Unit 3

• Economic Activity• Broken up in three sections

• 3A – Primary Resource Activity• 3B – Energy Resources• 3C – Industry and Future Concerns

Types of Industry

• Primary – Extractive• Secondary – Manufacturing• Tertiary – Service• Quaternary – Technology, Storage, Recovery

Primary Industry

• Years ago, most of the jobs in Canada were related to natural resources.

• The industries in the field included mining, fishing, farming, forestry and oil.

• Canadians who work in primary industries are those who work directly with natural resources.

• Products are extracted directly from the earth.

Secondary Industries

• build, construct, and manufacture products from these raw materials.

• In fact, some people refer to secondary industry as the manufacturing industry.

• Canadians have an international reputation for many of the products that they manufacture, such as airplanes, cars, and paper.

Tertiary Industries

• In this sector, people provide services to others. There is a long list of occupations in this industry, ranging from doctors and lawyers to actors and chefs.

• See page 355 for a long list.• Do these exist in your community?• Public – government owned (teachers, hospitals, etc..)• Private – owned by individuals (mechanics, insurance

agents, etc…)

Quaternary Industries

• Those involving the creation of knowledge, ideas, and technology— intellectual services that are the basis of research and development. It is not enough to come up with a great idea through research.

• Some people see quaternary industry as a part of tertiary industry, but, in many ways, it is very different.

• Quaternary industry makes use of knowledge and ideas to create solutions to problems.

Natural Resourcesfor the future

Unit 3 – Part 1Agriculture

FisheriesMiningForestWater

Primary Resource Activity

• Extractive Activity• To take from nature• How are these the

same???

• “Canada must become the world’s smartest natural resource developer, user, and exporter; the most environmentally friendly; the most socially responsible; the most productive and competitive.”

• People visit Canada every year to experience the solitude and grandeur of the great outdoors.

• The nature of our consumer society has encouraged us to scour Canada’s landscapes for the raw materials that we need to support our way of life. Extracting resources and sales of consumer goods provide jobs for Canadians.

NATURAL RESOURCES — THE BIG PICTURE

• Canada, as a whole, enjoys a healthy economy and prosperous lifestyle. This prosperity is the result of

• a strong natural resource base• skilled workers• favourable patterns of world trade and strong export markets• innovation and ingenuity

• Did you Know – The average Canadian consumes more naturalresources than the average citizen in other parts of the world.

Resources at a Glance

• Natural resource is anything found in nature that can be used by people. It becomes a resource when people have a need or want for it, it is profitable to extract and develop and technology exists to extract.

3 types: • Renewable resources, such as forests, can grow again after people harvest them.• Non-renewable resources, such as minerals like gold and oil, are present on Earth

in limited amounts, and when they are used they are gone forever.• Flow resources, such as water and wind, are neither renewable nor non-

renewable. They must be used where and when they occur. For example, wind energy to produce electricity can only be used in a place where the wind blows continually.

Sustainability

• A sustainable resource system is one that will last into the future and one in which natural resources are not used up faster than they can either renew themselves, be recycled, or be replaced with other resources. Think about how this can be done for those listed below.

Consuming Resources: Needs and Wants

• When you go shopping, you are automatically consuming natural resources. Every product you buy comes from the natural resources of the Earth.

• Have you considered:• How many televisions, cars, or pairs of

jeans or shoes does one person need to be comfortable?• Do you have enough things to meet your

basic needs?• Are there more things that you want that

you don’t already have?

An interesting Fact

• The wealthy industrialized world represents about 20% of the world’s total population but consumes about 80% of the world’s resources.

• This includes: Canada, the United States, and Germany

What’s in a Word.

• extract: to remove a resource from the Earth• develop: to extract a resource and prepare it for market• manage: to provide direction and guidance on how to use a resource• conserve: to use a resource so the supply will last for future generations• preserve: to maintain a resource in its existing state• protect: to look after; to save from harm• degrade: to lower the quality of a resource• sustain: to conserve resources so that they survive for future generations• traditional: describes a way of using a resource that has been handed down

from generation to generation

Questions

• Page 241• Answer #1, 2, and 4.

AN ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVE

• Extracting natural resources brings money into the economy by providing jobs for more than a million Canadians in resource-related industries and through our exports of raw materials to other countries.

