Adam Fenech has spent 35 years spreading the message that climate change is coming. For the last 10 of those, he’s had an assistant named CLIVE helping out.
CLIVE, which stands for Coastal Impact Visualization Environment, allows islanders to virtually fly over PEI using a controller to raise and lower sea level, showing them the future impact of coastal erosion.
The program was created in 2013 as a way to share coastal erosion research and predictions. The interactive format was the suggestion of some of Fenech’s students.
The director of the UPEI Climate Lab said the response from students during the first CLIVE demonstrations was immediate.
“I was hit in the back of the head by the gasps from the audience. And I thought, ‘Oh wow, we’re really on to something here.’ This visualization is really effective, people’s concern went from high to very high, Fenech said.
“Since then, we’ve always found it to be a very effective tool for conducting vulnerability assessments and getting people talking about coastal issues.”
This month, Fenech is touring the island with an updated version of CLIVE, visiting eight communities to give residents a glimpse into the future.
“I have to be very careful because it’s a very realistic visualization and people take it to heart. I’ve reacted very emotionally when they see their houses flooded, as you can imagine. On previous tours with previous CLIVE, I ” I’ve had people cry as a result,” he said.
“I hope they can judge their vulnerability and then take action, which will either move their structure further from shore or build some form of defense.”
Protecting the coastline, Fenech admits, is difficult and can be expensive. He said one of CLIVE’s goals is to persuade islanders not to build in areas under threat of coastal erosion.
“My main message is, of course, don’t build so close to the shoreline,” Fenech said.
“Like everyone else, I’m drawn to the ocean, so I’d love to live right on the coast, but that’s no longer a realistic option in Prince Edward Island under climate change, in many places.”
Fenech said the visualization tool has been updated, using the latest images collected by the provincial government.
“There’s been a huge advance in image resolution as well as the way we can program things,” he said. “What we have now is a vehicle that has the whole island on a stage that we’re able to fly over.”
Fiona ‘took big bites’ from the PEI coast
A study done a decade ago showed the average annual rate of erosion in PEI was roughly 28 centimeters, or about a foot, Fenech said.
While this may seem like a slow rate to some, it doesn’t take long for the 30 feet of shoreline in front of a summer cottage, for example, to disappear.
The speed of this erosion is compounded by events such as post-tropical storm Fiona in 2022, Fenech said.
This drone footage captured by CBC’s Shane Hennessey on Monday shows the damage left by Post-Tropical Storm Fiona in North Rustico and the Stanley Bridge on the North Shore.
“Fiona acted like a great white shark taking big bites off our province. Some places lost 15 meters in that storm,” Fenech said.
“CLIVE is virtual reality, Fiona is reality.”
“My house will be under water”
Nora Scales attended the first launch of the new CLIVE at Beaconsfield Carriage House in Charlottetown.
She first spoke to Fenech about her summer home in Annandale in Kings County almost 10 years ago.
At the time, Scales wasn’t too concerned by the CLIVE simulation, saying the erosion around her property didn’t appear to be too drastic.
This time, however, it was a different story.
“The flood is closer. It’s going to happen faster. It’s more drastic,” Scales said. “In 75 years, my house will be under water.”
She described the simulated coastal flooding as “scary” but also inevitable.
“It’s there. We have to deal with it. Climate change is a fact of life and those of us with water properties need to be sensitive to it,” Scales said.
“Would I buy another waterfront property? Probably not.”
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Image Source : www.cbc.ca
