- What is the difference between renewable, non-renewable, and flow resources?
Renewable resources have the ability to grow back/replenish within 30 years (trees, fish, soil)
Non-renewable cannot be quickly replaced by natural means at a pace quick enough to keep up with consumption (coal, natural gas → take thousands of years to form)
Flow resources renew themselves while being used (wind, water, sun)
- Explain what your ecological footprint measures and how it is displayed.
- Ecological footprint is the statistic used to measure how people impact the environment, calculated by the natural resources used + garbage made + land needed to make + distribute stuff you use
- displayed in hectares
- Why does Canada have a large ecological footprint compared to countries like Bangladesh and India
Canada is a lot more car-dependent (oil, wider roads), manufactures more clothes (growing cotton + energy for machines + oil for transportation), people eat more than we need (more crops, more transportation). India and Bangladesh drive a lot less (bike, walk, bus), many don’t have much money so they eat simple local food (sometimes vegetarian)
- How can you reduce your ecological footprint? Give an idea to reduce energy use, petroleum use and water use.
- energy use:
- turning off lights when not in use, unplugging electronics + appliances
- energy-efficient lights/appliances (LEDS)
- solar panels
- petroleum use:
- public transportation, carpooling, waking/biking
- fuel-efficient vehicles (electric,hybrid)
- water use:
- turning off faucet when not in use
- shorter showers
- using dishwasher/washing machine when full
- List three reasons not to use bottled water.
- more expensive
- less regulated than tap water
- negative environmental impact
- When did the moratorium (ban) on cod fishing in the Atlantic Ocean and why?
- the ban on cod fishing was put into effect in 1992
- overfishing, destructive practices (dragnets), uncontrolled foreign fishing till 1977, changes in natural conditions (currents + seals)
- Explain the two reasons why cod fish were so abundant on Canada’s east coast
- large amounts of plankton, which attract fish
- wide, shallow, continental shelf allow sunlight to reach bottom, creating more plankton
What are alternative energy sources? What are the advantages and disadvantages to each?
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Solar: lower latitude regions (closer to equator) \n SMALLEST SOURCE OF ELECTRICITY (0.3%) | renewablesmall/large scale usenon polluting | expensive (photovoltaic)areas may have fewer sunny daysonly generates during day |
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Hydroelectricity: dam across river → reserve of water | renewableflexible (flow of water can be altered to meet demand)reservoir can be used for recreation (swimming, fishing) | droughtenvironmental consequencescost |
Wind: where strong win are present (open fields, water, hilltops) | renewablenon pollutingcan be mixed with farming uses | unpredictable energy generationunappealing look/noisecostly |
Tidal: where strong tides are present (along the coasts) \n GREATEST SOURCE OF ELECTRICITY GENERATION (60%) | renewablenon pollutingregular predictable energy flow | limited sites (coastal areas)can cause damage to ocean ecosystem |
Geothermal | renewablenon pollutingfree once builtworks all the time and predictable | expensive to build |
Biomass: farmand regions, great lakes, st lawrence lowlands, prairies | energy from plants (burning)renewable - can replantreduces emissions | reduce food productionreleases carbon (energy to grow + process crops) |
Energy from garbage | power from garbage - cheap, abundant fuel, gets rid of waste | till burning - ome carbon and other toxins released |
Energy from conservation | saves money, reduces power plants needed + all impactsLED lights, green roof, etc |
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- How can one person make a small difference in their community towards a sustainable future? Give three specific examples.
reducing waste: reduce (only taking what you need, limit packaging) reuse (reusable products, finding new uses for things) recycle
promoting sustainable transportation (walking, biking, public transit)
eating less meat (plant-based diet) reduces water consumption
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- Explain why our current “materials economy” is harmful to the planet. (Story of Stuff)
- extraction: economy relies on extracting natural resources, destructing ecosystems and wildlife
- production: toxic chemicals are mixed with natural resources → toxic contaminated products
- waste/disposal: planned obsolescence + perceived obsolescence among products causes them to be thrown away → ends up in landfills → waste is burnt (dioxin)
- Define perceived obsolescence. Give an example of clothing, electronics, and household items.
