New report illustrates challenges the region faces from climate change

Good morning,

Sometimes you’re writing a newsletter, you feel great, finish up, go to review it one last time and — surprise — you’ve forgotten to include the main story.

Luckily, a year of writing this three times a week has made me quite speedy at writing, so my colleague Robert didn’t have to wait too long to review it… (He doesn’t mind…too much. Kidding! -RH)

Today we’ve got a story on a big climate change report and how it’ll impact the city, some updates on new housing starts and why it’s not great news, plus some weekend events. 

A reminder that we won’t be publishing on Monday as it’s a holiday. 

Let’s get to it!

— Geoff Sharpe, Vancity Lookout editor

WEATHER

Friday: 9 🌡️ 1 | ☁️ 

Saturday: 7 🌡️ 4 | ☁️ 

Sunday: 7 🌡️ 3 | ☁️ 

Monday: 8 🌡️ 4 | ☁️ 

ENVIRONMENT

New report illustrates challenges the region faces from climate change

What happened: Vancouver Coastal Health Authority released a new report outlining the impacts of climate change on people’s health throughout the region, highlighting key concerns for residents in the coming years. As many as 75 percent of Vancouverites could face dangerous temperatures due to the lack of AC units, according to Vancouver is Awesome. 

The chart above illustrates that BC could experience a heat dome every five to 10 years by 2040. This is a real problem, as indoor air temperatures are the biggest killer, with VCH medical health officer Dr. Michael Schwandt telling Vancouver is Awesome that “housing in our region is not really prepared for the climate that we’re seeing.”

• The problem: BC has the lowest rate of air conditioning in Canada, with only 32 percent compared to a place like Ontario with 85 percent, according to Black Press. 

Heat problems: The map above illustrates where many of the most heat-related emergency health visits by area occurred. Lower-income areas were overwhelmingly over-represented, including places like Chinatown. Downtown areas were also over-represented compared to the surrounding areas.

• Thought-bubble: If you’ve walked around downtown, you notice a distinct lack of greenery. That’s a huge problem when it comes to increasing heat levels in the city. The chart below shows where the priority is for planting more trees.

If you’ve felt that air quality advisories have gotten worse, you’d be correct. As noted in the report, the region has experienced rapid growth in particulate matter air quality advisories as forest fires have grown.

Looking ahead: As the report notes, the province faces some serious challenges with climate change, including a 1.4-metre rise in sea levels, an average 5.2 C increase in temperatures and a 13.8 percent increase in projected precipitation. 

Recommendations: The list includes better data collection, planning, retrofitting homes and future buildings, plus water protection and improved direct support for at-risk communities. 

• Vancouver city council has jurisdictional power over things like increasing green space and canopies, creating better bylaws for cooling, and expanding active transportation.

Yes, but: The report is useful, but it also explains much of what we already know, and the recommendations will require multiple levels of government to coordinate. 

Why it matters: This type of report brings together, in a comprehensive fashion, the multitude of interconnected challenges the region faces when it comes to changing climate. With weather changes happening much faster and more intensely — increasing smoke from fires, droughts, heat domes and more — mitigating these problems will be key to preventing situations like the heat dome where 145 died, or if not outright preventing it, reducing the potential for deaths. 

Other not-so-good news: A new report issued last week from the city shows that while the city cut carbon emissions by 12 percent from 2007 to 2022, a goal of a 50 percent cut by 2050 is not currently possible, according to Global. 

The full report can be found here.

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VANCOUVER NUMBERS

💰️ $1.6 million: The price for a fire-damaged, unlivable home in East Vancouver. Yes, I know it’s all about the property, but it’s still shocking! [CTV]

📉 99%: The expected loss in BC’s wine production is due to the cold weather in January. It’s expected to cost the industry $346 million in losses. So get your BC wine while you can. [CTV]

⚽️ $337: The minimum price for a nosebleed ticket to the Messi Whitecaps game in Vancouver. Tickets near the playing area? Resale tickets are going for $3,600+ when I last checked. [Ticketmaster]

HOUSING

Housing crisis? Don’t tell the housing industry…

I joke with the title, but the latest numbers for housing starts in Vancouver and Canada are no laughing matter.

What happened: The number of housing starts, an indicator of housing projects that have begun construction, fell across Canada to 244,827, which is down 2 percent compared to December over a six-month average. For the one-month period, they fell 10 percent, according to CTV.

• The key problem? A decline came mostly from fewer multi-unit urban builds, down 11 percent, while single-detached stayed mostly the same, according to the Globe and Mail.

Yes, 10 percent sounds bad. But readers, it’s much worse when you look at BC. A review of the data shows housing starts show a month-over-month decline of 20 percent in BC, compared to three percent across Canada. In Vancouver, they’ve fallen by 44 percent. 

• Cities across BC have experienced large declines compared to the previous January, with Kamloops declining 87 percent and Kelowna 69 percent. 

• Zoom out: While Vancouver may be number one for getting a Taylor Swift concert, it appears Toronto has us beat for housing starts, with a 179 percent increase. 

