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!This is Ismael Sayal from CBC News, here to give you the latest news!
Recently, there has been five major oil spills that has occurred in five places around Alberta. The first oil spill happened in Little Buffalo, which is the largest oil spill that has happened in the province over the last 35 years. It occurred on April 2011, where 4.5 million litres of crude oil leaked onto the First Community of Little Buffalo. The company Plains Midstream is responsible for this spilling and they were charged for violating three environmental protection laws. This could have affected wildlife around the area and it almost did as it oil was flowing in that area. The next spilling happened in Red Deer River which occurred on April 2012, where almost 500,000 of crude oil was spilled and leaked into an Alberta central river system and was flowing to the community of Sundre. It affected hundreds of people and many were harmed but not killed. This was done by the same company, Plains Midstream and they were fined 1.3 million for both spillings. The third oil spilling Elk Point, this spill occurred on June 2012, where a pipeline flange gasket failed and leaked 230,000 litres (1,400 barrels) of crude oil near Elk Point. Fortunately, no wildlife was impact by this spilling which would have been a threat. The fourth spilling was at Slave Lake which occurred on April 2014 when a Canadian Natural Resources pipe experienced a failure and leaked oil and processed water near the lake. Fortunately, it didn't leak near any people, water or wildlife which would have been a threat. The last oil spilling happened in Red Earth Creek, there were two oil spills that happened around the area, one on November 2014 and one on July 2015. On November 2014, 60,000 litres of crude oil and low amounts of hydrogen sulphide gas was leaked by a Canadian Natural Resources-owned pipeline when it experienced a mechanical failure. The 2015 spill leaked into muskeg over northeast Alberta but did not affected any wildlife which would have been a concern. This is Ismael Sayal from CBC News, here to give you the latest news!
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Climate Change is the most crucial environmental issue in our world and is leaving an immense impact. It leads to many consequences for our planet, such as increase in rising sea levels, ice glaciers melting and rising temperatures over the years as heat is trapped in Earth's atmosphere and is up to us to take action for future generations to live. Climate Change has major contributions for its destruction to our planet and the ones I am discussing are Greenhouse Gases (GHG) and the Greenhouse Effect. Fortunately, people around the world are taking action in the issue, such as environmental cleanups, recycling and spreading awareness for everyone to hear and step up and it is more prominent than ever! There is one place, however, that I am intrigued to bring up in relation to this issue and that place is Canada and their contribution to Climate Change. https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/environmental-indicators/greenhouse-gas-emissions.html From this website that takes me to the Government of Canada, Canada has produced less than what they produced in the 1990s but they still have a contribution and this is prevalent in the provinces Ontario and Alberta that produce the most. As of 2017, Alberta produced 275 megatonnes (Mt) of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2 eq) which is at its most and Ontario produced 160 megatonnes (Mt) of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2 eq) which is at its least. The main reasons for this is that Ontario and Alberta (mainly), have the largest production of livestock and oil and gases. If you wonder why each fast food or almost every fast food restaurant has burgers, they are shipped from Ontario and Alberta mainly. This is good for the economy but not for the environment because cows, main animals of the livestock, release methane, a flammable and powerful greenhouse gas into the atmosphere and it is detrimental for the planet. The other large produced resource is oil and gases. Again, Alberta is the biggest producer of this, however, every other province in Canada is trying to reduce their production and greenhouse gas emissions through using more renewable energy that is better for the environment, such as solar energy. Unfortunately, Alberta remains the highest producer in Canada with their oil reserve and even in the third highest in the world. This is a major problem for the environment because all of the oil being used is released and emitted as carbon dioxide into the atmosphere which is harmful for our planet.
