GGR227- Ecosystems and Environmental Change
Ecosystems
dynamic and involve the biological community interacting with abiotic environment
Limiting Resource
the nutrient or substance that is in shortest supply in relation to an organisms demand for that nutrient of substrate in relation to all of its other needed resources
First Law of Thermodynamics
• Law of conservation of energy • Energy is neither created nor destroyed in physical and chemical change
Causes of Acid Deposition
- increase in acidity due to human interferences in S and N cycles - largest sources: smelting go sulphur-rich ores and fossil fuel burning
Wind
- indirect form of solar energy - Captured by turbines - Converted into electrical energy • Second fastest-growing source of energy • What is the global potential for wind energy? 40 times world's current use • Wind farms: on land and offshore
Discovering past conditions of Musselman lake?
- lack of background info
Disadvantages: Cons
- large land disturbance - disrupts downstream habitat
Biotic Ecosystem Components
- living and once living
Population Growth: biotic potential
- maximum rate at which a species may increase its population if there is no environmental resistance
Natural Gas: Cleanest burning fossil fuel
- mixture of gases • 50-90% is methane -- CH4
Ordovician-Silurian mass extinction
- mostly sea life - extinctions of trilobites and brachiopods
Forest Services and Products
- nutrient/H2O cycling - carbon sequestration - waste decomposition - estim 20% of world's H2O from Canada's forests - carbon sinks - tourism
Organic Fertilizer
- often from animal wastes produced nearby • Waste needs to be disposed • natural "slow release" of nutrients through decomposition • Problems if feed's not produced near livestock & outputs/ inputs aren't in balance
Biocides: Cons
- possible environmental problems & health impacts (ie. resistance, mobility, persistence, bio-concentration)
Agriculture
- production of food (for people), feed (for animals), fiber (for materials), and fuel - a cornerstone of human history and progress, but also has a legacy of environmental destruction - Shift away from hunter-gatherer lifestyle to more sedentary life
Resilience
ability (of an ecosystem) to recover to the original state following a disturbance
Inertia
ability of an ecosystem to withstand change
Musselman Lake Biology
- jelly layer on sediment surface - large algae layer - Oct. 2013-July 2014 algal mats - algal bloom, no toxins
Reasons for human population increase
• Movement into new habitats and climate zones • Early/modern agriculture methods • Control of infectious diseases through: Sanitation, Antibiotics, Vaccines, Health care
Cost of Burning Coal
• Severe air pollution • Sulfur released as SO2 • Large amount of soot • CO2 • Trace amounts of Hg and radioactive materials
• Natural water purification system
• Sewer water flows into a passive greenhouse • Solar energy and natural processes remove and recycle nutrients • Diversity of organisms used
Areas with deep soils and carbonate rock have a high ______ ______ (e.g., Southern Ontario, Prairies) and are not as sensitive to acid deposition, while areas with thin soils and non-carbonate rock are _______ _______ (e.g. Canadian Shield, Atlantic Canada)
buffering capacity; more susceptible
OILSEED CROPS:
canola #1 soybean #2
Primary and secondary succession can be interrupted by
fires, hurricanes, clear-cutting, blowing grasslands, invasive species
Endemic Species
found only in one area and are particularly vulnerable
PULSE crops (dried seed):
peas, beans, soybeans
Anthropocentric
regarding humankind as the central or most important element of existence, especially as opposed to God or animals.
Oil Cons
• Decrease biodiversity • Increase soil degrading, erosion, and nutrient leaching • Push farmers off their land • Raise food prices • Reduce water supplies, especially for corn and soy
Changing fish dynamics
• Decreasing volume of catch ... also decrease is average size of fish caught • Selective pressure for smaller fish?? • Recent research suggests leaving old individuals in a population actually assists with stock replenishment; - contradicts earlier thinking
Future Water Resources
• Deep aquifers contain enough water to provide for billions of people for centuries
Great Lakes Protection Plan
• Despite sweeping federal cuts to water protection • Provincial legislation: Part of the Great Lakes Strategy • Accompanied by a new Great Lakes community action fund which would help support hundreds of local Great Lakes projects across Ontario
Lake Erie
• Diffuse pollution has been a policy issue in the Great Lakes Basin since the 1960s - media declared that "Lake Erie was dying"....concerns arose about: - sedimentation from soil erosion; - eutrophication from nutrient loading - toxic chemicals • Algal blooms from phosphorus
Nuclear fusion
• Fuse lighter elements into heavier elements • No risk of meltdown or large radioactivity release • Still in the laboratory phase after 50 years of research and $34 billion dollars
Dams and Reservoirs: Pros
• Increase the reliable runoff available • Reduce flooding • Grow crops in arid regions
Advantages of No Till/ Conservation Agriculture
• Inhibit germination of weed seeds • Minimize build up of pests, reducing need for herbicides & pesticides, respectively • Increase crop yields • Lower labour costs & machinery costs
Hydropower: Pros
- high net energy - low cost electricity - low CO2 emissions
What is the 2nd leading cause of biodiversity loss?
