Summer hasn’t even started and wildfires in Canada have already burned more land than the full-year average. Government officials are warning 2023 will be Canada’s worst wildfire season ever.
Welcome to week 24 of The Sunday Spark, a series with weekly thoughts and highlights, nuggets of learning, and a sustainable living tip for the week. In addition to some dire stats from Canada’s wildfires, this week I look at stevia, workplace stress, sustainable activewear, and travel toiletries.
The Sunday Spark – Week 24
On my mind this week: Canada’s worst wildfire season ever
We finally got some much-needed rain in our area earlier this week. The rain, combined with cooler than average temperatures, gave us a break from the poor air quality that has plagued us thanks to an early start to wildfire season in Canada. With dryer weather forecast over the next few days, we may well see a return of the smoke and smog because the wildfires rage on.
The Canadian Government predicts 2023 is on track to be Canada’s worst wildfire season ever. Here are some startling facts:
- As of the middle of June, 5.2 million hectares of land have burned. That’s 15 times more than the average for the same period over the last 10 years. (Source: Natural Resources Canada)
- In an average year in Canada, 2.1 million hectares are burned by wildfires. We’ve already doubled that total in 2023—and summer hasn’t even started yet. (Source: Canadian Wildland Fire Information System)
- Lighting strikes cause about half of wildfires in Canada. We can blame the rest on human activity, including campfires, careless smoking, and burning of debris. (Source: CBC News)
- Firefighters from nine other countries have travelled to Canada to help fight our current wildfires. (Source: Canadian Wildland Fire Information System)
It’s hard not to be distressed by the current situation and the dire forecast for the rest of the year. Thankfully, I live several hundred kilometres away from the closest active fire, so the biggest risk to me is poor air quality. I feel for the thousands of people who have been evacuated and those who have lost their homes. It’s a scary situation with no end in sight.
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Three highlights of the week
Continuing my trend of celebrating life’s simple pleasures along with the big milestones, here are three highlights of the week gone by:
- Last weekend my daughter Laura and her boyfriend, who is visiting from Australia, came to stay with us for the weekend. We had fun showing him the local sights, and just hanging out playing games at home.
- On Wednesday, we attended our daughter Colleen’s college graduation. She graduated at the top of her class and made the President’s Honour List—the college’s highest academic recognition. We’re so proud of her. Time will tell if her academic success translates into career success in the misogynistic field of skilled trades.
- I spotted a splash of pink out of the corner of my eye the other day. When I investigated, I saw a flower on my Christmas cactus! It’s the first time that plant has flowered in over 5 years.
Three things I learned this week
Life is all about learning. Here are three things I learned this week:
Stevia may not be safer than artificial sweeteners
Stevia is often touted as a natural, safer alternative to artificial sweeteners. But, did you know that most of the stevia-based sweeteners on the market are made from a highly refined stevia leaf extract called rebaudioside A (Reb-A)? In fact, many commercial stevia products contain very little stevia. (Source: Healthline)
Research is inconclusive, but stevia sweeteners may not be any better for you than artificial sweeteners. Personally, I don’t enjoy the bitter taste, so I’ll stick to natural sweeteners like honey or agave.
Canadian and American workers are the most stressed in the world
If you’re feeling high levels of stress at work, there’s a good chance you live in Canada, the United States or China. A new report from Gallup shows workers in those three countries have the highest levels of job-related stress in the world. (Source: State of the Global Workplace)
Sustainable activewear
What do you wear when you work out? Your activewear likely is made of spandex or polyester—synthetic fabrics containing chemicals that are ultimately traced back to oil. In fact, petrochemical-based fabrics account for 65% of all fibres produced. A product called Tencel is a promising innovation on the activewear front. Made from certified wood and recycled solvents, it performs like synthetic fibres. (Source: Earth911)
Sustainable living tip: BYO…travel toiletries
Summer vacation season is upon us. More and more hotel chains have replaced those tiny single-use plastic bottles with full-sized refillable bottles of soap, lotion, and hair products.
