The issue regarding the Northern Gateway pipeline conflicting with the Great Bear Rainforest is a major situation and its effect on the environment echoes across Canada. The proposal made by Enbridge to construct a pipeline from the Athabasca oil sands all the way to Kitimat is careless and completely disregards the environment. The oil tankers carrying the crude oil to china are required to travel through many dangerous canals in the great bear rainforest where navigation must show no imperfections, accordingly, the tanker would risk a catastrophic oil spill. This great bear rainforest is home to hundreds, maybe even thousands of animal species, as well as many indigenous dwellers who rely on the oceans as their food source. By proceeding
The Logging Industry vs. The Old Growth Forests of the Pacific Northwest and the Northern Spotted Owl.
“Pipeline debate heats up EthicalOil & Sierra Club CBC January 11, 2012.” Online video clip.
The Alberta Oil Sands are large deposits of bitumen in north-eastern Alberta. Discovered in 1848, the first commercial operation was in 1967 with the Great Canadian Oil Sands plant opening, and today many companies have developments there. The Alberta Oil Sand development is very controversial, as there are severe environmental impacts and effects on the local Aboriginal peoples. This essay will discuss the need for changes that can be made for the maximum economic benefit for Canada, while reducing the impact on the environment and limiting expansion, as well as securing Alberta’s future. Changes need to be made to retain the maximum economic benefits of the Alberta Oil Sands while mitigating the environmental and geopolitical impact. This will be achieved by building pipelines that will increase the economic benefits, having stricter environmental regulation and expansion limitations, and improving the Alberta Heritage Fund or starting a new fund throu...
This paper will discuss the effects of Keystone XL Pipeline project and how the findings of the research might be beneficial to the United States. The first point of argument will be the negative impact of the Keystone Pipeline to America’s economy and the environment. The second point of view will be the positive impact of Keystone Pipeline to America’s economy. Keystone XL Pipeline is TransCanada’s tar-sand transportation project. The pipeline is supposed to cut across America to be linked with Canada’s tar-sand mines. It is aimed at increasing energy security in America. However, the project has received a lot of criticism from both the citizens and environmentalists for climate reasons (Mendelsohn and Dinar 154). To understand the implications of Keystone XL Pipeline, it is important to look at its environmental and economic impacts to the United States.
Dheeraj Patel Journey Around Canada 2. How do the natural characteristics of Canada influence human activity, and how might human activity influence Canada’s natural characteristics? (B1) In the Central part of Canada there are many different human activities that affect natural characteristics. In the Central part of Canada there are many interior plains landforms.
This chapter reading by Andrea Olive provided background of the Canadian environmental issues of terms of its substance and political discourse. The author focuses on the wide range history of environmentalism in Canada, as well as highlights the ‘waves that occurred in the twentieth era. Then looks at the most current Conservative government. Throughout this chapter Olive explains and teaches environmental policy and events that occurred waves. The author constructively outline the reason and causes of the Third wave. The critical issues occurring policymaking environmental challenges and even opportunity that Canada has been facing throughout its history and twenty-first century was discussed within this chapter. Thus, my review on this
Deforestation of the Pacific Northwest. One of the most controversial areas associated with the global problem. of deforestation in the Pacific Northwest of the US. The problem can be broken.
The positivist-post-positivist paradigm is the most appropriate paradigm for research regarding the subject matter of Northern Frontier, Northern Homeland by Thomas Berger (1988). This paradigm states that social science research pushes towards western cultures causing other regions to adapt to western ideas. According to Travers (2010), “[t]he physical and the social sciences are products of western culture in a specific historical moment. [s]cience is a modern phenomenon, emerging in step with capitalism, industrialism, global expansion, and a liberal philosophy” (p. 9). Ingenious people living in the North are being forced to change the way they live if the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline were to be built. According to Berger (1988), “[i]n developing institutions of government in the North, we sought to impose our own system, to persuade the native people to conform to our political models (p. 236). The indigenous people have their way of living, they hint their food, and they live in a quite and peaceful land where they live off their own economy. The pipeline would destroy the Northern Homeland. In an interview with the President of the National Indian Brotherhood told Berger (1988) in the Inquiry, “[s]uch projects have occurred time and time again in our history. They were, and are, the beginnings of the type of developments which destroy the way of life of aboriginal peoples and rob us of our economic, cultural and political independence” (p. 229). The pipeline would cause high amounts of traffic, and drilling. The noise that would be created due to the pipeline would cause the animals to migrate elsewhere, causing fewer animals to be hunted. The information obtained from scientific research can be used to predict and control nat...
