The Environment
Environmental challenges facing
Canadians
Today’s Objectives
• assess environmental challenges facing
Canadians, including

− global warming

− ozone layer depletion

− fresh water quality and supply
• Pages 420-433 of Counterpoints
Global Warming
• How does industrial and technological
development affect the environment (e.g.,
global warming)?
• What are some possible responses to global
warming (e.g., Kyoto protocol)?
Things are warming up…
 After watching An Inconvenient Truth,
do you remember what gas contributes
the most to global warming?
 CO2!
 What is global warming?
 The overall warming trend of our
atmosphere
 What is the greenhouse effect?
 Gases in our atmosphere trap the heat
energy from the sun, causing our
atmosphere to warm up
What causes global warming?
 Natural Factors:
 Volcanic Eruptions
 Meteor Impacts
 Human Factors:
 Since the Industrial Revolution,
humans have been the largest
contributor to global warming
 Burning of fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural
gas) emits CO2
 What are some things we use fossil
fuels for?
 Deforestation (trees convert CO2 into
O2)
 Agriculture contributes to methane
(CH4) emissions
The Greenhouse Effect
 The emission of all these gases traps heat energy
from the sun in our atmosphere
 What effect does this have on our environment?
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Rising global temperatures (Fig. 17-15, pg. 432)
Rising incidence of violent storms
Extended range of tropical diseases
Rising sea levels caused by melting ice caps
Destruction of aquatic and terrestrial habitats
Greenhouse Gases contributing to
Global Warming
The effect on Canada?
 Arctic regions: ice sheets
shrinking, loss of habitat
 British Columbia: warmer
water in the Ocean is
killing Salmon food
supply, reducing the
number of Salmon
 Salmon are a keystone
species
 Winter recreation: less
snow means less skiing!
 Increasing droughts: can
destroy agriculture, lead to
more forest fires
Possible solutions?
 1997: Kyoto Protocol
 An agreement among countries promising to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions by 6% of our 1990 level by 2012
 Countries not meeting their target can buy credits from other
countries below their allotted levels
 Fossil fuel industry against Kyoto, claim impossible standards,
potential loss of jobs
 Sustainable energy sources
 Can be used to lessen dependence on fossil fuels
 Wind turbines, solar panels, tidal power, geothermal power
 Wind power alone could account for 10% of the world`s
electricity demands
 Hybrid cars, hydrogen or methanol fuelled power cells
Sustainable Energy
Geothermal Power
Tidal Power
Kyoto Protocol
Green: ratified agreement, Grey: Undecided, Brown: will not ratify
World Contributors of GHG emissions
(2005 Rank, Country, % of world GHG emissions, tons GHG per capita)
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1) China1 – 17%, 5.8
2) United States3 – 16%, 24.1
3) European Union-273 – 11%, 10.6
4) Indonesia2 - 6%, 12.9
5) India – 5%, 2.1
6) Russia3 – 5%, 14.9
7) Brazil – 4%, 10.0
8) Japan3 – 3%, 10.6
9) Canada3 – 2%, 23.2
10) Mexico – 2%, 6.4
Ozone layer depletion
• How does industrial and technological
development affect the environment (e.g.,
ozone layer depletion)?
• What are some possible responses to ozone
layer depletion (e.g., Kyoto protocol)?
Change is in the Air
 The ozone layer is a thin layer of ozone
(O3), 15-50 km`s above the surface of the
earth (Fig. 17-11, pg. 430)
 Ozone is the only gas in the atmosphere
that can block Ultraviolet (UV) radiation
from the sun
 UV radiation can cause skin cancer,
damage plants and animals, and destroy
habitats such as coral reefs
 1980s: discovery that ozone layer was
thinning
 Holes developed at the poles, up to 60%
disappeared over Antarctica
Causes? Solutions?
 Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) have done 80% of the
damage (CFC emissions chart, Figure 17-12, pg. 430)
 CFCs used for cooling refrigerators and air conditioners
as well as in aerosol spray cans
 United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) began
phasing out the use of CFCs in 1987
 All industrialized (developed) nations cut their use CFCs;
called the Montreal Protocol
 Developing countries would phase out CFCs by 2000
 Even after being phased out, could take a century for the
ozone layer to return to pre 1980s levels
Assignment
 With a partner, answer the Activity questions on pg. 433 (1-5)
Fresh water quality and supply
• What are some threats to water quality and
supply in Canada and the world? (e.g.,
contamination, misuse) and what are some
possible solutions (e.g., treatment
technologies, conservation)
Water: The Indispensable Resource
 People simply cannot survive without
clean drinking water
 Each person requires AT LEAST 5 litres
of fresh water every day for good
health (how much do you drink?)
 Water is also needed for many other
uses:
 Agriculture, industry, bathing, washing,
etc.
 Yet, humans, particularly in the
developed world, waste or pollute
massive amounts of water everyday
Threats to groundwater supply
 World Fresh Water Storage:
 3% of the water on Earth is fresh water
 Nearly 78% of that is frozen in glaciers
and ice caps
 Most of the remaining fresh water is
underground, called groundwater
 Water deficits:
 A measure of how much more
groundwater is being used than is being
returned into the ground (Fig. 17-4, pg.
423)
 What does this mean for the future?
 What are the main threats to global
water supply?
 Increased population, pollution
Threats to groundwater supply
 Increasing population strains the water supply
 Falling water tables and diversion of surface water lead
to shortages of fresh water
 Many large rivers are almost dry by the time the reach
the sea due to human demand (Nile, Ganges, Yellow)
 Threatens agriculture
 40% of worlds harvest comes from irrigated* cropland
 USA, China, India facing water shortages and they produce
half the worlds food
How do we get groundwater?
 Farmer are able to pump groundwater from aquifers
(underground layer of rock that water can pass
through) using wells
 Water is being pumped out of aquifers much faster
than it is replenished from rain
 When this occurs, the water table lowers, and wells
run dry (Fig. 17-5, pg. 425)
 *In northern China, water table drops 1.5 meters each
year!
Threats to surface water supply and
quality
 Surface water: lakes, rivers, coastal waters
 Has been used for disposal of sewage, agricultural and
industrial waste (chemicals, pesticides, oil, etc.)
 This damages water quality, and animal habitat
 Some lakes and rivers are so badly polluted, can no
longer support life and certainly cannot be used for
drinking water!
Solutions
 Education: conservation of our water
is very important…do not waste it!
 New technologies:
 Rainwater harvesting
 Reclaimed or recycled water for
agriculture
 Desalinated seawater
 Low flow sprinklers, toilets, showers
 Low flow toilets can reduce by 70%
the amount of water needed to flush!
 Drip irrigation (reduced evaporation)
 Taxation on groundwater use
Assignment
 With a partner, answer the activity questions on page
430 (1,2,4,5)
 Of the environmental problems we talked about in
this chapter, which one do you consider most likely to
affect your lifestyle if it is not addressed? Explain your
answer