• Exports are sales of our products or services to another country. In turn, the companies that profit from the export of our natural resources pay royalties and income taxes to the federal or provincial government, which benefit our country as a whole.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

• The economic value of our natural resources is usually measured in dollars—millions or even billions of dollars.

• The GDP is an economic indicator that measures the value of all the goods and services produced in one country in one year. (13% from natural resources)

Value beyond money

• Natural resources may also be valued for their ecological benefits, such as the ability of trees to produce oxygen and remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Natural resources have aesthetic benefits.

• People find forests, the green open spaces of farmland, soil for growing plants, fresh water, wildlife, and the Canadian wilderness beautiful and of great value to them, both physically and psychologically.

Trade off and Systems Thinking

• When we take natural resources out of the Earth, there is damage to the environment and to natural systems. It can’t be helped—it is inevitable. Nevertheless, we continue to use natural resources because of the trade-off—we need the raw materials and we need the jobs they provide. Natural resources keep the economy strong. In responding to the challenges of this trade-off, people have become more concerned with protecting and conserving resources.

How do we use resources in a sustainable way – Systems Thinking.

What`s so different today compared to the past.

• Trends taking place in the world today that have an effect on natural resources in Canada include the following:

• Consumption of natural resources is increasing in Canada and around the world as developing countries, in particular countries with large populations such as China, India, and Brazil, become more industrialized.

• Competition for selling natural resources is increasing on a global scale as more natural resources are being produced by developing countries, for example, gold in China.

• Control of natural resources is increasingly concentrated in the hands of large international companies.

• People are becoming more concerned about the condition of the natural environment .

- Canada needs to address the rights and title to land of Aboriginal peoples.

- Human ingenuity has resulted in the development of new technology that is changing the way resources are both extracted and protected.

Transnational Corporations

• Most natural resource development is controlled by large international companies.

• Vale, based in Brazil, employs 126 000 people in 38 countries with 50 000 more working in ongoing projects. Vale is the world leader in iron ore production and one of the largest nickel producers in the world. It operates Voisey’s Bay nickel and copper mining in Labrador and processing facilities in Long Harbour, Newfoundland, as well as other mines in Canada.

• When a transnational corporation extracts a resource in a small community, the community benefits economically because it gains jobs. Some corporations contribute in other ways to the community by building roads or helping to pay for arenas or other buildings. But some do not.

Sustainable Development• We must consider, how we go about

• maintaining a strong economy• considering the needs of people in their communities• protecting the natural environment

One way that the government has responded to this challenge is to pass laws to reduce

harm to the natural environment.

Journal Entry 13: What is the message of this image and how does it make you feel?

Case Study: The Price of Power

• Page 246 – Read then answer.• Imagine you are an analyst hired to conduct an environmental assessment of the

proposed development at Muskrat Falls on the lower Churchill River. You must gather accurate information and analyse the project’s potential environmental and human impacts. What is your suggestion? Make a recommendation of whether or not this development should proceed.

Aboriginal Peoples and Natural Resources

• Many natural resources are located on land to which Aboriginal peoples have claim or hold title.

• Innu Nation of Labrador will have substantial annual revenues that will ensure long-term economic stability. In addition, the Innu Nation will have access to training and employment opportunities. This comes with the Agreement with Lower Churchill.

• A company called NovaGold began developing a gold, copper, and silver mine on Tahltan First Nation land in British Columbia - An agreement between the Tahltan and NovaGold includes a $1 million yearly payment and royalties to the Tahltan First Nation, who play a role in monitoring the project’s environmental effects.

AGRICULTURE—AN ESSENTIAL PRIMARY INDUSTRY

• Agriculture generates 1.7% of Canada’s gross domestic product (GDP) and provides jobs, directly and indirectly, to approximately one in 86 Canadians.

• Doesn’t seem like much - Agriculture supports many rural communities and provides Canadians with a safe, abundant food supply.

• Agricultural land is often considered a renewable resource because, if it is properly cared for, crops may grow on it year after year.

• only about seven per cent of the total land area of Canada is arable, or suitable for growing crops.

Deciding What to Grow—Factors Affecting Agriculture

• Climate, landforms, and soil conditions are the most important natural factors affecting farming.

