By Emily Stonehouse

If there’s one thing that stops us in our tracks, it’s the weather.

We can be looking forward to the next event, next show, next memory to be made, but suddenly, all plans are out the window.

It’s happened to us a number of times this year already. Ice, wind, snow, sleet, droughts, fires, floods.

Does it seem to be occurring more than usual? Maybe. Is it a direct result of climate change? More than likely.

I once read a quote that said: “Climate change will manifest as a series of disasters viewed through phones with footage that gets closer and closer to where you live until you’re the one filming it.”

That stuck with me. As a result of the speed in which social media can sound the alarm bells, many of us are experiencing climate change simultaneously, even if it’s not in our own backyards.

This urgency can present two dichotomizing realities as we digest the information: either we form a wall of ambivalence while we are desensitized by the onslaught, or, alternatively, a level of empathy is brought to the surface, a warmth around a shared human experience.

Everyone will interpret this differently.

But as we saw yet another storm ravage our community last week, it’s apparent that kindness came first. The quick spurt of ferocious winds gobbled up and spit out dozens of tents eagerly set up by artists in Head Lake Park, diligently propping up their booths for the Arts and Crafts Festival – an event that brings thousands to the county.

Immediately, a call to action was made. Canoe FM took to the air asking for community support and shared tents. By early the next morning, municipal staff were picking up branches through the parking lots, volunteers steadily streaming into the park grounds.

It shakes us, these events. We saw the event happening through our phone, but this time, we were also close enough to drive down and lend a helping hand.

It’s not just wildfires in gulping up cities we’ve never been to, floods decimating towns we’ve never heard of.

It’s here.

I’ve always thought that the best offense is a good defence.

But we’re past that point now. While there are some actions we can do that gradually chip away at the grumbling and groaning elephant in the room that is climate change, the bulk of the problems are not in our hands.

It’s not just reusable straws and composting. The decisions around climate change are held in the palms of few; those with more money than most of us could ever fathom, yet choosing the wrong outlets to cache that cash. Filling the voids of their egos instead of the cups held in the hands of our children.

We can try. We can do our part. Little by little. As a community, we can continue to show up when these natural disasters strike. Kindness can come to the forefront. A call to action, a cry for help. We can experience ambivalence or empathy or anything in between.

But above all, we must know that it’s a reality. It’s here. Ice, wind, snow, sleet, droughts, fires, floods. We must be prepared, for whatever comes next.