Encore Edition: Dr. Carol Dyck talks climate change (August 15, 2025)

Today is July 16, 2026. It's 7:45am and I am on the 11th storey of a high rise down by the forks of the Thames. I'm looking south facing and can barely see the Normal School Tower over in over in Wortley Village - which, as the crow flies, is just under a kilometre away. Smoke from wild fires raging in Quebec and Northern Ontario has drifted south and has blanketed London, much of South Western Ontario and beyond. At just over a half a century years old, this is something I can't recall in past decades, not at least to this scale. Maybe you can, but this feels different to me. All outdoor city programming was cancelled last night and Rock the Park shut down around 9pm, too. Last August, Dr. Carol Dyck joined this podcast for our 3rd episode to talk about climate change, and what London City Council is (or isn't) doing about it. (Side note: we get to refer to Carol as Dr. these days because she earned that distinction this spring - congratulations Dr. Dyck!). The information she shared on that episode, just under a year ago today, is just as relevant today as it was in 2025, perhaps more so. As London and all municipalities approach the 2026 municipal election scheduled for this fall, I wonder if climate change will enter the debates in ward races and the city wide race too. I also wonder how this event is affecting the election on the ground. Are candidates going door to door? If they are, will residents be willing to open their doors and step outside to chat in this smoke? Of course municipalities can't address big issues like this on their own, but they do have a role to play. What do you think? Thanks for listening, and be safe, London.