• Other factors include:demands by consumers for certain products transportation facilities

that are availablecloseness to market, where food products are bought and soldcompetition that you may have from other lower-cost growerschanging prices for food on world markets

Challenges Farmers Face

• natural hazards such as early frosts, drought, floods, and animal diseases such as mad cow disease (BSE) in beef or avian flu in poultry

• high costs for fuel and equipment • low crop prices• competition from more heavily subsidized farmers in other

countries• competition from large, industrialized factory farms

Canadian Farming Problem

• The governments of the United States and the countries of the European Union pay farmers a subsidy to help them grow some farm products. A subsidy is money given to farmers by the government to offset some of their costs, such as expensive machinery or high fuel prices. A subsidy paid to farmers in other countries helps them keep the price of their products low, and may put Canadian farmers at a disadvantage.

Trends in Agriculture

These trends affect the economy, the natural environment, and our communities, and they include the following:

changing consumer demandschanging technologyfewer farmers but larger farmsincreasing control of agriculture by transnational corporationsan increase in industrial agriculture, known as factory farming

Changing Technology

• During the 1960s and 1970s, many new technological developments in high-tech farm machinery, chemicals, and high-yield seeds increased the production of food dramatically.

• Pesticides have been used throughout farming history to improve production – however the impact of such as been debated heavily recently – Biological Amplification.

• Pesticide use has been reduce and even banned in some countries.

Farm Size

• Improved technology has enabled farmers to grow more and more food on one piece of land. Fewer farmers and farm workers are needed to work the land, so more people move away from farms into towns and cities. There are fewer farms, but the farms remaining are getting bigger.

Agribusiness and Factory Farms

• Transnational corporations (agribusinesses) buy the food from the farmer or grow the food themselves, process it, and distribute it to grocery stores—squeezing out the farmer and the grocery store so that they receive a very small percentage of the profit in the food system.

• The pressures of the market and changing technology have caused a gradual shift from small family farms to large industrialized operations often called factory farms. Large pig barns and beef feedlots house thousands of animals in a small, contained space. Animals living in such conditions are more susceptible to diseases, so they are often fed antibiotics as well as growth hormones to make them put on weight.

SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE

• meets Canadians’ needs for food so we don’t have to rely on food imported from other countries

• makes efficient use of fossil fuels to run farm machinery• protects surface and ground water, as well as air and soil quality• reduces the use of chemicals, such as synthetic fertilizers and pesticides• provides jobs and a profitable industry• supports small farms and urban agriculture• encourages positive contact between farmers and consumers

The Fishery

• Fishing is one of the last remaining ways to harvest wild food. • With such an abundance of fish and seafood, it is hard to believe

that Canada’s fisheries are in a state of crisis.• In 1992, the Atlantic cod fishery in Canada collapsed. In response, the

federal government placed a moratorium on the cod fishery in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Employment in the fishery

• The fishery in Newfoundland and Labrador employs more than 20 000 people, mostly in rural areas. Total production in 2010 was valued at $942 million, an increase of almost 14% over 2009.

• East coast salmon are disappearing quickly, however. Today, about 350 000 (compare to 1.5 Million in the 70’s) wild salmon return each year to spawn in rivers flowing into Nova Scotia’s Bay of Fundy. The same is true for the east coast salmon fishery.

Where have the fish gone????

Impact of declining fisheries

• Fisher people have moved on to different species (rise in crab, lobster, whelk, cucumber etc… over the past 20years).

• As fish stocks decline, fishers have expanded their reach into deeper water, stopped fishing (retrained or moved away), or expanded into fish farming, known as aquaculture.

Canada’s Ocean Fisheries

Cont…

• The best fishing areas are in the warmer shallow waters of the continental shelf, before the seabed drops off into deep waters. These shallow areas allow for good penetration of sunlight….good for photosynthesis in phytoplankton which are the fish’s main source of food. Grand banks of NL are an excellent example.

• Areas where warm and cold ocean currents meet are good as they provide a good area for spawning and increase growth of phytoplankton (causing an upwelling of nutrient-rich water)

Types of Species

• Groundfish prefer to live on the ocean floor along the bottom of the shallow continental shelves. Groundfish include species such as halibut, sole, haddock, pollock, and cod.

• Fish that swim in open water are called pelagic fish. These fish, mainly sardines, mackerel, herring, anchovies, tuna, and salmon, are often caught near the surface of the ocean.