If you’re travelling this summer, consider taking your own soap and shampoo bars, and refillable travel-sized bottles of other toiletries. The planet will thank you!
For more eco-friendly travel tips, see Green travel tips to reduce your carbon impact.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on any of this week’s topics. Drop me a comment below and let me know your thoughts and ideas.
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The wildfire statistics are staggering, Michelle. Love the Christmas cactus counterpoint, visiting boyfriend’s and your daughter’s top of her class graduation. I’m traveling next week and loved the reminder about toiletries. Thank you!
Thanks Wynne. Yes, the blooming cactus was an important reminder of the power of nature. The planet can heal if we give it a chance, but we have to stop the bleeding!
The wildfires in Canada have been truly awful this year and even here in Virginia we had a sadly dry spring . . . how the world and the weather is constantly changing in unexpected and often frightening ways!
Love that your highlights of the week include moments with family. My family got together for a wonderful Father’s Day! 🙂
Yes, it is so dry everywhere. Not a good recipe for the summer.
So glad you are home to celebrate Father’s Day. I can’t believe your first year of university is over already!
The wildfire statistics are awful. I have just been reading about a vote in Switzerland to reduce pollution faster as Rhone glacier is rapidly melting. Things are happening fast.
Glad you enjoyed time with your daughters. I really must go to Canada one day and take my Mum as she is also fascinated by it.
Yes, the glaciers in our Canadian Rockies are melting, too. I was shocked when I compared my photos of the Athabaska glacier in Alberta from 2007 and 2015. The glacier had shrunk significantly in just 20 years.
There are so many beautiful places to see in Canada. The challenge is the country is so huge, it’s difficult to really see all of it. I’ve travelled from coast to coast and there’s still so much I haven’t seen.
It is becoming hard not to dread summer and it was a season I have always loved. Our state burns every year and the eastern side is already experiencing multiple fires- 2 months earlier than “normal”. After watching an entire hillside burn and the fire dip down into our valley to within 1/2 mile a few years ago I know we are just sitting on the edge, waiting for the next time.
It really is frightening, Deb. I remember when we were in British Columbia in 2015, the air quality was affected by the fires burning in Washington State at the time.
I think one of the things that has dismayed me in recent weeks have been the Tweets and headlines from American news media outlets about the “Canadian wildfires”. It’s as if they are in denial and don’t want to acknowledge that we all have to accept responsibility for the state of our planet. We are all connected!
I can relate to that idea to lay *blame* on the source rather than take responsibility that everyone living today has a hand in making things worse. It is really frustrating isn’t it? Yet we must go on doing what we can while so many others find it easier to deny or complain 🙁
I love that you’re being treated to a bloom on your Christmas cactus. Given the ravages of the wildfires (and oh my…how startling the stats are, comparing this season to others) your pink blossom is quite the counterpoint and reminder of all that’s at risk.
Vicki, you make such a great point about that tiny pink blossom being a reminder of what’s at risk. I often think that when I enjoy the beauty of nature. We have to preserve it!
It’s what I love about your work, your posts, Michelle. Full of inspiration and ways to head a ‘call to action’. Thank you! 🥰
That is so kind of you to say, Vicki! Thank you! 💚 Have a wonderful Sunday.
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Funny your Christmas cactus chooses to flower now. But what a nice surprise.
It was a nice surprise and I have no idea why it chose now to flower! Maybe it’s a sign.
Having worked in US and China I can vouch for highly stressed workforces!
Thanks Monty. Here in Canada, I think we inherit the hustle culture from our neighbour to the south. I think people on the East Coast, Quebec, and British Columbia are more laid back but, those of us in the middle are far too influenced by the U.S.
Interesting. I think the northeastern US is probably the epitome of hustle culture in the USA. Shanghai, for sure, in China.
My daughter recently accepted a job in British Columbia. In some ways, I envy her because of the different pace of life—although I wonder if the area she’ll be living in will provide enough fuel for her 23-year-old adventurous spirit.