Islanders with an eye on future generations push P.E.I. candidates for climate change action

Regardless of which party forms P.E.I.’s next provincial government after April 3, climate change watchers and land-use reform advocates say policy makers need to act now to protect the Island’s forests, waterways and shorelines.

Prince Edward Island’s topography, geology and position in the Gulf of St. Lawrence make it especially vulnerable to a changing climate that includes rising tides, warming sea levels, and more frequent and extreme weather events like ice storms, hurricanes and heat waves.

Climate change threatens the Island’s unique ecosystem, as well as its primary industries — tourism, agriculture and fisheries.

Hannah Gehrels is an ecologist and co-ordinator of P.E.I.’s Wild Child program,