• Shellfish, including lobster, crab, oysters, scallops, and mussels are found along the ocean bottom

Types of gear used• Purse Seine - A large net that hangs vertically in the water by attaching

weights along the bottom edge and floats along the top. • Otter trawl - Trawling, or dragging, is a commercial fishing method in

which a trawl vessel (trawler or dragger) drags a cone-shaped net with a rectangular opening through the water to trap fish.

• Longlining - Longlining is a hook and line fishery in which long lengths of baited hooks are laid on the ocean floor to catch mainly groundfish

• Gill net - A gillnet is a long, horizontal mesh sheet with floats along the upper edge. It is set perpendicular to the path of the fish and designed so that incoming fish can get their heads but not their bodies through the mesh; thus the term gillnet.

• weir: a device used to trap fish made of a net supported by wooden stakes

Impact of New Technology on the Ocean Environment

Factory freezer Trawlers ~ have likely had the most significant and negative impact.

The reasons for this include:

1. Highly efficient at catching fish, but greatly reduces the population & reproduction.

2. Large diesel engines, echo sounding equipment, onboard freezers, and GPS navigation contribute to their efficiency.

3. Destruction of the ocean floor by trawls/draggers eliminates good spawning locations for fish. Also, it disperses eggs, making fertilization more difficult.

4. By-catch (accidentally caught) is often discarded. Some regulations require ships to return with low levels of by catch.

5. Traveling great distances and being able to stay at sea for long periods allows trawlers from all over the world to come together in good fishing areas. This puts added pressure on the fish stock.

Sustainable Fishery

Definition:Using a resources such as the ocean species in a way that will ensure they

• will not become extinct, but • will be protected to increase • for the benefit of future generations.

Strategies for a Sustainable Fishery

• Have knowledge about sustaining the fishery.

• Human attitudes must change.

• People need to understand the long-term wellbeing of the resource.

• Decrease consumption and world’s population.

• Extend legal jurisdictions.

• Try to prevent foreign fishing.

• Other…Can YOU identify any?????????????????

• technology, catch techniques, pollution, aquaculture.

The quota System

• A quota is the amount of a species of fish that may be caught by one boat or by a group of fishers in a year. Fishers obtain the quota from the federal government.

• This is a method of sustainability.

Depletion of cod stocks

• Fish is a renewable resource, and that renewable resources must be managed properly.

• Fish can be harvested forever if the number caught each year does not exceed the number reaching maturity in that year.

Why the collapse?

Five major conditions responsible for the collapse:1. Overfishing2. Improved Fishing Technology (GPS)3. Uncontrolled Foreign Fishing4. Destructive Fishing Practices5. Changes in Natural Conditions

Aquaculture

It is also known as fish farming and involves the raising of marine life in a controlled environment. Hence, this activity breeds and raises fish in tanks, ponds, and reservoirs.

• Since the fish are fed regularly and are safe from natural predators, they mature rapidly and successfully.

AquacultureSupporters• Farmed fish are rich in omega 3 fats and are

equally as healthy to eat as wild fish.• Aquaculture is the main economic base of

many coastal communities.• Farmed fish provide a large supply of protein

and food security as wild fish stocks decline worldwide.

• Divers regularly inspect the ocean floor and check for holes in nets.

• New containment technology reduces the escape of fish into the wild.

• Antibiotic use is strictly controlled by vets and used for diagnosed conditions only.

• Contaminants in farmed salmon are below the levels set by Health Canada.

• Salmon farming is a highly regulated industry with more than 50 different provincial and federal requirements.

Opponents• Farmed salmon contains more fat than

wild salmon and more toxic contaminants like PCBs and pesticides that may affect human health.

• Waste products from fish, uneaten food, and dead fish sink to the ocean bottom and pollute natural habitat.

• Fish are raised in densely packed net cages so diseases spread quickly.

• Sea lice, rampant on fish farms, escape and weaken wild salmon stocks.

• Antibiotics and pesticides to prevent disease and sea lice contaminate water in which wild salmon swim, kill other species, and may be harmful to consumers.

• Net cages often tear, allowing farmed salmon to escape, which affects wild salmon.

