Survey
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
A Sustainable Future There are eight planets in our solar system - nine if you still cannot grasp Pluto’s planet status being debunked. However, no matter if it is eight or nine, out of these planets there is only one suitable for humans to inhabit: Earth. Mercury, with its dramatically shifting temperatures may be admirable for adapted extra-terrestrial beings - and who knows? Mars may possibly be tolerable for mankind one day. But as of now, the only home we have is Earth - and we need to protect our home and the naturally occurring phenomena that make it livable. To do so, environmental sustainability is an imperative issue for Canada today - and always. A crucial factor in Earth’s habitability is the normality of the Greenhouse Effect which regulates and maintains the temperature of Earth at about 14º celsius to sustain life. This process keeps us organisms living - but ironically, it may be the factor that also leads to our non-existence. Humans have assisted in the excess creation of Greenhouse gases: carbon dioxide, methane, ozone and nitrous oxides most notably. This leads to the ideology of the “Enhanced Greenhouse Effect.” Canada, sadly, is one of the world’s leading contributors to the production of greenhouse gases. In CO2 emissions, Canada ranks approximately 9th globally (Union for Concerned … 1.) What does this information translate to? Canada is also adding to the overheating of our Earth, leading to climate change and global warming. These issues are prominent in our nation, despite those who believe they are nothing but “hoaxes.” This perspective is difficult to comprehend when you consider our negatively-evolving environment which holds proof of the credibility of global warming and climate change. Look at our Canadian Glaciers for example. A CBC article investigated into their lifespan due to global warming: “glaciers are melting rapidly around the world, including in Canada, and human-caused climate change is now considered to be the main driver” (Kuang 1.) Kuang, in her article, predicts that glaciers in the Canadian Rockies will be completely diminished, or reduced by 90% by 2100. Along with the receding glaciers, ice in northern Canada is melting at a faster rate as well. Us humans may not believe that this is a detriment to us; but for polar bears - it is far more than a detriment. Out of 19 polar bear subpopulations in the world, 13 reside in Canada (Unger 1). They can be found in the Northern parts of Canada, predominantly in the community of Churchill, Manitoba, where they live on the ice covering the Arctic Ocean. No explanation is needed to clarify why polar bears are going extinct due to climate change, and their possible extinction can have serious consequences on marine ecosystems. The bears sit on the throne of the arctic marine food chain - removing such an indicator species would undeniably threaten the overall health of the system. (Species: … 1) Although our country, along with others involved in the UN, are attempting to reverse the results of global warming and climate change through the Kyoto Protocol and their most recent conference at Marrakesh, environmental sustainability does not end with climate change - and as for potential organism extinctions, climate change is not the sole perpetrator although it is with polar bears. Bees; not the two-bodied, hell-sent demons that we consider wasps, but furry, relevant honey bees. Bee populations are rapidly decreasing - something you probably are happy to hear if you have ever been stung by one. But bees are more important to us than you think. To live on Earth, yes we may need a stably maintained temperature but we also need food which is where bees become pertinent. They are responsible for pollinating approximately one-sixth of flowering plant species and over 400 different agricultural plant types worldwide (Tucker 1). The food loss with the extinction of bees would not only be honey - but rather popular items such as broccoli, asparagus, cantaloupes, cucumbers, cherries, apples, watermelon and many, many more! These fruits and veggies are not primarily grown in Canada, but they are huge imports and would cease to exist without bees. Albert Einstein, notably the greatest modern scientist, believed that humanity would also cease to exist without bees: “Mankind will not survive the honeybee’s disappearance for more than five years.” (Hagopian 1). It is clear that the survival of mankind also depends on the survival of the bees. Although the bees are not perishing from human-induced global warming, they are suffering from the faults of humanity. Drastic weather (this can be however blamed on climate change) and colony collapse disorder (CCD) caused the pitfall of some bee colonies, but pesticides in recent years are mostly to blame. One specific type of insecticide, called neonicotinoids, causes acute and chronic poisoning of the entire bee colony rather than just one bee (Hagopian 1). There was speculation that these neonics were noxious to bees for decades. The United States Environmental Protection Agency did not, however, disclose the confirmation that they were in fact harmful until the damage was already done and the bee population had begun to dwindle (Philpott 1). This means that the possibility of bees dying out is something our generation may experience - evidently making it a crucial issue in Canada. Environmental sustainability: allows for the needs of man to be met without jeopardizing the ability of future generations to meet their needs (Gillaspy 1). As a young Canadian, this is conceivably the most urgent matter we face in our nation now - and undoubtedly in the future. As individuals, we can do our own part to protect the environment through reducing our carbon footprint by recycling, carpooling and doing everything else preached upon us. But at this rate, we need rapid change - change that can only come from the hands of the government and large corporations. To bring awareness and promote change is one thing, but to bring about change is something entirely different that needs to happen NOW in order to keep our environmental sustainable. Global warming, dying species and lack of food can, and will, contribute to the downfall of our environmental - and by doing so, will cause the downfall of us as human beings. Citations “Each Country’s Share of CO2 Emissions.” Union of Concerned Scientists. Web. 27 January 2017 Chung, Emily. “How Western Canada glaciers will melt away.” CBC News: Science and Technology. CBC Radio Canada. 07 April 2015. Web. 27 January 2017. Unger, Zac. “The truth about polar bears.” Canadian Geographic. Royal Canadian Geographical Society. 1 December 2012. Web. 27 January 2017 “Species: Polar Bear.” WWF. World Wildlife Fund. Web. 27 January 2017 Tucker, Jessica. “Why Bees are Important to Our Planet.” One Green Planet. 17 June 2014. Web. 28 January 2017. Hagopian, Joachim. “Death and Extinction of the Bees.” Global Research. 04 January 2017. Web. 28 January 2017. Philpott, Tim. “The EPA Finally Admitted that the World’s Most Popular Pesticide Kills Bees - 20 Years Too Late.” Mother Jones. Foundation for National Progress. 07 January 2016. Web. 28 January 2017. Gillaspy, Rebecca. “Environmental Sustainability: Definition and Application.” Study.com. Web. 28 January 2017.