Provincial Engineering & Geoscience Week

4 | W I N N I P E G F R E E P R E S S P R O V I N C I A L E N G I N E E R I N G & G E O S C I E N C E W E E K By Todd Lewys for the Free Press C limate change is a hot topic with scientific consensus calling it an imminent threat to our environment. With that in mind, Engineers Geoscientists Manitoba is putting together a Sustainable Development Task Group to assist the provincial government in managing all the challenges associated with preparing for climate change. "Basically, the provinces are getting together with the federal government as part of the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change," says Jeff O'Driscoll, an engineer who works as an Infrastructure Resilience Professional (IRP) at Winnipeg's Associated Engineering. "We want to assist the province in the development of their green action plan, and to come up with the first step in building the BRACE (Building Regional Adaptation Capacity and Expertise) program." O'Driscoll says the program's intent is simple. "The federal government wants to bring all the provinces together to figure out the best ways to deal with climate change," he says. "At Engineers Geoscientists Manitoba, we see our role as one of partnering with the province in the program to help detail what type or level of training engineers and geoscientists will require moving forward." That training will play a central role in how well the provinces — and the country as a whole — deal with climate change challenges. "Knowledge building — such as the principles of climate change — will have to be combined with different approaches in looking at climate change," explains O'Driscoll. "Those approaches will involve things like developing common languages, assessing risks and how to incorporate climate change in decision- making, planning, design, instruction and the management of infrastructure." Without question, it's a challenging and exciting time — a time where Engineers Geoscientists Manitoba is going to encourage not only the public, but high school and university students, to seriously address climate change. "I'm encouraged by the fact that universities are starting to develop programs and curriculum around training," O'Driscoll says. "Ten years ago, they were trying to determine whether climate change was real. Today, they're looking at how we're going to deal with it. Climate change is this generation's challenge." O'Driscoll says that Engineers Geoscientists Manitoba is Engineers Geoscientists Manitoba steps up on climate change determined to find the best ways to deal with this important issue. "We want to lead the way for the next generation — they're looking for direction, and we want it to come from us. Our goal is to take climate change to the masses with things like the BRACE program, and to move climate change into everyday life. I think everyone — particularly young people — has an eagerness to find ways to meet climate- related challenges. We want to promote that." One goal of Engineers Geoscientists Manitoba is to create a collaborative atmosphere in which everyone plays a role in making our environment more sustainable. "We simply have to find the best ways to move forward," he says. "To do that, everyone needs to be involved, from the public, to the different levels of government. Everyone is going to have to work in collaboration to solve problems and meet challenges." O'Driscoll stresses that a sustainable environment will only be realized through a daily commitment to finding ways to better care for the world around us. "Doing it automatically every day with the highest standards is the only way to make headway. We want everyone to work together, and to be the driver behind that via all the knowledge we provide." Best of all, young people can play a pivotal role in protecting the planet. "They can change the world in their own way through this type of work," O'Driscoll says. "If they want to make change, this is the best place to do it. We're building things not just for today, but for life in the future." ❚ "Ten years ago, they were trying to determine whether climate change was real. Today, they're looking at how we're going to deal with it. Climate change is this generation's challenge." — Jeff O'Driscoll Jeff O'Driscoll is a member of the Sustainable Development Task Group being formed by Engineers Geoscientists Manitoba to assist the provincial government in managing challenges associated with climate change. Photo by Jason Halstead

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