Trends in the Fishery

• The demand for fish is growing. As cod and salmon stocks declined, fishers turned to other species, such as shellfish, which are in high demand. Fish farming is also increasing, helping to sustain rural and coastal communities.

Mining

• Canada is known for its mineral wealth. For example, Canada produces more potash than any other country in the world, and 95% of it is mined in Saskatchewan.

• Potash is rich in potassium, one of the three important nutrients needed for plant growth, so almost all the potash is used to make fertilizer. Potash is also used to make soap, animal food, medicines, and water softener.

Types of Minerals

• non-metallic minerals - a mineral, such as salt or potash, that is not a metal

• metallic minerals - which are minerals that provide us with metals such as iron, nickel, and copper.

How do we find minerals?

• All rocks contain minerals, but there are only a few places where the concentration of minerals is high enough to justify digging a mine.

• Mining has become a knowledge-based industry that uses high-tech computer and satellite technology to explore and find the location of ore bodies, which are rocks that contain enough of a particular type of mineral to be worth developing a mine.

• Magnetometers are carried by helicopter over potential mineral-bearing land to find small anomalies, or rock conditions that are different from the surrounding rock.

In the field

• Despite all the high-technology equipment used to find minerals, prospectors and geologists must still go out “in the field” to:

• study maps and air photos• collect rock and soil samples• drill holes into the bedrock to bring up cores of rock, which

are then examined to determine the amount of minerals in the ore

• When looking for minerals, geologists need to know where certain types of rocks occur. They understand, for example, that metallic minerals are found in the igneous rocks of the Canadian Shield, while fossil fuel minerals, such as coal, oil, and natural gas, are found in the sedimentary rocks of western and Atlantic Canada.

Mining Towns

• The distribution of minerals across Canada has given rise to a number of single-industry resource towns such as Logan Lake, British Columbia. These towns are built primarily to provide workers who operate the mine with a place to live and with the services they need on a regular basis.

• As long as the ore lasts or there is a boom in world markets, the town will thrive. Once the ore runs out, or the price of the mineral is too low to continue mining, the mine will close. This leaves the town with no economic base unless it diversifies its economy by encouraging other types of businesses.

Mining and the Economy

• The four provinces of Ontario, Saskatchewan, British Columbia, and Quebec produce about 80% of the total value of Canada’s minerals. The mining industry plays an important role in the economy of Newfoundland and Labrador, representing 8.6% of the province’s total GDP. Nunavut, with its vast territory of Canadian Shield rock, is a prime location for future exploration and development of gold, base metals, and diamond mines.

• Canada is a big player on world mineral markets. It leads in the production of uranium and is one of the top five countries in the production of gold, aluminum, zinc, platinum, and salt, among others.

• Mining generates about $80 billion a year for Canada.

Balance of Trade

• In 2010, Canada exported $85 billion worth of minerals and primary metals to 130 different countries. Canada also imports many minerals and mineral products. In 2010, Canada’s mineral imports totalled $67 billion. The difference between imports and exports is called the balance of trade.

Environmental Impact

• Although mining occurs on less than 0.03% of Canada’s land area, the mining industry has a big ecological footprint.

• The mining industry uses a great deal of energy. Fossil fuels are burned to run machinery and transportation equipment, and a great deal of electricity is needed to mill and refine minerals. These processes have far-reaching effects on air and water quality, and they contribute to greenhouse gas emissions.

What are we doing to lessen the impact?

• Sometimes a mining company will work with a local community to re-establish wildlife habitat or to develop golf courses, recreational lakes, and parklands on closed mine sites.

• Governments are responsible for enforcing environmental laws and ensuring that landscapes and ecosystems that have been affected by mining are restored.

How about this for Impact?

Impact at a glance….

Acid Rain

• Acid precipitation, commonly known as acid rain, includes rain, fog, and snow that is highly acidic and a threat to the forests, lakes, fish, and the shallow soils of the Canadian Shield. Acid rain is a problem in Atlantic Canada because many water and soil systems lack natural alkalinity and cannot neutralize acid.

• Most acid rain is caused by human activities that produce particles and gases of sulphur and nitrogen oxide. The burning of coal or oil in electrical generating plants and the burning of gasoline in transportation vehicles are the main causes of acid rain.

• The biggest producers of these pollutants are the refining and smelting industries, which separate metallic minerals, such as nickel, lead, and zinc from the rock in which they are found.

