Sunday, March 17, 2024

Surfrider Foundation Canada


Vancouver Island Surf (reference used was composite of several photographs)
watercolour and crayon
©2024 Charlene Brown

Canada’s pristine coastline (at 202,000 kilometres, the longest in the world) has long been a source of wonder and inspiration, attracting adventurers and nature enthusiasts from all over the world. Among the many activities that draw people to Canada’s coasts, particularly the west coast of Vancouver Island, surfing has become a huge draw in recent years.

Because of the potential impact of thousands of surfers on the landscape, marine biodiversity, and indigenous cultural heritage, Surfrider Foundation Canada was formed.  Their purpose is to ensure that the delicate balance between coastal recreation and conservation efforts is maintained and the oceans and beaches they love are protected.

SFC activities have expanded to include leadership in pollution prevention, coastal protection, and environmental awareness training. Current priorities include plastics reduction, environmental monitoring, coastal clean-up campaigns, as well as container spill response and debris mitigation.

 


Sunday, March 10, 2024

Another page for my Time Travel book


Mine shuttle at Bankhead
watercolour and crayon
©2024 Charlene Brown

Bankhead, a ghost town near Lake Minnewanka in Banff National Park, was a coal mining town that flourished at the turn of the twentieth century.

Little remains but some building foundations, the steps up to the Catholic church and part of the mine train shown in this painting.

When the mine closed in the 1920s, most of the people and several buildings were moved into nearby Banff and Calgary.





Bankhead, as it was in 1910
computer painting
©2005 Charlene Brown


Sunday, March 3, 2024

Another page for my Time Travel book

Great Hypostyle Hall, Karnak Temple, Egypt
watercolour and crayon
©2024 Charlene Brown

The Karnak Temple is located in the ancient city of Thebes (now called Luxor) in Egypt.  It is thought to be the largest temple complex ever constructed anywhere in the world.

The Hypostyle Hall was built by Pharaoh Seti I and his son Rameses II. The columns represent the primeval papyrus swamp in which Atum, a self-created deity, arose from the waters of Nun at the beginning of creation.

The Karnak Temple was one of the many Eqyptian archaeological sites we visited as part of the University of Victoria travel study program in 2008.  I wrote about several of these fantastic places when I started this blog the following year, but for some reason the only mention of Karnak was in this blog post  and it was pretty brief.

 

Sunday, February 25, 2024

Another Bucket List Painting


 Milford Sound / Piopiotahi
watercolour and crayon
©2024 Charlene Brown

This sound, on the west coast of the South Island of New Zealand, is one of roughly 90 places to have been given a dual name as part a 1998 Treaty of Waitangi settlement recognizing the significance of the fiord to both Māori and non-indigenous (primarily European-descended) New Zealanders. This name consists of both the Māori and European names used together as a single name, instead of as interchangeable alternate names.

This view includes some of the same mountains (from almost the exact opposite direction) that were in the Streetview I painted  when the Virtual Paintout was in New Zealand 




North of Glenorchy, Otago
Watercolour, crayon and CP
©2011 Charlene Brown

Sunday, February 18, 2024

South Pacific possibilities for the Bucket List chapter of my Paint Every Mountain book


Mount Otemanu
watercolour and crayon
©2024 Charlene Brown

This extinct volcano,  which rises to 727 metres, is the highest peak on Bora Bora, a small island northwest of Tahiti in French Polynesia.

I’d like to see some other mountainous islands in French Polynesia and I’ve found that most South Pacific cruises feature some combination of these and (conveniently) sail out of another Bucket List destination I'll talk about next week – New Zealand 

Also on my Bucket List is Easter Island. But this turns out to be one of those ‘can’t get there from here’ spots, and is described as one of the most isolated places in the world. 

It’s a long way from French Polynesia and in fact belongs to Chile. So now I’m trying to figure out how to combine it with places in Chile which are also on my Bucket List

Moai, Easter Island
watercolour and crayon
©2016 Charlene Brown




Sunday, February 11, 2024

Springtime in the Rockies


Early crocus in the Bow Valley
watercolour and crayon
©2023 Charlene Brown

Although the crocus, and dozens of other bulbs are up and shrubs and trees are starting to blossom here in Victoria, this painting is not showing the current conditions at the Banff Springs Golf Course.

I painted it several weeks ago in the dead of winter simply because I needed some Springtime in the Rockies that day. In fact, crocus don’t usually get through the snow until late April, sometimes May, in Banff

Sunday, February 4, 2024

Are we reaching a tipping point in global heating?


Alberta Wildfire
watercolour
©2023 Charlene Brown

The National Centers for Environmental Information in the American National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration provides environmental data, products, and services covering the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun.

NOAA Chief Scientist Dr. Sarah Kapnick said that the findings of their 2023 climate analysis were astounding. “Not only was 2023 the warmest year in NOAA’s 174-year climate record — it was the warmest by far.”

The impacts of climate change are happening here and now, like extreme weather events that are becoming more frequent and more severe. There were many extreme weather events in 2023, along with record-low sea ice coverage and catastrophic wildfires. In Canada, 45.7 million acres burned, 2.6 times the previous record.

One of the confounding factors making forecasting the future more difficult, which I wrote about three years ago is the phenomenon of tipping points.  These are actions of a complex system which has become unstable.

Are we reaching a tipping point in global heating?

Read Decimation doesn’t begin to describe what happened in Lytton

Or have we already tipped?

Sunday, January 28, 2024

How climate change worsens heatwaves, droughts, wildfires and floods*


1. Hotter, longer heatwaves:   The intense heatwaves that hit southern Europe and the southern US and Mexico in July 2023 would have been "virtually impossible" without human-caused climate change.  And these events are no longer rare. If global warming reaches 2C above the pre-industrial period these events are expected to happen every two to five years.

As well as happening more frequently, heatwaves are becoming longer and more intense in many places.

This can happen as a result of heat domes, which are areas of high pressure where hot air is pushed down and trapped in place, causing temperatures to soar over large areas.  One theory suggests higher temperatures in the Arctic (which has warmed more than four times faster than the global average) are causing the jet stream to slow, increasing the likelihood of heat domes.

2. Longer droughts:  Longer and more intense heatwaves can worsen droughts by drying out soil. This makes the air above warm up more quickly, leading to more intense heat.  Increased demand for water from humans, especially farmers, in hot weather puts even more stress on the water supply.

Climate change has made droughts at least 100 times more likely.

3. More fuel for wildfires:  Climate change is making the weather conditions needed for wildfires to spread more likely. Extreme and long-lasting heat draws more and more moisture out of the ground and vegetation. These tinder-dry conditions provide fuel for fires, which can spread at an incredible speed, particularly if winds are strong.

Rising temperatures may also increase the likelihood of lightning in the world's northernmost forests, increasing the risk of fires. Canada experienced by far its  worst wildfire season on record in 2023, with around 18 million hectares (45 million acres) burned.

Climate change more than doubled the likelihood of the extreme "fire weather" conditions in eastern Canada that allowed the fires to spread, Extreme wildfires are projected to become more frequent and intense in future across the globe. This is due to the combined effects of shifting land use and climate change.

4. More extreme rain:  For every 1C rise in average temperature, the atmosphere can hold about 7% more moisture. The heavy rainfall was made as much as 50 times more likely by climate change, Globally, the frequency and intensity of heavy rainfall events has increased over most land regions due to human activity. And heavy precipitation will generally become more frequent and intense with further warming,


*Outline of an article by Mark Poynting and Esme Stallard, BBC News Climate & Science