Bonus.ca used AI tools to generate photographic projections of what renowned Canadian tourist sites could look like in 100 years, both with and without climate change action.
How Climate Change Could Alter Niagara Falls
Climate change could take its toll on the mighty Canadian Niagara Falls by 2124. After over a century of global warming, the once thundering waterfall could slow to a trickle amidst parched riverbeds.
Key changes:
? Significant reduction in water flow, affecting local ecosystems and the availability of freshwater resources.
? The falls are no longer safe to get close to due to erosion.
? The once lush surroundings have been replaced by concrete and pollution due to overpopulation.
AI predicts that the effects of climate change in Canada will be clear, as the image shows the falls’ majestic rock formations crumbling dangerously from lack of preservation. The surrounding areas, which are currently vibrant and abundant, will appear scorched and urbanized.
These changes have a direct effect on the visitors to Niagara Falls. While the tourist spot currently hosts about 12 million visitors a year, tourism will evaporate along with the falls by 2124, according to AI.
How Niagara Falls Could Look in 100 Years Without Climate Change
AI indicates that with a positive intervention and the halting of climate change in Canada, Niagara Falls could become a model of sustainable development.
Tourism could still be a central part of the location, but only if it prioritizes sustainability. Visitors could explore the sights using emission-free electric hovercrafts and drones that provide panoramic views without disruption. Ingenious walkways and domes could also allow people to experience the majestic falls up close while preserving the natural environment.
How Could the Hopewell Rocks Change with Global Warming?
AI predicts that what the Hopewell Rocks is famous for—its natural beauty—could all disappear over the next 100 years due to the effects of climate change.
Key changes:
? The main structure of the rocks has collapsed.
? Nearby industries have tainted the formerly pristine bay with toxic runoff.
? The sea will swallow lower formations as sea levels rise.
What climate change will look like in Canada could be on full display as global warming speeds up the erosion of the Hopewell Rocks, causing the iconic formations to collapse and biodiversity to plummet.
AI tools predict that the once buzzing tourist spot will crumble into a vacant bay littered with fallen boulders. As the area grows hazardous from climate change, marshlands and overgrowth will consume the beauty.
How Positive Intervention Could Stop This
To combat climate change and rising sea levels, artificial intelligence predicts the Hopewell Rocks area will need to become a model of climate resilience. Technological advancements, such as floating eco-lodges that harvest renewable energy from the water, could maintain a thriving tourist space but with minimal damage.
The AI forecast indicates that restoration efforts could help to preserve the Hopewell Rocks themselves, including 3D-printed replicas and a glass platform inserted inside the rocks to allow people to view them up close while providing structural support.
What the CN Tower Could Look Like in 2124
If efforts to make the CN Tower are ineffective, pollution and emissions from the surrounding urban sprawl will contribute to heavy degradation, according to AI tools.
Key changes:
? Toronto is now largely inhospitable due to global warming and extreme weather events.
? Fires are not uncommon because of climate change and an abundance of refuse in the area.
? Toronto faces major impacts of climate change, including higher temperatures, reduced air quality, and persistent heat waves.
AI paints a stark image of the CN Tower in 100 years. Instead of the awe-inspiring building we see today, it will be a crumbling, abandoned relic in the center of a city ravaged by climate change.
Extreme weather events—fueled by unchecked global warming in Canada—will result in severe structural damage to the aging tower, rendering it hazardous and closed to the public.
What If We Reverse Climate Change?
AI tools speculate that the CN Tower’s exterior could be converted into a thriving vertical forest with advanced biotechnology. It forecasts integrated systems which allow the tower to be self-sustaining, with rainwater harvesting, waste recycling, and even urban beekeeping to promote biodiversity.
As long as structural enhancements, like a deeper foundation and reinforced design, are carried out, the tower could be resilient against climate change impacts like extreme weather.
To promote a healthy tourism trade, observation decks outfitted with augmented reality displays could be fitted so visitors can enjoy breathtaking views.
What the Notre-Dame Basilica Could Look Like in 2124
AI warns that the once grand Notre-Dame Basilica could become a crumbling relic, ravaged by climate change in a dystopian vision of Montreal in 2124.
Key changes:
? Extreme weather events, such as severe heatwaves, have damaged the basilica’s exterior and interior.
? The area surrounding the basilica is overpopulated and increasingly inhospitable.
? The basilica remains heavily reliant on non-renewable energy sources, worsening the effects on the environment.
AI paints that this iconic cathedral could cower beneath unrelenting heatwaves, severe storms, and choking pollution. Inside, damage from extreme weather would make the basilica unsafe, forcing it to close off access to the thriving tourism trade it currently enjoys.
Bereft of resources and resolve to protect it, the basilica will deteriorate until its former glory is impossible to see. AI gives the sad sight of this stunning monument left abandoned and crumbling.
The Notre-Dame Basilica if Climate Change is Stopped
An AI imagining of this Canadian landmark, if climate change is reversed, shows the 19th-century icon retrofitted with a green, high-tech future. Rainwater harvesting could nourish the new interior gardens, electric shuttles whisk people from the city through underground tunnels, and holographic guides lead interactive tours.
While the basilica could be transformed, its spirit remains untouched. Innovation and sustainability enhance the visitor experience rather than disrupt it.
How the Confederation Bridge Could Look 100 Years From Now
This vital link between Prince Edward Island and mainland Canada could collapse into the swirling seas below if AI predictions are correct.
Key changes:
? The Confederation Bridge has collapsed in areas, rendering the huge structure unusable.
? The water around the bridge is now full of concrete, industrial waste, pollution and urban runoff.
? Small portions of the bridge still stand in the water, serving as a reminder of our failure to act and combat urbanization and overpopulation.
Where blue waters and green forests currently surround its graceful arches, AI speculates that the Confederation Bridge could lie a harsh landscape 100 years from now.
The effects of climate change could be particularly obvious with this landmark, as rising tides are shown to have nibbled away at the bridge’s weakened foundations as storms batter its crumbling frame in this AI image.
The Confederation Bridge Without Global Warming
AI images show that Canada’s Confederation Bridge could stand as a re-engineered icon of sustainability if positive intervention is taken, as well as severe action against climate change.
The soaring bridge could be pulsing with green life as well as transport. Some of the additions could include vertical farms, marine habitats, and smart systems to optimize traffic flow.
More on this topic: The Canadian Cities With the Best and Worst Odds in Climate Change
Methodology:
1. Bonus.ca wanted to find out what some of Canada’s most popular tourist hotspots could look like in 100 years due to the effects of climate change.
2. We collated a list of Canada’s five most popular tourist attractions using sources such as TripAdvisor.
3. We then asked AI to imagine what each landmark could look like in the year 2124 (in 100 years), taking into account factors including but not limited to: climate change, global warming, overpopulation, extreme weather, and pollution.
4. Data was gathered for two factors: positive human intervention and no human intervention.
5. Key points were then created and input into Midjourney AI to create a positive intervention and no intervention image for each landmark.
