Northern Climate ExChange

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NCE Updates

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WhiteCAP: Final plan released

Download Whitehorse Climate Change Adaptation Plan

The final version of the Whitehorse Climate Change Adaptation Plan was released in June 2011.

KYOTOplus

KYOTOplus

KYOTOplus is a national public mobilization initiative that gives all Canadian organizations the opportunity to work together to deliver a clear clarion call on the public record in support of strong federal action on climate change this year.

Summer job opportunity: Education and Outreach Intern

The Canadian Youth Climate Coalition is seeking an Education and Outreach Intern to work in Whitehorse this summer. The closing date for applications is May 20th, 2012.

ecoENERGY for Aboriginal and Northern Communities Program

The ecoENERGY for Aboriginal and Northern Communities Program, delivered by Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada is now entering its second year of funding clean energy opportunities in communities. The Program remains focused on reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the generation of electricity and heat by supporting the adoption of renewable energy technologies in Aboriginal and Northern Communities.

For fiscal year 2012-2013, the program is accepting applications for funding starting May 1st, 2012. The deadline for application is Friday, July 6, 2012 at 11:59:59 a.m. EST. Applications will be processed upon receipt. The Program provides funding for 2 types of projects: Renewable Energy Projects, and Energy Projects Integrated with Community Buildings.

Connect with nature – be a PlantWatch volunteer!

Nature Canada is looking for people in your community to take part in an important – but fun – program called PlantWatch. As a PlantWatch participant, you can enjoy the outdoors while helping us learn more about changes happening in our environment.

Why be a PlantWatch volunteer? Plants, from the largest trees to the smallest flowers, provide people and wildlife with all kinds of benefits, from habitat to food to clean air and soil. By reporting on the PlantWatch species found in your community, you can help researchers discover how common plants are responding to changes in the environment – and track where changes are taking place in Canada.

What does a PlantWatch volunteer do? Choose a local tree or plant species to monitor. At the sign of first bloom, write down the date and submit to researchers through the Internet or by mail. When you send your data electronically, it's added instantly to the national PlantWatch database describing bloom dates across Canada, so your observations make a difference right away!

Choose your own location, even in your own backyard! You can watch as many species as you wish. It's easy to incorporate PlantWatching into your regular routine. While the reporting instructions are scientifically rigorous, they're quick and easy to follow, and cater to beginner and expert naturalists alike.

You can contact the PlantWatch coordinator in your region to take part:

Brian Charles, c/o Yukon Conservation Society
302 Hawkins Street
Whitehorse, Yukon Y1A 1X6
Phone: (867) 332-1933

NOAA Arctic Report Card 2011

The Arctic Report Card considers a wide range of environmental observations throughout the Arctic, and is updated annually. A major conclusion of the 2011 Report is that there are now a sufficient number of years of data to indicate a shift in the Arctic Ocean system since 2006. This shifted is characterized by the persistent decline in the thickness and summer extent of the sea ice cover, and a warmer, fresher upper ocean.

Compendium of Yukon Climate Change Science: 2003-2011

The Compendium of Yukon Climate Change Science is intended to provide an overview of recent (2003-2011) climate change work involving Yukon. It is comprised of various types of documents including scientific journal articles, government publications, workshop reports, and conference proceedings.

Refrigerator and freezer retirement program from the Energy Solutions Centre

The Energy, Mines and Resources Energy Solutions Centre, in partnership with the Yukon Energy Corporation, is launching a refrigerator retirement program with incentives for people to remove old inefficient refrigerators and freezers from the electrical grid.

Older refrigerators and freezers cost more to operate and generate a higher demand on the electrical grid. The program will pay $50 for every appliance that is decommissioned (up to two appliances) and will also cover the cost of transportation and landfill tipping fees for a total value of between $150 and $200 per household.

For full program details and application forms, visit www.emr.gov.yk.ca/energy or contact the Energy Solutions Centre at (867) 393-7063 or toll free from the communities at (800) 661-0408 ext 7063.

Climate Condoms

Is climate change making you hot? NCE has partnered with the Government of Yukon Department of Health and Social Services to create "Climate Condoms." NCE is hosting a contest to choose the best sexy climate-change phrases which will then be sent to Health and Social Services to be the 2012 spring condoms!

These condoms will be distributed in time for Earth Day and the Haines to Haines bike relay next spring. Check out the Climate Condoms Facebook page and submit your phrases by searching for "Climate Condoms" on Facebook or by following the link on the Yukon College Facebook page.

The Climate Condoms page will be launched on Friday, July 22nd, 2011 – see the page for rules and deadlines!

El Niño-Southern Oscillation and other climate patterns play a major role in 2010; 2010 one of the two warmest years on record

Worldwide, 2010 was one of the two warmest years on record according to the 2010 State of the Climate report, released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on June 27th. The peer-reviewed report, issued in coordination with the American Meteorological Society, was compiled by 368 scientists from 45 countries. It provides a detailed, yearly update on global climate indicators, notable climate events and other climate information from every continent.

While several well-known cyclical weather patterns had a significant influence on weather and climate events throughout the year, the comprehensive analysis of indicators shows a continuation of the long-term trends scientists have seen over the last 50 years, consistent with global climate change.

Pan-Territorial Adaptation Strategy: Moving Forward on Climate Change Adaptation in Canada's North

Recently released, the Pan-Territorial Adaptation Strategy communicates the adaptation priorities of the three Territories to the general public and to national and international partners. It will guide actions and approaches to adaptation in Yukon and across the North.

Federal and provincial governments failing to coordinate plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions

Canadian governments have taken their own paths to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, leading to inefficiency and a lack of coordination, says a Conference Board of Canada report released June 1st – part of its CanCompete research program. Through a review of federal, provincial, and territorial climate change action plans, the report, Greenhouse Gas Mitigation in Canada, reveals how the approach to reducing emissions has been neither effective nor efficient.

Landscape Hazards in Yukon Communities: reports and maps released

Landscape Hazards in Yukon Communities is a one-year project aimed at identifying potential landscape hazards for two communities in the Yukon: Mayo and Pelly Crossing. The objective was to identify landscape hazards in these villages and nearby surroundings by compiling geoscience data from various field studies and scientific reviews. This data was used to create a map of landscape hazards based on geotechnical properties that delineate low, moderate and high-risk areas. Potential impacts of a changing climate were incorporated in the identification of these three hazard zones.

Mayo:

Pelly Crossing:

More information about this project is available in our Landscape Hazards in Yukon Communities section. For further information on the NCE's various climate change adaptation projects, go to our climate change adaptation section.

Energy Solutions Centre's Wind Prospecting Service

Do you live off the Yukon's electric grid? Have you ever wondered if the wind could power some of your needs? ESC's Wind Prospecting Service can determine your wind resource potential so that you can make an informed decision about investing in wind generation equipment.

The purpose of the Energy Solutions Centre's Wind Prospecting Service is to help off-grid residents who are interested in wind energy to determine if the wind resource at their location is sufficient to justify the significant investment required to purchase wind generation equipment.

For more info contact Cathy Cottrell, Senior Energy Advisor, Energy Solutions Centre, Energy, Mines and Resources, Yukon Government, (867) 393-7148, .

Study: Temperature trends in Canada

During the past 60 years, the trend in average annual temperatures for Canada as a whole has increased by 1.4 degrees Celsius. The article "Temperature trends in Canada" in EnviroStats examines data consisting of temperature departures from normal on an annual and seasonal basis for 11 climatic regions and the nation from 1948 to 2009.

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