Invasive Species
Respiration
by organisms returns CO2 to the atmosphere
Matter
has a mass, takes up space
Decomposers
• Consumers that release nutrients • Bacteria • Fungi
Denitrification
• Nitrate ions back to nitrogen gas
Walkerton: Human and Environmental Failure: What happened
Heavy rains & flooding Shallow well contaminated by surface water Water treatment system overwhelmed E. coli O157:H7 and Campylobacter spp. in neighbouring farms The primary source of contaminants - manure spread on a farm near Well 5 in late April 2000. DNA typing of animals and manure on the farm showed that E. coli O157:H7 and Campylobacter strains on farm matched strains prevalent in human outbreak cases.
Walkerton: Human and Environmental Failure
Manager failed to disclose high levels of TC & E. coli contamination in water supply in a timely manner Improper operating practices Unchlorinated and inadequately chlorinated well water was being used Chlorine residuals improperly monitored and records fabricated Poorly trained, did not understand the significance of microbiological contamination of drinking water supply
Adaptive Environmental Management
"adaptive management ... primarily concerned with learning-by-doing in a scientific way to deal with uncertainty" E.g., Antarctic ice sheet ablation / melt / sea level rise
Sustainability assessment
"applying some form of sustainability analysis, appraisal, or assessment as core guides for evaluations and decisions" E.g. Musselman Lake
Cretaceous-Tertiary mass extinction
- extinction of the dinosaurs, ammonites, many flowering plants
Environmental Impact Assessment
"determining and managing .... the potential and real impacts of proposed or existing human actions and their alternatives on the environment (physical, biological, chemical, human health, social, ...) E.g. Berger Inquiry; Peel River protection efforts
Stakeholders & Stakeholder Engagement Processes
"those folks having a right to participate in resource and environmental management decisions" (p. 174, D&M 2012) E.g., First Nations, community environmental groups, communities, resource companies, government officials, etc. who participate in EIA processes like the Berger Inquiry.
Population change =
(births + immigration) - (deaths + emigration)
Megacities (population >10 million):
- 1950 = 2 - 2005 = 20 - Tokyo = 35 million, Mexico City = 19 million, Mumbai = 18 million, Sao Paulo = 18 million, New York + Newark = 19 million - In 2005, megacities = 9.3% of world population
Chernobyl: The worst nuclear accident
- 1986 in Ukraine - series of explosions caused roof of rector building to blow off - partial meltdown & fire for 10 days - huge radioactive cloud spread - increase in thyroid cancer - 350 000 ppl out of homes
Competitive Exclusion Principle
- 2 species with similar needs for same limiting resource can't co-exist in same place
Late Devonian Mass Extinction
- 3/4 of life on Earth died, again mostly shallow seas and coral (took 100 million years for new corals to evolve)
Musselman Lake
- 43 ha kettle lake - inputs = runoff & precipitation -517 homes (115 lakefront) -1807: European settlement -1920s: lakeside resort -1950-60: cottages -1970s: year-round homes -1990s: water supply Complaints: -Poor water quality -Aquatic plants -Algal / cyanobacteria blooms
Permian mass extinction/ The Great Dying
- 96% of all species extinct - rest of earth descended from remaining 4%
Soil Problems: Salinization
- Accumulation of salts in the soil from irrigation water - Lowers crop yields and can even kill plants - Affects 10% of world croplands
Advantages of coal:
- Ample supply in many countries - High net energy yield - Low cost (if you ignore the environment)
Reducing acid rain....
