co-chair of  the Toronto Food Policy Council. The council understands that youth are the ones that will inherit the problems associated with an unsustainable food system. The council works with Toronto's diverse young communities to find solutions to food insecurity. They then raise awareness of these issues through their seat at the Toronto Food Policy Council, by making deputations at City Hall, and through their advocacy work with other food justice organizations. As the voice of Toronto’s food-passionate youth community, the TYFPC encourages other groups of youth to form their own food policy councils. Emma hopes to bring more fresh food and nature to cities through urban agriculture and rooftop gardens Website: http://tyfpc.ca/ Twitter: @TYFPC  http://tyfpc.ca/ Facebook:  @TorontoYOUTHFoodPolicyCouncil  https://www.facebook.com/TorontoYOUTHFoodPolicyCouncil For more info and a chance to win a custom “The Big Melt” T-shirt, visit www.bigmeltpodcast.com or the shownotes for this episode.