Transcript Climate Change and Sustainability

Climate Change and
Sustainability
What you need to know and what
you can do!
• “The human brain now
holds the key to our
future. We have to recall
the image of the planet
from outer space: a single
entity in which air, water,
and continents
are interconnected. That
is our home.”
– David Suzuki, Canadian
environmentalist
What is sustainability?
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To keep in existence
To maintain
To support, keep from falling
To keep up or keep going
To provide the necessitates of life
What is environmental
sustainability?
• Seeks to meet the needs and aspirations
of the present without compromising the
ability to meet those of the future.
• What do we need to sustain?
• Necessities for life:
– Water
– Air
– Land
– Food
WATER Resources
• How much water does your family use
each day?
• What steps could you and your family take
to reduce the amount of water you use?
Average daily water use for North
Americans
Personal water use
• The average Canadian uses 330 litres a
day for personal use!
• But if you add up ALL the water needed to
live our lives they way we want (personal
and manufacturing uses—agriculture,
mining, cooling, electrical power
generation, etc.) the average goes up to
4500 litres a day!
Water Issues
• Pollution
• Loss of wetlands
(land that has been
saturated with
water….also known
as marshes, swamps,
or bogs)
Pollution
• Three main types
of water pollution
are physical,
biological, and
chemical.
Physical pollution
• Considered the least harmful, examples of
physical pollution are: floating garbage,
old tires, paper litter, pop cans, and
bottles.
• Not pleasant to look at but easiest to see
and clean up.
Biological pollution
• Bacteria and viruses that enters rivers and
lakes.
• Sewage (human poop!) is the largest
source of this pollution.
• About 20% of Canadian cities put their raw
sewage (meaning sewage that has not
been treated and cleaned) into lakes and
rivers without treatment!
• GROSS.
• The most serious incident of biological
contamination (fancier word for pollution)
in Canadian history was in Walkerton,
Ontario, in 2000.
• The E. coli bacteria got into the water,
killed 7 people and 2000 ill.
• Water treatment has stricter rules to
ensure this does not happen again.
Chemical pollution
• Most dangerous form of water pollution
• Usually colourless, odourless, and
tasteless---extra dangerous!
• Two important sources of chemical
pollution are pesticides and herbicides.
• These chemicals protect our food from
animals pests and disease, but
contaminate our drinking water.
• These chemicals also get into the food
chain.
• Fish in the water have the chemicals in
their bodies, then we eat those fish!
• Over a period of years, these chemicals
build up in our bodies and can lead to
major diseases, like cancer.
Loss of wetlands
• Wetlands are home to many species.
• They also provide food for animals.
• Wetlands are a natural filter for pollutants,
much like trees are natural carbon dioxide
filters.
• We are all connected: as animal species
begin to vanish, humans are at risk, too!
• “If the bee
disappeared off the
surface of the globe
then man would only
have four years of life
left.”
• Albert Einstein, world
famous genius scientist
Global Warming: Living In A
Greenhouse
• Since global temperatures have been
measured (starting in 1861), nine of the
ten hottest years have occurred between
1995 and 2004.
• Skeptics of global warming say that
natural cycles of the Earth are causing the
heat.
• Many scientists say that human activity is
the cause.
Climate Changes
• Colder times:
– Just 10,000 years ago, ice sheets called
continental glaciers covered most of Canada.
Scientists say that a drop of only 4ºC made
the Ice Age happen.
• Warmer times:
– Climatologists (ppl who study climate) say
that a warming period must have occurred for
Vikings to build settlements 1,000 years ago
in Greenland and Newfoundland (Christopher
Columbus was NOT the first European to
“discover” the New World!)
Life In A Greenhouse
• A greenhouse that grows food traps heat
in the form of sunlight. The glass allows
the sun’s rays to come in and trap the
heat.
• The atmosphere (the thin invisible layer of
gases surrounding the Earth) acts in the
same way as a greenhouse. The sun’s
energy enters the atmosphere and gets
trapped and heats up the Earth so we can
eat and live.
• Carbon dioxide makes the atmosphere
thicker, therefore trapping MORE heat.
• The Earth’s atmosphere acts like a
blanket: the thicker the blanket, the
warmer you’ll be.
• Trees breathe OUT oxygen, and breathe
IN carbon dioxide.
How did more carbon get into the
air?
• Over the last 100 years, the population of
the Earth has gone from 1.6 billion people
to 7.3 billion people (2016).
• Carbon dioxide escaped from fossil fuels
burned for heating, cooking, and
transportation and forests cut down to
create space for farming and urban growth
to accommodate the new population have
contributed to the vast amounts of CO2 in
the atmosphere.
• People’s lifestyles have changed over the
last 100 years, as well. More cars, more
heating, more air-conditioning, more travel
(remember: commercial airplanes have
only been flying for about 60 years).
• Also, heavily populated countries like
China and India are rapidly industrializing
and desire the Western lifestyle (which is
hugely responsible for carbon emissions).
• Scientists say that in the next 100 years,
the average temperature will go up by 1ºC
to 5.8ºC
• Remember what happened when the
temperature differed by 4ºC?
• (there would be a 2 kilometers of ice
above your head!)
• What will happen on the warm side?
Impacts of Global Warming
• Melting ice will raise sea levels and leave
hundreds of millions of people worldwide without
freshwater to drink.
• Precipitation will be heavy in some places, and
other parts of the world will experience severe
drought (dry, no water)
• Millions of “climate change refugees” would be
spread all over the world. Canada, being such a
large country, would feel pressure to accept
millions of people. What would that mean for
Canada's future?
The Future
• “We do not inherit the
Earth from our
ancestors, we borrow
it from our children.”
– Indigenous proverb
What can YOU do to help?
• Reduce your ecological footprint!
• The human demand of the Earth and the
harmful impression we leave behind.
• WANT! WANT! WANT!
• TAKE! TAKE! TAKE!
• This way of thinking is harming the natural
environment for ourselves and future
generations.
Calculate YOUR footprint!
• Go to www.zerofootprintkids.com
• Answer the questions and it will give you a
number.
• Read on and see how many planet earths we
would need if everyone lived like you.
• The average Canadian footprint is 6.45 hectares
(meaning how much land and resources we
use). We would need 3 planet earths for
everyone to live like us.
Last time I checked…
• We had only ONE beautiful planet Earth.
• Start today to make a change for your
future and the future of your children!
• If you don’t know what to do, or how to do
it, ask a teacher or a parent/guardian.
• Get talking about this, and then start
doing!
• It’s in your hands.