- Canada's met all its goals and commitments for acid deposition reductions and its still a huge problem - sulphur is easier to control than nitrogen
Plant Biomass
- Canal has more biomass than Mitchell
Advantages of Oil
- Conventional oil is abundant, has a high net energy yield, and is relatively inexpensive
Sustainable Food Production Systems • Integrated Pest Management
- Coordinate: cultivation, biological controls, chemical tools to reduce crop damage to an economically tolerable level - Reduces pollution and pesticide costs • Disadvantages - expert knowledge - High initial costs - Government opposition
Effects of Acid Deposition
- Disfigurement, death and extirpation of insects and fish, food chain effects through depletion of food sources - destruction of vegetation, inhibition of microbial activity
Mitchell Lake
- Forest soil at bottom of core - pioneer diatom species - 1960s transition, impact of land clearance, farms, cottages - nutrient increases, aquatic plant increase (from zebra mussels)
Canal Lake
- Forest soil at bottom of core - pioneer diatom species - nutrient increases, aquatic plant increase (from zebra mussels) - more nutrient enriched (since 1998)
Case Study: Darwin's Finches
- Galapagos Islands during the second voyage of the Beagle (1831-1836). Birds were about same size but their beaks varied depending on food source. - Developed strategy of natural selection
Global Importance
- Global climate- major control of temperature and precipitation - and impact of climate change (sea level rise)
• Pacific Circulation
- Gyres - North Pacific Current: east/west warm current
Musselman Lake: Oxygen
- high at spring to fall - Rapid onset of persistent low oxygen June - Sept (internal P release)
Problems with modern agriculture cont...
- Herbicides and pesticides - Weeds - Odor - Disease (Walkerton: E. coli) - Global climate change: • C losses through crop systems and grazing • N2O from fertilization • CH4 from ruminants and ruminant waste
Clear-cutting
- Increased use since 1970s vs. Selection • caused great deal of conflict in Canada • Cutblocks are aesthetically unappealing & can have significant environmental impact; • Pressure from EU resulted in BC reforming forest practices w intro of its Forest Practices Code in 1995
Soil Problems: Waterlogging
- Irrigation water gradually raises water table - Can prevent roots from getting oxygen
Sanitary Landfill: PROS
- Low operating costs - handles lots of waste - filled land can be converted to other uses
Musselman Lake: Conclusions/ Recommendations
- Main phosphorus sources: septics, road run-off, sediments - sediments likely main source due to extended low oxygen conditions (release from Fe / Mg) - 2007: hot dry - large cyanobacterial bloom - 2013: warm - lots of plants - 2014: cool - algae more prominent (fewer plants) - no "quick fixes" - may need to modify uses -~90 years of phosphorus in sediments - released with low oxygen - "feeds" plants, algae, cyanobacteria
• Gulf Stream - N. Atlantic Drift - Norwegian Current
- Moderates climate of Western Europe - Warm salty water from the tropics
Nitrogen and Soil
- N is quickly used up in soil - farmers rotate crops like alfalfa and clover that can help build N in soil - early colonizers in ecological succession are key N fixator species - they provide nutrients for subsequent species
Nitrogen Fixation
- Nitrogen fixed by bacteria and cyanobacteria • Combine gaseous nitrogen with hydrogen to make ammonia (NH3) and ammonium ions (NH4+)
Aspects of biocide issues
- Resistance: a constant need to develop new biocide products to keep one step ahead of biological adaptation - Non-selective: popular because they are broad- spectrum poisons; there is no need to identify the specific pest, because a broad-spectrum poison will kill most insects - Mobility: effects of the chemical application are often felt over a much wider area
Managing Fisheries
- Simple models: Only need to know stock size and calculate maximum sustainable yield
Urban Waste
- Solid waste: industrial (farms, mining, industry) municipal (garbage from homes/work) - Hazardous: organic compounds (pesticides, chemicals) heavy metals (lead, mercury, arsenic)
Hydropower
- Uses kinetic energy of moving water - Indirect form of solar energy - World's leading renewable energy source
NATIONAL STATS:
- Wheat is the dominant crop by area (30%), but diversification is occurring - Saskatchewan grows 51% of Canada's wheat - Hay is the second largest: 76% produced in western Canada - Other CEREALS/GRAINS are: barley and oats
Integrated with Planning
- Window roads used where traffic planners want to move cars quickly. - Building three roads for one corridor increases impervious surface area, stormwater management costs, construction costs, maintenance and snow removal costs in addition to impeding pedestrian connectivity
Example of Primary Succession
- after a glacier melts -mosses and lichens colonize first and cause the development of soil.