All in all, Canada is not producing the most amount of greenhouse gases emissions and is trying to lower their emissions for a better and long-lasting environment. It is a great thing that climate change is more prominent and aware more than ever and that places around the world are stepping up for a more beneficial world. While Alberta has the highest production in greenhouse gas emissions out of every province in Canada, hopefully it will lower. Christmas at Toronto 2019 Toronto, Ontario, Canada Christmas is a holiday (my favourite one) that takes place on December 25th and also celebrated as Christmas Eve on December 24th. This is a holiday that brings the most positivity in people (also causes people to go on shopping sprees) as Christmas is a holiday for giving, not receiving (although that last part is technically not true). Many Christmas traditions would be decorating with festive (christmas-themed word) style decorations, such as the colours red and green. This would be displayed anywhere you want to decorate. The main decoration that people default to, however, is decorating a tree with ornaments, a star at the top and many more and get presents under the tree on Christmas. This is displayed all over the media through commercials, movies, shows and many more. With all this in mind, what is the history and belief of this holiday? To kids under the age of 9 (usually), their belief would be on Christmas Day (December 25th), a man named Saint Nicholas, also known as Santa Claus, would deliver them gifts if they will nice and they would receive coal if they were naughty. The Catholic belief of Christmas, actually, is in story of the birth of Jesus Christ. Mary, his mother, was in Bethlehem, and could not find a place to welcome Jesus Christ into the world until she found a manger where her son was born on Christmas Day. Since that these are beliefs and traditions that are prominent in North America, how about another part of the world? How do the people celebrate Christmas? Do they celebrate Christmas at all? The place I will be researching to answer all these questions is Pakistan, a country in Asia and is part of my ethnicity. Christians celebrating Christmas in Church Lahore, Pakistan Christmas in Pakistan is similar to Christmas in North America for many reasons. First and foremost, both places celebrate Christmas and on the same days, Christmas Eve is celebrated on December 24th and Christmas Day is celebrated on December 25th. Another similarity is that Christians that celebrate Christmas go to church on the same two days and are under the belief of Advent and Santa Claus which is known there as "Christmas Baba". However, there are many differences from the two parts around the world. First and foremost, in Pakistan, the majority of the population do not celebrate Christmas in comparison to North America's majority of its population celebrating the holiday. In Pakistan, there are approximately 162, 000, 000 people living in the country and over 5 million people are Christian and celebrate Christmas. The last difference is that people decorate their houses with a star on their roof and do gifts exchanges instead. All in all, there are slight differences between the two parts around the world when it comes to celebrating Christmas. Both areas follow a theme: celebrate, be nice and spend time with your loved ones, which is a nice sense of positivity. Doing this research intrigued me because I have not celebrated Christmas in Pakistan and mostly know how Christmas is celebrated in North America. I thought that they would be vast differences between the two places which were not and I thought that was interesting. Source: https://www.whychristmas.com/cultures/pakistan.shtml
Many events have harmed us, such as natural disasters and we have had an overabundance of disasters that has harmed our lives in the past few decades. Natural disasters has many ways to harm us, such as humans that have died during these disasters. It has also harmed our area and environment, such as losing your houses and have harmed our goals in life such as with a broken house and your city or country in havoc which would be devastating and difficult to relocate and live your life as it was prior to the disaster. Fortunately, many groups and people have helped those who were in need after the catastrophic result of a disaster harming where they live, such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) helping those who were harmed from the disaster that was Hurricane Katrina in 2005. They provided emergency food and water medical supplies and services, search and rescue operations and transportation assistance with the help of 28 federal partners for those who were in need. Helping people when they need it is a true sign of kindness, something that God would have wanted you to do. However, technology has evolved much since 2005 and there are people that have use it to their advantage to benefit for others and a prime example of this is MapAction. MapAction is a non-governmental organization (so you know it does not charge you) that provides mapping and data information about natural disasters that occured in this area and the people affected by it. This information that is found about the disasters is on maps with layers and legends which is shown to agencies, governments and local partners to notify them to bring help, aid and emergency supplies immediately. The organization is also known as an United Kingdom based charity that is committed to deploying rescue teams to areas in need. This charity was founded as an aid in 1999 and became operational as an organization in 2003. The organization has blogs, information about the organization, a list of maps and data a feature where donations are acceptable. It also has a news feed that showcases many disasters that occur and the members have volunteered and are still volunteering to help people who were and are dealing with the absolute destruction of a natural disaster that occured and would occur in their area and environment. An example of this true act of kindness and is the most recent is when two members volunteered to help by travelling to Djibouti, East Africa to assist the response to the devastating floods that have affected up to 250,000 people. With all this in mind, my opinion of MapAction is extremely positive. The main reason as to why is that it showcases a beneficial message that is accessible to millions of people. First and foremost, many people make true acts of kindness as they decide to help others who need it the most such as the two people who went out of their way to help the people from Djibouti, East Africa after the flood. It is a job that helps everyone around the world which spreads the message that we are all united and here for each other. This is a delight to hear and understand that there is hope. Also, it is extremely accessible to see as it is visible through technology and technology has evolved over the past few decades and is prominent right now. Many people can see this right through their phones and this organization can be propagated through social media, such as Twitter and Instagram which will invite people to see and understand that is happening all around the world that is natural disaster related. Lastly, it blends technology and geography to strongly portray the message which will teach people what has happened over the world by the news feed and the maps and data through their phones, computers, televisions and many devices that would easily grab their attention for the better!
Climate Change has many factors that contribute to the destruction of our planet. The one factor I will be discussing my thoughts on is plastics and its effects on the world and environments, mainly on the water. This topic will be expanded on and is inspired by from the video and two images above. Plastic has many effects on the world and environments and comes in many forms, such as industrial, agricultural and urban waste. It also is horrible for life to consume but us humans use it for many reasons.