What it means: These numbers tend to fluctuate month over month. But the six-month trend is not a good sign. It shows how major policy changes take a long time to impact actual housing builds, especially when political parties making these changes want to show immediate results. 

Here in BC: On Tuesday, the province announced a slate of new housing policies aimed at middle-income families, according to CBC. These include $2 billion in low-cost financing for rental home builds on public land, with a focus on providing housing for teachers, nurses and other workers. Rental prices would be based on each community.

THE AGENDA

🛫 Does your commute involve security, economy seats and… planes? Living in the city is so expensive some people are commuting to Vancouver for school from Alberta, because it’s cheaper than living in the city. [National Post]

🍸️ Bad news everyone my age — the Donnelly empire has fallen. Or at the very least, being sold. The owners of popular places like the Lamplighter, Cinema Public House and Bomber Brewing are selling their holdings as part of a restructuring process. If you and your friends can rustle up a cool $500,000 you may be able to afford one, considering Cinema Public House may be bought for around $430,000. [Urbanized]

🌳 West Vancouver council is looking at creating a 2,500-acre park to preserve the lands for future generations. The proposed area is part of the Upper Lands, and would be preserved for recreation and environmental purposes. [North Shore News)

👮 A man was arrested yesterday in relation to a stabbing that took place at the Main Street-Science World SkyTrain Station on Tuesday. [Global News]

🪧 On Wednesday over 100 Uber and Lyft drivers protested the companies’ lower wages and policy around getting kicked off the platform if someone complains. Uber says workers are making an average of $36.03 per hour during engaged time. The workers want to be considered employees, not gig workers, and get the benefits that come with being an employee. [Vancouver is Awesome]

❌ A toxic drug treatment clinic, which acts as an in-patient hospital for youth with addictions, is shutting down on March 15. The facility, located in North Vancouver, is the only facility like it in Western Canada. Parents are speaking out about how beneficial it is for their children. [Vancouver Sun]

⚽ Too bad for the Whitecaps — the team lost 0-3 against Mexico's Tigres UANL at the CONCACAF Champions Cup on Wednesday. [Yahoo Sports]

The 33rd annual Women's Memorial March to honour missing and murdered Indigenous women was attended by over 1,000 people in the Downtown Eastside on Wednesday. [CBC]

WEEKEND GUIDE

Fan Expo Vancouver | Vancouver Convention Centre | Feb 17-19 | Come by and enjoy all things fandom, with some amazing guests | Tickets from $44

Asian Street Food a Hands-on Cooking Class | Second Floor Bistro | Feb. 16  at 6 pm | Learn to make some Asian street food dishes as the chef walks you through each recipe and methods for sourcing ingredients | Tickets $129

Family Day Open House | Queen Elizabeth Theatre | Feb 17, 10 am-1 pm | Come by for some family fun events | Free

Just for Laughs Vancouver | Around town | Now until Feb 24 | Upcoming shows include Brett Goldstein, Ronny Chieng, Andrea Jin and Ben Schwartz | Various prices

Chinatown Nights: Enter the Dragon | 1489 E Hastings St. | Feb 16, 8 pm | Live music and burlesque shows to ring in the lunar new year | Tickets $49

VPO Spring Concert: Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 and more | Shaughnessy Heights United Church | Feb. 17, 8 pm | For anyone who loves classical music, a night of Tchaikovsky, Bizet, and Brahm | Tickets by donation

Kerrisdale Paint Night - Year of Dragon | 2408 West 41st Ave. | Oil painting for 2.5 hours to create a dragon-themed masterpiece | Tickets starting at $65

RBC Dumpling Tasting Soirée in Richmond | 3800 Cessna Drive, Richmond | March 2, 6 pm | Sample unique dumplings from a variety of cultures | Tickets starting at $90

PHOTO OF THE DAY

Anyone else have a crow friend? This person shared a photo of one on Reddit that follows them around.

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS

• Not news, just a cool video of a bunch of geese at a Vancouver park, though as mentioned in the comments, they may have broken the law a few times doing it! [Reddit]

• We’re number one… for nude beaches. Wreck Beach was ranked as the “premier urban nude beach in the world.” [Vancouver is Awesome]

• There’s room on multiple City of Vancouver civic agencies, including the Chinatown Historic Area Planning Committee and the Gastown Historic Area Planning Committee. [City of Vancouver]

• For all my Irish readers who live in Vancouver — there are definitely a few of you — flights back home from Vancouver are just $357. [Vancouver is Awesome]

• Bad news for anyone who hates warm weather — the city is in for a hot spring and summer. [Daily Hive]

• Want to have your announcement featured? Learn how here.

VANCOUVER WORDLE

Well yesterday’s VancouverGuesser was a popular one! The correct answer was 29th Avenue Station. Congrats to Denise, Dennis, Nancy, Kari and Elin who all guessed correctly.

Today’s game is Vancouver Wordle. Can you guess today’s word? Play here.