Biocides: Pros
- boost in global food yields, prevent more serious starvation issues - saved countless lives through control of infectious disease (ie. Malaria)
Residence times of C in the lithosphere:
- buried organisms in peat bogs (prior to decomposing) - fossil fuels contain millions of years of photosynthetic energy which we are releasing much more rapidly than they are being taken up by oceans and other 'sinks' - Although increasing CO2 concentrations also can potentially acidify the surface ocean
Acid Shock
- caused by acid deposition - pulse of acidity in spring with snow melt
Canal and Mitchell Lakes: Plan
- collaborate with cottagers and municipality to make plan to reduce phosphorus - go on a municipal sewer not septic tank
Oil Shales
- contain kerogen: solid combustible, rock • After distillation: shale oil • Shale oil produces 27-52% more greenhouse gas than conventional oil
Rachel Carson: Silent Spring, 1962
- controversy over use of chemical pesticides • Effects of DDT on birds • Began modern environmental movement • DDT banned in 1972 • Laws & treaties to protect us from harmful pesticides
Species Richness
- declines along equatorial to polar gradient - tropical habitats support larger numbers of organisms than temperate and polar regions
Silviculture
- directing the establishment, composition, growth and quality of forest stands Includes: harvesting; reforestation; site preparation - Harvesting Methods: Clear-cutting; Seed tree; Shelterwood; Selection
Towards a sustainability revolution
- emphasis on energy waste, consume and throw away a lot, more recycling, waste prevention
Burning Waste: CONS
- expensive to build - emits CO2 & other air pollutants - encourages waste production
Equatorial and Tropical Rainforests
- rainfall= 10-50 cm per month - relatively high temperatures - luxuriant plant growth and high diversity of species
Dynamic Ecosystems
- rapid or slow ecosystem change over time driven by many factors (i.e. abiotic conditions (climate, soil) and species' tolerances for change) • human induced changes to the environment (e.g. climate change, urbanization etc.)
Darwin: Geographic Isolation
- realized selective pressure caused finch speciation on separate islands caused by food source.
Burning Waste: PROS
- reduces trash volume - produces energy & reduces cost from sale of energy - concentrates hazardous substances for burial
Recycle
- reprocessing discarded solid materials into new, useful products
Food web
- reps the many competing organisms and energy paths in ecological systems - usable energy decreases down the web
Triassic-Jurassic mass extinction
- several causes over 18 million years (climate, volcanic eruptions etc.)
Disadvantages of coal:
- severe land disturbance (mining) and water pollution - fine particle and toxic mercury emissions - emits greenhouse gases and other pollution
Coil
- solid fossil fuel - burned in power plants; generates 42% of world's electricity (inefficient) - 3 largest coal-burning countries: China, USA, Canada - most abundant fossil fuel
Green House Gas: CO2
- sources: respiration of biotic animals, volcanic eruptions, forest fires, decomp of dead animals/plants, outgassing from ocean
Invasive Species
- species found outside their natural ranges - multiply and outcompete natives, change habitat -reproduce quick asexually and sexually
Oceanography
- study of the earth's oceans and seas (usually that separate large land masses. Compare to limnology, the study of inland waters - diverse field studying marine organisms, ecosystem dynamics (fisheries), ocean currents, influence on climate, waves, geophysical fluid dynamics, plate tectonics and the geology of the sea floor, resource exploration, fluxes of nutrients/ carbon/ oxygen, and physical properties across its boundaries influencing coastal landforms and natural disasters
Insecticides
- substance used for killing insects - < 2% reach target destination - much enters hydrologic cycle
Urban Sprawl results in:
- the loss of green open spaces - the displacement and endangerment of wildlife - traffic congestion and noise - pollution
Species diversity (spp richness)
- total number of species in an area • Global estimates 5 to 20 million
Disadvantages of Oil
- using it causes air and water pollution and releases greenhouse gases to the atmosphere - Oils from tar sand & oil shale exist in potentially large supplies but have low net energy yields and higher environmental impacts than conventional oil
Sanitary Landfill: CONS
-noise, traffic, dust - encourages waste production - leaks contaminate water
Green House Gas: Methane
-sources: oceans, termites, natural wetlands, hydrates
Green House Gas: Nitrous Oxide
-sources: processes in soil and oceans, oxidation of ammonia in atmosphere
Sun provides 99% of earth's energy
-warmth, photosynthesis, winds, hydropower, biomass, fossil fuels (oil, coal, natural gas) - organisms need it for growth, tissue replacement, movement, reproduction
Abiotic Ecosystem Components
-water, air, nutrients, rocks, heat, solar energy
Major advantages over gasoline and diesel fuel produced from oil
1. Biofuel crops can be grown almost anywhere 2. No net increase in CO2 emissions if managed properly 3. Available now
Stopping Climate Change: Two approaches
1. Drastically reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions 2. Devise strategies to reduce the harmful effects of global warming
Can we get water from the ocean? Problems
1. High cost and energy footprint 2. Keeps down algal growth and kills many marine organisms 3. Large quantity of brine wastes
CO2 responsible for
> 60% of enhanced 'greenhouse effect'.