• Not all the acid rain is produced in Canada. prevailing westerly winds carry emissions into Canada from power plants and industries located in the midwestern United States. The eastern United States, in turn, suffers from acid rain produced by industries in Canada.

ForestryCanadian Geography

Pages 284-295

• More than 300 communities in Canada depend on forestry – paper, building materials, heating, scenic beauty, syrup, wine etc…

• Canada’s forest resources make a significant contribution to the economy.• It provides jobs for people – logging, paper mills, silviculture,

tapping

Why do we cut down trees?

Types of Forestry

• Clear-cutting: A logging method that involves clearing an area of all its trees at one time. It is often done in large patches. Clear-cutting is the least expensive and is a safer method for loggers

• Strip logging: a form of clear-cutting in which long strip of land are cleared of trees, leaving some islands of forests intact. This method reduces soil erosion, is less disruptive to some wildlife (birds, moose), and allows natural reseeding to take place.

• Shelter wood cutting: used in an area of trees that are all generally the same age. Once the trees have regenerated , the rest of the mature trees are cut again.

• Selection cutting: used where there are different types of various ages. It is also used to remove diseases in trees. Selective cutting is the most dangerous and, most expensive because we have to build roads to get to these trees.

Forest Resources

Tree Harvesting - 1. Clear Cutting

• forest harvesting that removes all trees from an area.

• Includes desirable AND undesirable species

• the land is left uncovered.

Clear Cutting

Disadvantages • Leaves behind a poor

looking landscape.

• Ecosystem has a very difficult time recovering.

• Soil is defenseless to erosion. Especially sloped land

• Wildlife habitats are disturbed.

Advantages Most rapideconomical and least dangerous form of harvesting.

Tree Harvesting –Clear Cutting

Tree Harvesting –Strip Cuttinga variation on clear cutting where strips of forest about 1 or 2 ha are left between the clear cut areas.

Strip Cutting

Advantages Less ecological disruption than clear cutting. Soil erosion is less severe. Forest can regenerate naturally without human help.

Disadvantages Requires a larger section of forest to produce the

same amount of yield. More disruption to the ecosystem. Ex: extra roads.

Tree Harvesting –Selective Cutting

• forest harvesting that removes only mature trees and leaves the other trees in place.

• Immature trees, undesired species and underbrush is all left intact.

Selective Cutting

• Clear cutting has the advantage of being economical and safe whereas selective cutting has the advantage of leaving the ecosystem intact.

• Selective cutting is the most expensive method of cutting for companies.

• Proves to be the most dangerous as well.

3. Selective Cutting

Disadvantages Most expensive method. Yields are lower. Care must be taken to avoid damaging unharvested trees. Roads must be maintained longer to keep harvesting mature

trees.

Advantages Leaves the biggest portion of the forest intact. Causes the least ecological disruption.

Importance of the Forests

• Forests prevent soil erosion through the use of their roots (roots hold the soil together).

• Prevent flooding… Trees take up much of the water.

• Prevent soil from drying up… SHADE soil and forest floor from warm temps.

• Wind break that prevents wind erosion… Wind would blow the soil away…epsecially dry soil.

Importance of the Forests

• Forests also add decaying material to the soil (humus content) otherwise the soil would have less to no nutrients.

• Help filtrate the water.

• Recycles air…CO2 into O2.

• Base of the food chain for many ecosystems.

Sustainable Forestry

• Sustainable means to manage or maintain something so that it remains and provides benefits over the LONG term.

• Sustainable forestry… is a method of harvesting AND using the forests so that the resource is not depleted or permanently damaged.

FACT• If we cut trees faster than they grow

back, we will run out of trees... NO KIDDING!!!

Jeopardizing “Sustainable forests!”

WORLD POPULATION INCREASES CAUSES:

• The demand for forestry products increases (It is a RESOURCE with value)

• the demand for forestry land to be converted to other uses…housing, mining, and hydro-electricity projects, etc..

Sustainable Forestry…HOW??