- when we’re convinced to throw away perfectly functional products
- “fast fashion”, in and out: shoes, computer models, kitchen appliance “must haves”
- Explain the concept of “manufactured demand” from Story of Bottled Water.
- when companies convince and scare people that the alternative to bottled water, tap water, is unsafe
- What are some solutions that should replace the materials economy?
government action:
- imposing law to reduce waste (limit single ue products, recyclable materials)
- encourage sustainable practices
corporation action:
- reducing waste (designing new product packagin)
- energy efficient measure
- transparency about their products
us:
- avoiding fast fashion and overspending
- reducing carbon footprint
- supporting sustainable products + companies
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- What are the challenges in providing First Nations with clean water?
- ineffective contractors (poor quality job)
- ISC doesn’t check if they did the job well enough
- expensive, communities often have to ask ISC for more money
- Why will recycling never be enough to deal with all our garbage?
- not everything is recyclable
- not all materials actually end up being recycled (in landfills)
- not everyone participates
- large amounts of energy is used (transportation, incineration, moulding)
- oil companies make the same product → no need to buy recycled materials
- How is down-cycling different from recycling?
- down cycling is turning one product into another inferior product of lesser value and functionality (end up being thrown out)
- recycling aims to create products of similar/higher quality and functionality
- How is landfill gas used to create alternative energy?
- landfill gases are collected from gas collection wells
- burn methane as fuel to generate heat
- generates electricity
- Explain the solid waste management hierarchy (5 stages).
- Reduce: only taking what you need, limiting packaging, less waste → less disposal
- Reuse: purchasing reusable products, finding new uses for things
- Recycle: most paper, plastic and glass can be recycled
- Recovery: recovering energy from waste (burning)
- Landfill: safe disposal of waste to landfill (leasts preferred)
- What are the three types of industries?
Primary:
- 4% of Canadian jobs
- raw materials taken from environment (logger, miner, farmer)
Secondary:
- 17% of Canadian jobs
- process raw materials into finished goods (builder, steel plant worker, car plant worker)
Tertiary:
- 79% of Canadian jobs (majority)
- provide services (banker, teacher, mechanic, doctor)
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In the film ‘Addicted to Plastic,’ we learned about several places in the world and their approach to waste management.
- Houston, Texas no longer recycles. What did a citizen have to collect and recycle on his own?
- melt waste plastic → forms into railroad ties
- sells to railroad companies
- Tennessee does not sort its waste. What do they do with waste? What do they make? What is it used for?
- collect all waste (plastic, glass, cans, etc) in a system → automatically separates metals and glass
- everything else is pushed into steam system → creates “fluff”
- fluff is a growing medium, can be turned into a useful product (bench)
- What type of rock is fracked?
- Shale rock
- Explain what fracking is, how it works, and the benefits and disadvantages of it.
- fracking is the process of drilling down into the earth a rock before a high pressure water mixture (water, sand, chemicals) is directed at it
- allows the gas to flow out to the head of the well
- Alberta, BC, Nova Scotia, NB, USA, UK
- governments, oil companies, NGO’s
- Pros:
- financial benefits → creates jobs in US
- natural gas prices drop 47%, GHS emissions drop
- Cons:
- water contamination
- pollution (noise, air, water)
- loss of aboriginal reserves
- chemical injection
- weak regulations
- disposing water in deep rock formation → causes earthquakes
- How are Mexico City and the Aral Sea examples of poor water use?
- Mexico city is sinking (30ft) because of its large use of water → more they use, the more it shrinks
- Aral Sea is one tenth of its size 50 yrs ago → unsustainable use of water supply
- Which foods use the most water?
- Meat tends to have higher water footprints (steak, hamburger, ham)
- one cheeseburger is 2000 L of water
- 80% of our earth is covered in water. Why aren’t we able to use it all as drinking water?
- 97.5% of water on Earth is salt water → can’t drink
- 2.5% is left → 79% is frozen, 20% is groundwater
- of the 1% of the 2.5%, 38% is in soil, 7% is in air, 1% is in living organisms
- What are Canada’s conventional energy sources and how does each work?
fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas) - traditional fuels for energy production
nuclear energy: non renewable, doesn’t produce carbon, creates waste
natural gas: non renewable, collected from Earth’s crust (fossil fuel), inexpensive plants + efficient
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