Transcript Miller_Gord_Environmental_Commissioner

Role of the Educational Curriculum in
Preparing Our Youth for
Environmental Challenges
Gord Miller
Environmental Commissioner of Ontario
EcoLinks 2010
The Ontario Society of Environmental Education
April 28, 2010, Seneca College
There Four Issues that Matter
Climate Change
 Peak Energy
 Biodiversity Loss
 Water Shortages

There Four Issues that Matter
Climate Change
 Peak Energy
 Biodiversity Loss
 Water Shortages


They are the four “pressures” on public
decision making that will shape events
in the coming decades
The Four pressures …
interrelated … share common cause
 represent different foci within society
and are represented by different groups
 all occurring concurrently but with …

– different levels of public awareness
– varying geographic impact
Climate Change
Climate Change
It’s not about believing
 It’s already happening
 It’s accelerating at a frightening pace
 It may not have touched you yet (but it

doesn’t have a gentle hand)
Climate Change

So what does that mean to Ontario in the
next two decades?
– more extreme precipitation events –
flooding, culvert washouts, CSOs
– more extreme weather – power outages, etc.
– less assimilative capacity at low flow
– more frost cycles disrupting roads
– more pest problems - range extensions
Climate Change

how can the educational curriculum
prepare our youth for the challenges
they will face?
Climate Change

There is a huge wealth of curricula
materials within climate change study
– Science – weather, agriculture, species
range extensions, acidification of the
oceans, thermal expansions, glaciations,
Archimedes' principle, Planck’s Law …
– History – the Little Ice Age
– Math – the frequency of storm events
– Geography, Social Studies, Literature
Peak Energy
Peak Oil
 Peak Electricity

Peak Oil
It’s not about believing
 It’s already happening
 It may not have touched you yet

Concept of Peak Oil
Oil Production
Hubbert Peak
Time
2002
1996
1990
1984
1978
1972
1966
1960
1954
1948
1942
1936
1930
1924
1918
1912
1906
1900
X 1000 Barrels per Day
US Oil Production
12000
10000
8000
6000
4000
2000
0
Concept of Peak Oil
‘Stable’
Prices
Lots of Oil
Time
Concept of Peak Oil
Huge Price
Increases
Still Lots of Oil
Time
Peak Oil

So what does that mean to Ontario in the
next two decades?
– much more expensive fuel (possible
shortages)
– more expensive food
– less wealth generally – constraints on taxes
– increased pressure on public transit
– distance dominates … again … suburban
trend reverses
Peak Oil

How can the educational curriculum
prepare our youth for the challenges
they will face?
Peak Oil
The nature of fossil petroleum
 The pervasive use of petroleum in our
society for energy and materials
 The geopolitical importance of oil
 The graphing of oil consumption
 Municipal planning in an oil constrained
world

Peak Electricity
not a shortage issue per say but still a
big problem
 2009 the average market price was …

– $0.033 /kWh
Peak Electricity
not a shortage issue per say but still a
big problem
 2009 the average market price was …

– $0.033 /kWh

2009 the peak market price was …
– $1.89 /kWh

there will be upward pressure on peak
load prices
Peak Electricity
long term increase in base prices
despite interval metering
 much stronger thrust on reduction of
energy use and energy efficiency
 development of a conserver society

Peak Electricity

How can the educational curriculum
prepare our youth for the challenges
they will face?
Peak Electricity
Read your meter … relate lifestyle with
energy consumption
 Look at small scale renewable energy
technologies
 Study low energy consuming societies

Biodiversity Loss
It’s not about believing
 It’s already happening
 It’s accelerating at a frightening pace
 It may not have touched you yet

Biodiversity Loss

So what does that mean to Ontario in the
next two decades?
– loss of street and park trees
– reports of extinctions and extirpations
– great disruptions in forests and aquatic
ecosystems
– much greater public sensitivity to wildlife
and natural area issues
Biodiversity Loss

How can the educational curriculum
prepare our youth for the challenges
they will face?
Biodiversity Loss

Geography of the mountain pine beetle
Biodiversity Loss
Geography of the mountain pine beetle
 History of the passenger pigeon / buffalo
/ American chestnut
 Success of the whooping crane /
peregrine falcon / American eagle
 Amphibian decline – earth monitors

Water Shortages
It’s not about believing
 It’s already happening
 It may not have touched you yet

Water Shortages

So what does that mean to Ontario in the
next two decades?
– threatened municipal supplies / constraints
on growth
– demand for grey water re-use, rain water
capture technology
– controversy and conflict over long distance
pipelines
– continued threats re Great Lakes takings
Water Shortages

How can the educational curriculum
prepare our youth for the challenges
they will face?
Water Shortages
The value of water to our society
 The Great Lakes
 The historical role of our waterways …
wars, exploration, agriculture
 The future geopolitical importance of our
water

In Summary …

the coming changes caused by the four
pressures will cause a restructuring of
our entire economy
In Summary …
the coming changes caused by the four
pressures will cause a restructuring of
our entire economy
 If our society is to adapt to the changes
as best we can … we must prepare our
youth for the challenges they will face

Thank You For Your Attention
The ultimate test of a moral society is the
kind of world that it leaves to its children.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, theologian (1906-1945)