First and foremost, plastic is a material consisting of any of a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic compounds that are malleable and so can be molded into solid objects which purpose is to benefit humans on their daily activities. A popular object made of plastic is plastic water bottles. Plastic is used as a replacement from other materials, such as metal and glass because it is much lighter and durable compared to those materials. Also, it is less harmful than those materials. If you drop a piece of plastic, the destruction of it breaking or not is much less consequential than dropping a piece of metal or glass, those materials, if broken, can cause pain if it hits you. Lastly, it is much more safer and cheaper to use and is easily recyclable. However, plastic can caused an immense amount of destruction to the planet and that is when us humans use them for the wrong reasons. The main thing we do with plastic that is wrong is polluting it, such as dumping it to the ocean. Plastic is filled with toxins and chemicals. This is a problem with polluting plastic because when organisms in the ocean (marine and aquatic life) either consume or breathe in those toxins or chemicals, this can severely damage the organism and can be fatal to that organism's life. Also, plastic in the oceans decays and affect the air and water quality by an immense level. It will take a long time for this to happen but it is still detrimental to those in the ocean. The waste that is polluted sweep into the sea, fueling explosions of algae that destroys marine ecosystems of oxygen which they need to survive. With the sustained pollution happening, the areas that have this pollution are classified as dead zones and there are more than 400 locations. Another problem is that it the long term effect on the ocean. As the video said: "8 million metric tons of plastic trash enters the sea from land every year". This means that all that plastic in the ocean is going to take thousands of years to decay. Not only will the plastic release toxins in the water that endanger humans health but it also affects sea life. Another fact is that it will take 450 years to decompose a piece of plastic in the ocean. On the positive side, there are many things we can do to benefit our environment and improve our planet. The first thing is to solve the problem with nutrient pollution and organic matter because it has major changes and contribution with agriculture and water quality, such as soil health. The way to fix this is to take care and not destroy its health. The second thing is to stop polluting the ocean with plastic and also help clean up the plastics in the ocean. Many environmental groups are contributing to cleaning the ocean, such as World Wildlife Fund and The Nature Conservancy. The third thing is to replace plastic with other materials, such as glass, despite its consequences. The fourth thing which is one of the more inaccessible things to do is to convince the government is increase taxes on people who use plastic that are detrimental to the environment. This will force people to stop using plastic to avoid eviction and homelessness. The last thing (that I will be discussing) is to recycle. Recycling has many benefits for our environment, such as it reduces the amount of waste sent to landfills and incinerators, conserves natural resources such as timber, water and minerals and prevents pollution by reducing the need to collect new raw materials. Climate Change has many parts for its destruction to our planet. The one part I am discussing would be its rising temperatures. This is my top priority when it comes to climate change right now for many reasons. Earth has followed a natural cycle to its climate and temperature, with each of the four seasons having a defined temperature: Winter is the coldest, majority of days during the season being in the negative degrees celsius, Spring is the middle of being the coldest and warmest but leaning onto the warmer temperatures, Summer is the warmest of the seasons, consisting of being in the positives degrees celsius which results in warmer temperature and Fall is the middle of being the warmest and the coldest but leaning onto the colder temperatures. None of this would happen without the Earth's relationship with the Sun, the Sun has a schedule where it goes to Earth to warm it, this explains why in the daytime, we see the Sun and it is warmer than at night because the Sun is there during the day and not there or as much during the night. During the seasons, however, they differentiate with how the Sun comes closer to the Earth than how far it is which explains the warmer and colder temperatures. In Winter, the Sun is farther from the Earth and in Summer, the Sun is closer to the Earth, the other two seasons are in between that range.