1. Improve what we input into forestry (replanting & seeds)

2. Improve processes like: o road construction o harvesting techniques o environmental protection actions o reducing losses (use all of the tree)

3. Reduce the need of output product Or even Maximize use.o Recycle, use all parts, reduce wastage etc..o Use of alternate building materials

Concerns of the forest:

• People are overusing our forests which is a major concern for their sustainability. If we cut down all our trees, were driving animals out of their natural habitats which will probably result in them dying out. Canada’s forests are home to thousands of different species, and mistreatment of land causes these animals to migrate to unknown areas.

• If there is no forestry people will get laid off and have to find new jobs. People will lose jobs in forestry, hunting, farming, etc... People over use our trees and it is putting stress on the environment to support our breathing needs and needs of the forestry economy.

• If people keep cutting trees at the rate they are now, there will be more concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, as trees filter the carbon dioxide and produce oxygen for humans and animals. People are tearing up natural pieces of land for city construction, polluting the air.

Important terms involving forestry:• Boom/Bust cycles: when times are good, more houses are built and more books

are sold creating more jobs. In times of recession people are laid off and jobs decreases.

• Commercial forest: Forested land that is capable of producing marketable, such as timber.

• Timber: the wood that has been prepared for use as a building material.• Carbon Sink: a natural storage of carbon in forests, soil, or the ocean that would

otherwise be in the atmosphere.• Forest Management Plan: a plan of long-term goals for an area to be logged

that is required by law in Ontario.• Model Forests: a new approach to sustainable management of small areas of

local forest that involves input from all stakeholders who work together as a team.

• List and describe reasons why people cut down trees and what they use them for?

• Do you think there’s one or more type of pollution affecting trees? Explain.

• How important are forest in your life? How might your view of forests be different from that of a logger?

• Imagine that you are the owner of a large forest woodlot. Which method of cutting would you use to cut down trees? Explain why would you use this method.

Looking back…

Statistics

-An average person uses approximately 343 liters of water per day, making it one of the highest consumers of water in the world.

-The majority of Canada’s fresh water is found in the form of rivers, lakes, groundwater, ice and snow.

-Canada has 20% of the fresh water in the world.

Importance of Water

• Water is very important in our everyday lives. Our body is composed mostly with water around 60-70% and even while getting ready in the mornings we shower, brush our teeth or even drink it.

• To farmers water is also very helpful, water is used to grow crops or water their gardens.

• Without water, many people wouldn’t have jobs. Jobs such as skippers, marine engineers, fishermen, and even cooks rely on water for a source of capital.

• About 40 million people in Canada and the United States depend on the largest fresh water system in the world known as the Great Lakes for water.

• Some people think water is not a natural resource, it’s a basic human right. I agree with this because even though it comes from nature you can’t survive without it. Water is not just a essential part of life for humans but for animals such as fish especially.

Acid rain and its affect in our water

• The ecological effects of acid rain are most clearly seen in the aquatic environments, such as streams, lakes, and marshes.

• Acid rain flows into these bodies of water after falling on forests, fields, buildings, and roads. Acid rain also falls directly on aquatic habitats.

• Acid rain primarily affects sensitive bodies of water, which are located in watersheds. It can also occur in the form of snow, fog, and tiny bits of dry material that settle to Earth. When humans burn fossil fuels, they are released into the atmosphere.

• These chemical gases react with water, oxygen, and other substances to form mild solutions.

• Acid rain has many ecological effects, but none is greater than its impact on lakes, streams, wetlands, and other aquatic environments. Acid rain makes waters acidic and causes them to absorb the aluminum that makes its way from soil into lakes and streams.

Global Warming and its affects on our Water

Systems

• Ocean currents are partially responsible for distributing heat around the Earth. As global temperatures rise, Arctic ice melts and massive amounts of fresh water pour into the North Atlantic and slow the Gulf Stream down.

• By slowing or stopping this ocean current, global warming actually would cool Europe down dramatically. If other ocean currents were disrupted, the entire planet could experience the same cooling effect and cause an ice age.

• The increase in the waters temperatures can also harm the species of animals that live in water or depend on water for survival.

Canada’s wetlands

• Canada has 25% of the worlds total wetlands.• Provide food such as cranberries, wild rice, and fish, as well as

important wildlife habitat.• Play an important role in protecting local water quality. Wetland

plants clean water by filtering out sediments and pollution-even toxic chemicals.

Wetlands can be defined as water in a marsh, swamp, or fen (an area of low land covered with shallow water) that is fresh or salty, standing or flowing, and two to six metres in depth.

