I got a notice in my Inbox yesterday that I had a new message from the Canada Revenue Agency. My chest tightened and I took a big gulp. It’s never good news when the tax folks are getting in touch. But to my surprise, the message was that I had received the first installment of the federal government’s “climate action incentive payment.” The payment is only available to residents of certain provinces and is meant to offset Ottawa’s carbon pollution pricing that’s intended to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The payments go out as parts of the northern hemisphere are experiencing record heat waves. Britain has issued its first “extreme heat warning” and countries in western Europe are preparing for record-breaking temperatures.

The Conversation global network devotes a lot of its coverage on the climate crisis. We’ve all seen changes in the climate over our lifetime – and even over the last decade. For your weekend reading, I’ve assembled a series of stories about the impact of heat on humans (and pets) – including a great article on the relationship between temperature and tempers on the baseball field. (Something to keep in mind with the MLB all-star game coming up on Tuesday.)

Have a great weekend – stay cool – and we’ll be back in your Inbox on Monday.