Now, there are certain human activities that has affected the overall temperatures and cycle that Earth follows. How they affect this is that trap heat from the Earth's atmosphere which makes the climate and temperatures warmer. The main activity of this and contributes the most is burning fossil fuels. Burning fossil fuels means to burn materials that are known as fossil fuels, such as coal and natural gas, that release carbon dioxide (CO2) and greenhouse gases (a layer of gas that surrounds earth and causes the planet's atmosphere to heat up). The problem with this is that the carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases help trap the heat in Earth's atmosphere and also trap the Sun when it comes to heat the Earth. There is a reason as to why humans burn fossil fuels and that is to function in their area and to live life. Examples of this are to drive a car to go to your destination and to heat your house. However, we have been doing this way of living for hundreds of years and it has affected the climate drastically. Since the industrial Revolution, in the 1880s, the overall climate has changed immensely because the inventions that were made during the time have released an immense amount of carbon dioxide (the two pictures helps prove my reasoning). This has also transition to another problem with is rising sea levels, especially in Greenland. Rising sea levels is when the rising temperatures have caused the sea levels to rise. How this happens is when the glaciers and ice caps in all of the continents (except for Australia) to melt and turn to immense amounts of water which goes to the sea and their levels rise and increase. Why this is a problem is that it provides less freshwater to plants and animals and that increases the rate of land species to go extinct and for polar bears, they can drown to drown to death due to the melting of glaciers and ice caps. They rely on those to survive. With all this in mind, I truly believe when I am an adult, I will contribute for a solution to this problem and my contribution will be using renewable resources, using solar energy by installing solar panels in my future house and stop burning fossil fuels. Solar energy is beneficial for the environment as it is a renewable resource and solar panels is the main source for solar energy. My thoughts on public transit are two-edged. The positives I think about public transit is first, it has implemented a phenomenal way of transportation, displayed as a bus, subway, monorail, light rail (streetcar) and rail and has innovated to a more efficient and dependant type of transportation, mainly in the city since the 1930s. The payments are referred to as bus fares and with the edition of the PRESTO card, this electronic, essential train card is an innovation to paying for bus rides. Also, it has benefited millions of people, especially for those who are not drivers or own a car, navigate and travel to where they want to go, whether those places are to university and work. Third, public transit is beneficial for the environment as it helps decreases road congestion, oil consumption and pollution. Fourth, it can be more efficient and dependant, where in the city, traffic jams can frequently occur, where public transit can happen in a light rail (streetcar) that has its own lane where cars, bikers and pedestrians has a much lower chance to interfere or the subway, a train that is underground with its own path to navigate and travel to. A prime area for phenomenal public transportation would be the city of Toronto in Ontario, Canada. The city has a transit score of 78 which is excellent and their transit is ranked third out of seventy cities in the United States of America and Canada and is also ranked first in the cities in Canada. It has justified as to why, the city has a subway, a light rail (referred to as the TTC) with its own lane, buses and rail. It also has complete streets with all types of transportation flowing all together nicely, such as Queens Quay. With all this in mind, there are also an equal amount of negatives I think about public transit. Even though Toronto has excellent transportation in most to all areas in the city, that is because of how it was planned and implemented. Not all cities would its public transportation be planned and implemented in a way where it all flows nicely and has complete streets. A prime example for mediocre at best public transportation would be the city of Brampton, Ontario, Canada, the city I live in. With a transit score of 53 and that the city's main type of transportation is on a car, the city does not implement public transit as accessible and it does not flow as well as Toronto. The other types of transportation are absolutely dominated by cars. I might be bias to this because of my personal preference of public transit in Brampton and Toronto and it may seem that I am excluding the majority of public transit in other cities since that I have not experience the public transit from cities outside of Brampton and Toronto. However, these are my overall thoughts and experience with public transit. Back to Brampton's public transit, the flow of the public transit in Brampton is mediocre at best, with the GO train being its best quality of public transit. Riding a bus can result to higher chance of traffic jams because you are on the road with the drivers and there are more drivers as the city is more car-driven. Also, waiting for a bus at a bus stop will not always be the best case since that there could be delays due to weather or other reasons or in some cases, the bus could not arrive at all.
Now, the companies that manufacture the public transportation system can implement public transit really well, however, there are these two brothers named David and Charles Koch, two infamously known conservative billionaires when it comes to public transit. These men have formed a political group called Americans For Prosperity (AFP) and their objective is to destroy public transit. Their plans are to manipulate people in all of the United States to stop trains being built. With that in mind, public transit has a significance and needs to be maintained and accessible to everyone because it is crucial for people who live in the city and need to travel. The ancient way of "city planning". Modern Urban City Planning My general thoughts on the concept of a "Human Scale" are positive than my general thoughts on the ancient way of city planning. First, the concept of a "Human Scale" is beneficial with city planning as the concept is about daily interactions that are objects are reasonable for a human to use in a city which explains why doorways are 80 inches. It focuses on the shape and size of an object and how humans interact with daily objects that is trying to make cities human-centered, user-friendly and livable. It is genius and organized when it comes to architecture because of how it is organized when humans are settling in a city. Second, it is almost complete compared to the ancient way of city planning which does not handle how when human settle and interact with daily objects as much as "modern" urban city planning. Third, it makes our "modern" urban city planning better because it innovates what the ancient way of city planning was going for when organizing human settlements in a city whether it is more accessible to private spaces, daily interactions with objects and transportation in the city.
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Author: Ismael SayalA student that provides an immense amount of information about today's issues in the world, in geography form. Archives
January 2020
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