Are there any wetlands close to where you live?

Organisms In WaterWater is host to many microscopic living organisms like bacteria, viruses and parasites. A lot of these organisms are harmless, but the ones that cause diseases are called pathogens. In general, those organisms that are potential disease-producers are of primary concern. These are five types of organisms: -bacteria, -protozoa, -worms, -viruses,-fungi

The presence of certain organisms of these many types can lead to infectious diseases such as jaundice, hepatitis, typhoid fever, cholera, as well as other diseases spread through drinking unsafe water. Tremendous strides have been made in the control of these diseases within recent years. Most of the credit has to go to sanitary engineers for their careful, consistent control of public water supplies. As proof, outbreaks of typhoid fever in either this country or Canada are rare. Natural disasters can play havoc with water supplies, but under routine conditions typhoid is no longer a serious threat. For now whole generations have grown up without the opportunity to develop a natural immunity to such diseases. Thus a failure in the protective system could result in far more people succumbing to the disease than in the past.

Water ErosionErosion: The process of water slowly degrading the soil quality.

When erosion occurs, the primary concern that it causes is washing away the top soil and making it more difficult for plant life to grow.

After a long period of time, erosion will make the farmland useless due to the loss of fertile soil

Erosion will also cause habitat loss if the water lasts long enoughIn that area.

Erosion is dangerous to farmers because of the effect of ruining soil, if erosion occurs close to crops, farmers will have to replacethe soil, costing them more money and lowering their profit.

Sewage

People living in rural areas send their waste water to a septic system that must be approved by the local Municipal Government.

Most people in Canada live in communities with a municipal sewer system underground.

When the water is flushed down the drain it needs to be treated before being released back into the lakes and rivers.

Wate

r P

olluti

on

• Water is used by many people around the

world, but with use comes pollution and

the water needs to be treated in

treatment plants to remove the sewage

from the dirty water. • Water is treated to kill pathogens and

THM’s that cause health problems before

we can drink it• It is also a big problem due to people

polluting natural water sources such as

ponds/lakes with garbage• This devastating in a world with a water

shortage• Any chemicals that go down grounds lead

to ground water contamination

• Can be caused from oil spills and

industrial development• Factories also play a huge role water

pollution R.R.

Key Terms

Water Ethics: A set of moral principles or beliefs about what is right and wrong when considering the use of water.

Commons: The natural resources such as the ocean or the atmosphere that belong to everyone.

Commodity: An economic resource such as a raw material or agriculture product that is exchanged for money.

Wetlands: A place where the water table is at ground level. (e.g, bog, swamp and marsh)

Water Diversion: The rerouting of water from one drainage basin to another.

Privatization: Changing ownership of a property or resource from public ownership by government to private ownership by an individual or business.

.. Key terms

Groundwater: Water found beneath the Earth’s surface in the spaces in soil and bedrock.

Fen: An area of low land covered with shallow water.

Algal Blooms: A rapid increase or accumulation in the population of algae (typically microscopic) in an aquatic system.

Septic System: A system that help clean the water that is deposited down the drains.

International Joint Commission (IJC): An organization created by a Canada-US treaty to prevent and resolve disputes over shared water and to approve water projects affecting both countries.

Water SustainabilityHow can we sustain our water resource? In Canada, if we had control over all of our water resources would we be able to sustain it? Would we keep it all for our selves or export some to other countries who needed it? A good question to ask is:Who controls Canada’s Water?As part of the global marketplace, Canada is involved in the worldwide trend toward privatization (changing ownership of a resource from public ownership by government to private ownership by an individual or a business) of water supplies. This means the water is owned by a corporation and not the Canadian public. The main goal of any corporation is to make as much profit as possible. This would mean that they have little reason to conserve, and, in fact, consumption is encouraged. Would this effect water sustainability? Several organizations in Canada are fighting against water privatization in order to protect water sources for the future to help keep it sustained. So far, Canada has not given permission for bulk fresh water exports, although bottled water exports are allowed.

Many counties have asked Canada to begin exporting bottled water to countries where there are water shortages. What advantages and disadvantages would result if Canada did start exporting water? If we don't?

Canada has more than enough water to meet the needs of its population. This has led to people taking this resource for granted. How would you rate the water usage in your community and why?

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Journal Entry