To say that the extreme heat wave that most of Canada is currently experiencing is good news simply because it allows people to play more beach volleyball and sell more ice cream is to trivialize a truly significant event. It is precisely this type of petty short-term thinking that causes most of the environment challenges we face today.

Heat waves like this are not only a direct hazard to human health, but are also detrimental to the ecosystems that we have evolved to depend on. Even more natural resources will need to be extracted and used just to help battle this heat, and the resulting carbon emissions will exacerbate the situation even more. We are both the perpetrator and victim of this positive feedback loop.

But I mean, hey, who really has time to stop and think about the long-term existential threat posed by environmental degradation and resource depletion when we can have fun at the beach today?!