Since the rise of the Alberta oil sands, the contribution of greenhouses gas emissions has been increasing dramatically. Alberta has only 10% of Canada’s population but emits the most greenhouse gases than any province. Also, the oil sands are the largest source of carbon dioxide emissions in Canada ("Oil Sands Truth." Para 4). Additionally, although it takes a lot of energy going into producing the bitumen from the oil sands, the energy output is relatively low. A about three times water is needed for one portion of bitumen when it is being processed after being accessed from the oil sands. Not only is water wasted, but the water supply n the area is heavily polluted. There is more than three million gallons of toxic run off from the plants every day. To contain this, majority of polluted water and tar is segregated and turned into toxic pools which are deposits of a combination of chemicals and polluted water. These pools now cover about fifty square miles in the oil sands location ("Tar Sands Oil: Pros and Cons." Para 1). To make room for the industry, the boreal forest is being cut down at a rapid pace. This not only depleted forest cover but the boreal forest counters the carbon emissions from the sands but with less forests, there will be an even greater rise in carbon emissions. The land is also being harmed due to the construction of large pipelines to access consumers far away. Not only do the oil sands harm the inorganic aspects of the environment in the location but animals are harmed due to their habitats being destroyed both on land and in the water ("Pros and Cons: Alberta Oil Sands." Para 4). The rivers and streams near the oil sands are being polluted and more fish and other aquatic animals are getting sick and dying. This in turn affects the individuals who fish for a living or acquire the fish as a main dietary source. With less fish to obtain,
“The conversation of our natural resources and their proper use underlines almost every other problem in our national life,” Theodore Roosevelt. Americans’ dependence upon petroleum-based energy sources has required the United States to consider a variety of options to fulfill [the] ever-increasing energy needs, even drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge [ANWR] (Smith). The controversial question on whether or not to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge reserve has been in battle since its establishment. Drilling in ANWR would cause severe damage as it is a danger to its native plants and animals as the land is their home and birthing ground, the land discussed to be open to drilling will not be the only land set to a path of destruction, and along with the use and distribution of the oil found, as of how much could be discovered and if it is worth losing precious land all to a nations greed of oil.
The change in climate has already been apart of consideration for major developmental projects (Fergal & Prowse). Not only are companies preparing for climate change but also the communities are concerned with how the impact will change their access to survival resources such as fish, water, wildlife and forestry (Fergal & Prowse, 2007). It is projected that in 25-30 years, sea ice in the Canadian arctic will be completely melted and which could strongly affect the northern communities (Fergal & Prowse, 2007). This essay will discuss the positive and negative impacts of climate change on transportation for Northern Canadian communities and their accessibility to resources as the sea ice melts.
British Columbia is the third largest province in Canada with an area of 95 million hectares, about 64% of it is covered in forest. The majority of this forest is used for timber production, a smaller chunk is protected as park land and the rest is unavailable to log because of remotes. Deforestation is the permanent destruction of forests in order to make the land available for other uses. The majority of the trees are coniferous. With the increase of many ecological problems the preservation of forests play an important role in British Columbia. Forest are one of the most valuable resources for the economy since their wood products are being exported all over the world. It is however crucial that the environmental impacts of deforestation
The controversy over logging, and more specifically clearcutting, is not a new issue in America. Ever since the 1920's and 1930's, when this nation started to become conscious of conservation, citizens have weighed the consequences of logging. Critics have questioned whether the increase in jobs, tax dollars, and economic growth was worth the destruction of forest lands. Regardless of what they believe today, the logging industry had become so efficient that by the late 1980's nearly 100,000 acres of federal land had been clearcut since the industry began. Logging technology has advanced rapidly in terms of speed, to meet the increasing demands for lumber, paper, and other products derived from trees. This in turn has greatly impacted the environment by severely degrading watersheds, leading to increased soil erosion, the diminution in the quality of drinking water, and the decline of fish stocks, among many other consequences. In this essay I will examine the progression of logging equipment throughout the 19th and 20th centuries and discuss how these changes in technology have not only changed the relationship of those who work in the industry, but also haw this has changed the wider relationship of society and nature.
Rainforests, should we cut them down or not? Probably one of the biggest questions the world has to overcome. Sure, rainforests supply us with a lot of resources and we could surely not live without cutting some of them down, but should we be cutting them down at the rate we are? To be exact, the statistic estimates 1.5 acres of natural rainforests are being destroyed every second. While this practise supplies us with resources like timber for furniture, it also reduces the amount of oxygen supply.
When we look at Enbridge’s Line 9 and the pipeline carrying oil substance that it was not initially designed for we can apply the discipline of environmental sociology and dismember the different aspects and analyze them individually to understand how outcomes are produced. Environmental sociology, in regards to Line 9 addresses the social relations between some of the major towns and cities that the pipe runs through and explains how capitalism forms the base of environmental deterioration as financial income and wealth accumulation are often factors that receive more recognition. The familiar understanding of the Line 9 is that the government and city officials declare that it is safely distributing oil, when in reality, when we as sociologists observe and record that it is providing more societal concerns than it is claiming. This can be obtained through an examination of the numerous health affects that are presented through documentaries, such as residents suffering from seizures, and the arrest of a gentlemen who displayed signs of insanity and madness (Line 9, Film). It is at this point where it can be understood that environmental sociology helps us recognize human diversity and the challenges of living in a diverse world through the examination of human behavior and action towards environmental concerns. In the documentary, This Changes Everything, we are shown that fossil fuels are a growing concern that is attracting the attention of local residents who acknowledge that we are all sharing a common atmospheric space that needs attention from all individuals on all different social and economic levels (This Changes Everything, Film). When environmental