Introduction
Canada has THREE major environmental issues.
Follow this webquest to explore the issues and chart them on Side 1 of your classwork.
Now, click on the "Task" button to begin!
Task
Essential Question: How have Environmental Issues affected Canada?
Canada has many environmental issues.
1. If you lived in Canada what could you do to help the water problems?
2. Does Canada's Environmental issues affect you and where you live?
Canada faces a number of environmental issues. It has many natural resources that can be use for its people and for trade with other countries. The country must find ways to carefully manage both types of resources so that the environment is not damaged. Some of the environmental issues that concern Canada are:
- Acid Rain
- Pollution of the Great Lakes
- Extraction and use of Natural Resources on the Canadian Shield
- Timber
Continue to read and take notes on these environmental concerns.
Process
Great Lakes & Acid Rain
Factories and automobiles produce many pollutants. Pollutants, such as Sulfur dioxide, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen oxides are put into the air. When these pollutants are put into the air, they mix with the water molecules and turn the water acidic. Clouds or rain droplets that are acidic are called acid rain.
Acid rain causes many problems in the environment:
- kills plants
- damages or kills trees
- pollutes lakes and rivers enough to kill fish
Canada has passed laws to limit pollution. The government has worked with factory owners to build factories that do not pollute the air. This is done by having factories replace coal-fired power stations with gas-powered stations. Also, laws have been passed requiring automobiles to produce less pollution. The government also encourages Canadians to walk, ride bikes, or take the bus instead of driving their cars. Canada can not solve this problem alone, 50-75% of the pollution in southern Canada comes from the United States. Many factories in Canada and the USA also add lime to lakes, rivers and soil to try to neutralize the effects of acid.
1. What are the sources of chemicals in acid rain?
2. What are the effects of acid rain in Canada?
3. Explain why Canada and the United States have to work together to solve the problem of acid rain?
Great Lakes & Pollution
Industries and people in Canada depend upon the water from the Great Lakes. They use the water to drink. The Great Lakes are shared between the United States and Canada, it is important for the two countries to work together to keep the lakes clean.
By the 1970s, the Great Lakes were becoming well known for their water pollution. In some places, fishing was unsafe, in other places, there were not fish alive! The factories around the Great Lakes had been using the lakes as their inexpensive dumping grounds. The Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement between the US and Canada is working on restoring the lakes' environment and prevent further damage.
Extraction and use of Natural Resources on the Canadian Shield
The Canadian Shield is a large area of uplands surrounding Hudson Bay. This region covers most of the Eastern half of Canada. The soil in the region is thin and rocky, but beneath the soil is one of Canada's most valuable resources-minerals.
The mines in this region produce:
- gold
- silver
- copper
- zinc
- lead
- iron ore
- uranium
- nickel
About 1.5 million people make their living in the mining industry in Canada. But mining can be messy work! The land around mines can be damaged and the environment ruined. During the mining process, Sulfur Dioxide can be put into the air, producing acid rain and killing nearby vegetation and lake animals.
In order to balance the need for economic growth with environmental concerns, the Canadian government is monitoring the environment more closely, restoring damaged areas and protecting land by turning them into parks and reserves.
4. Why does the Canadian government have to work with the US government to clean up the Great Lakes?
5. Why is the Canadian Shield important to the economy of Canada?
6. How is the mining industry in the Canadian Shield affecting the environment around it?
The Timber Industry in Canada
Canada's forests cover almost half the land. Canadians have made this natural resource important to the economy. Loggers cut the trees and then send them to mills. These mills use the timber to make a variety of products including lumber, plywood, and wood pulp for making many kinds of paper.
Citizens in Canada are concerned that logging will destroy the forest and the benefits that it brings. The Forests serve a very important role such has :
- animals and plants depend on the forest to live
- provides oxygen to the atmosphere
- filter out pollutants in air
- serves as homes for wildlife
- areas for human recreation.
Some of the concerns that Canadians have:
- Deforestation
- Reduced water quality
- Erosion
- loss of wildlife
The government and industries are working together to try to manage the use of the forests. Hundreds of millions of seeds and seedlings are planted each year to keep the forest growing. Billions of dollars are spent managing and protecting the forests. Over $100 million is spent each year by the logging industry to protect wildlife and their habitats.
7. Why are forests important to Canada's economy?
8. How are the environmental concerns in Canada similar to US?
Evaluation
Canada’s Environmental Concerns Billboard
- Choose one of the following environmental concerns to show in your billboard: air pollution around Great Lakes, acid rain around Great Lakes, over-extraction of minerals in the Canadian Shield, deforestation, or overfishing.
- Think of one thing that people might do to help reduce or solve the environmental concern. Write your idea here:
_____________________________________________
- Create a billboard that includes images & words that communicate your idea for reducing or solving the problem.
*DESIGN TIPS: A billboard should be so simple that people can get the message as they drive by at high speeds. Get your ideas across quickly using large images and as few words as possible.