(RITTER)^ ROGERAZIZ;(CAR)^ ISTOCK.COM/LALOCRACIOSend an email to
[email protected]I
t feels like smoking a pack of ciga-
rettes a day.”
That’s how my friend Heidi described
the effects of breathing the air during
wildfire season in British Columbia’s
Okanagan Valley, where she lives. For
the past two summers, the region has
been socked in by a smoky cloud for
weeks on end. That has put a damper on
tourism and taken its toll on the local
population. And across the coun-
try, people are feeling the effects
of the more than 8,000 wildfires
we now endure every year.
Most Canadians agree that
our environment is a top pri-
ority. We prize our natural
world for the experiences it
offers us and for the riches
it holds. There may be dis-
agreement about how best
to safeguard our environ-
ment, but what can’t be
debated is this: Can-
ada’s climate is becom-
ing more erratic and
it’s making us sick.For more than 70 years, Reader’s
Digest has been bringing Canadians
essential health news backed by rigor-
ous research and fact-checking. And
for this issue we applied our resources
to track the multiple health risks we’re
facing as the result of our changing
climate and its ensuing fires, floods
and rising temperatures. Our superb
writer Lisa Bendall has compiled a
thorough analysis of the key threats to
Canadians from coast to coast to coast,
and she’s provided helpful tips about
how best to mitigate the effects. You’ll
find her story on page 34.
To better understand the role
you can play in our changing
environment, Talking to a Smart
Person answers the question,
“What Can I Really Do About
the Climate Crisis?” (page 102).
According to expert Jessie
Ma, working as a collec-
tive is our best hope.Canada’s New
Health Crisis
“
reader’s digest
4 october 2019
EDITOR’S LETTER