Download how do environmental issues inovle political and economic decisions

HOW DO ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
INVOLVE POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC
DECISIONS
• What are environmental
issues
•What is the relationship
between the environment,
economics and politics
•A case study on Greenhouse
Gases
WHAT’S AN ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUE
• Human activities cause change to the natural
environment
• Toxins released by factories can impact both air
and water quality
• Urbanization decreased the amount of land
available for agriculture, wildlife and parkland
– The challenge is balancing the needs on the environment, the
needs of the economy, and the goals of society
WHAT ARE KEY ENVIRONMENTAL
ISSUES
•In your group
come up with five
other
environmental
issues that are
key today
DEFORESTATION
What are
the
competing
values in
each of the
four
identified
examples?
GLOBAL
WARMING
ENVIRONMENTAL
ISSUES
RENEWABLE
ENERGY
URBAN SPRAWL
THE OTHER KEY ISSUES INCLUDE
1. Air pollution
2. Species endangerment
3. Weather extremes
4. Resource depletion
5. Water pollution
6. Noise pollution
7. Acid rain
8. Desertification
9. Waste disposal
10.Nuclear waste
WHAT IS CLIMATE CHANGE
• A rise in the average temperature of the earth
due to build up of greenhouse gases (GHGs) in
the atmosphere
• GHGs come mainly from the burning of fossil
fuels such as
» Natural gas
» Gasoline
» Coal
» Oil
GREENHOUSE GASES
• GHGs capture the heat generated
by the Sun’s rays in the
atmosphere and do not allow it to
return to space
• This causes the earth to warm, in
turn impacting all living plants and
animals
• Fossil fuels are used in
manufacturing, home heating,
electrical generation and
transportation
GREENHOUSE GASES
SOURCES OF GREENHOUSE
GASES IN CANADA
IMPACTS OF WARMER
TEMPERATURES
• According to the Intergovernmental Panel of
Climate Change
» Decline in abundance of fresh water
» Loss of wildlife species overall, some
species will adapt
» More extreme weather events, such as
storms and droughts
» Longer growing seasons
» Flooding along coastlines
GREENHOUSES GASES AND
CANADA’S REGIONS
• Material on pages 312-313 show that there are
different levels of GHG output for the various
regions of Canada
• Alberta has a large GHG output due to oil and gas
production and coal burning power generation
• Ontario is the next largest contributor due to its
high level of manufacturing and mining
» As the next two highest producing areas are
British Columbia and Quebec, it appears a
high population is one of the contributing
factors to greenhouse gas creation
NORTH AMERICAN
GREENHOUSE GASES
• International negotiations on climate change
focus on reducing GHGs in developed countries
like the USA and Canada
• Mexico as a developing country does not face
the same GHG restrictions
• The USA produces 20% of the global
greenhouse gases, Canada 2% and Mexico 1.5%
» The USA choose not to participate in the
Kyoto Protocol
WHAT IS THE KYOTO PROTOCOL
• First ever climate change plan
negotiated by the international
community
• Canada’s position has changed
depending on the political party in
power
• The Liberal government ratified
Kyoto in 2002
• In 2006 when the Conservatives
were elected, they announced
Canada would not meet its Kyoto
targets
HOW KYOTO TARGETS WORK
ACROSS THE GLOBE
WHAT ARE WAYS WE AS INDIVIDUALS
CAN REDUCE GREENHOUSE GASES?
In December
2007, a
meeting in
Bali,
Indonesia
launched new
talks aimed at
a new
agreement to
replace Kyoto
in 2012
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THE BRUTAL REALITY
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ures.cfm?feature
=1826