"Climate Change is not mans doing, you say"

The temperature in my back yard at 9:02 am

right hand corner in 91 F



Man did not set out to intentionally cause the climate to warm however the lack of understanding of the cause and effect of our actions is directly related to present day weather extremes that we are and will experience.

The temperature at 1:14

101 F and as I type this it is 105 F at 3:05

First lets look at population ... It is estimated that the population of the world reached one billion in 1804, two billion in 1927, three billion in 1960, four billion in 1974, five billion in 1987, and six billion in 1999. Now in 1804 there were no paved roads. Major urban areas had cobblestone roadways but no asphalt. Side streets and rural access were dirt. By 1927 the automobile was a relatively new phenomenon and paved roads were seen within urban areas and to some extent between communities. Rural roads remained dirt as did many villages and towns.

Photo from my family album

By 1960 many ribbons of primary highway stretched across Canada yet our rural roads and communities remained dirt although some of the larger communities did pave their primary streets.

Horseless carriages circa 19o2 from the family album 

Why do I bring this up? Because asphalt absorbs the suns rays and in the process becomes hotter than the ambient temperature. Once the sun goes down the asphalt cools very slowly radiating heat into the environment for hours after sunset. As the number of roads increased so did the amount of radiated heat. To prove the point of the effects of sun on asphalt all you have to do is, in the winter months, clear the snow off a section of your drive and watch how the sun will heat the asphalt and the radiated heat will melt the snow an ice around the bare patch, even though it is cold outside.


Now lets look at house construction, heating and transportation. 1804 heating was by a fireplace located in the main living area. The wealthy would have had fireplaces in their bedrooms as well. By 1927 the coal and coal oil furnace or space heater was a source of heat in the urban areas while wood remained the fuel of choice in rural areas. By 1960 the central air and oil fired hot water furnace were the most popular means of heating. None of these heat sources were efficient nor were they highly effective. All were major polluters.

Streets of Montreal in the thirties

Homes for the past 100 plus years are primarily built with brick. Brick acts like a heat sink, a device that absorbs heat from another object or source, it also absorbs cold. Brick was a liner in fireplaces and furnaces to provide protection and to be an added source of radiated heat into the home. Again, a brick building ( as does one of concrete) radiates heat long after the sun has gone down. In my younger days I would take the garden hose and cool down the brick, especially around or near the open windows. This was done to reduce the radiated heat so that we and the kids might sleep a little better.


High rise, low rise, industrial complex and homes built over the past 100 years all are contributors to the warming effect of our climate. Combine this with the population growth we have experienced and the problem is extrapolated 3 fold since 1804.

Typical 1700 early 1800's home

My great aunt's home in Valois Quebec

While this is a simplistic explanation of mans effect on the climate it is easy to see that with rising populations comes growth in housing, manufacturing, automobiles, waste and many other contributors to climate change.