4 Popular Devices that Waste Energy
1. Incandescent light bulb 2. Motor vehicle with internal combustion engine 3. Nuclear power plant 4. Coal-fired power plant
There are a variety of factors pushing local governments to take the lead in sustainability:
1. Local governments are more clearly confronted with the short-term impacts of sustainability challenges 2. Water supply, waste management and transportation infrastructure are a basic responsibility of local municipalities
Future Water Resources: Major concerns
1. Non-renewable 2. Little is known about the geological and ecological impacts of pumping deep aquifers 3. Some flow beneath more than one country (water wars) 4. Costs of tapping are unknown and could be high
Economic Systems linked to Biosphere: 3 Assumptions
1. Resources are limited 2. should encourage environmentally beneficial/sustainable forms of economic development 3. should include harmful environmental/health effects of producing economic goods and services in their market prices
Boreal Agreement: 6 Goals
1. development of world-leading boreal "on-the-ground" sustainable-forest management practices; 2. completion of network of protected areas that rep diversity of ecosystems w/n the boreal region; 3. protect species at risk in boreal, including woodland caribou; 4. reduce greenhouse-gas emissions along the full life cycle, from the forest to the end of product life; 5. improve prosperity of Canadian forest sector and the communities that depend on it; 6. recognition by the marketplace (e.g., customers, investors, consumers) of the agreement.
Sustainable development involves 3 strategic aspects:
1. represents a philosophy in that it presents a vision or direction regarding the nature of future societies; 2. As a process, it emphasizes a system of governance and management characterized by openness, transparency, decentralization, and accessibility 3. As a product related to specific places or resource sectors, it aims to ensure that economic, environmental, and social aspects are considered together, and that trade-offs are made in a way that are visible and transparent to those affected
How many mass extinctions were there?
5
Mass Extinction
5+ over 500 mil years
Environmental Commissioner of Ontario (ECO)
Appointed by the Legislative Assembly, the ECO is tasked with monitoring and reporting on compliance with the Environmental Bill of Rights, and the government's success in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and in achieving greater energy conservation in Ontario.
FRUITS:
Apples are # 1.
Selective Logging: Negatives
Applicable to shade-tolerant tree species (e.g., sugar maple, western red cedar, balsam fir), requires skilled-work force; complex and costly system to plan and implement
Types of Extinction
Biological and Local
Secondary sewage treatment
Biological process with bacteria
What does decay from dead organisms release?
CO2 and CH4 (both greenhouse gases)
Nitrogen fixation
Carried out by naturally occurring N- fixing bacteria, including Rhizobium that live in certain plant roots. Others live freely in soil.
Water Pollution
Change in water quality that can harm organisms or make water unfit for human uses
Gaia Hypothesis
Ecosystem equilibrium. James Lovelock in 1988 claimed biosphere is self-regulating.
Second Law of Thermodynamics
Energy always goes from a more useful to a less useful form when it changes from one form to another
What does genetic diversity help protect species from?
Environmental change and extinction.
What does excessive nitrogen cause?
Environmental issues such as: - acid deposition - ozone depletion - global climate change
Hydrologic Change
Forestry (clear-cutting) impacts on Forest Hydrology include following: • Changes to local hydrological cycle (e.g., transpiration, infiltration, surface runoff) • Changes to annual flood regime (downstream of cleared areas) & responses to individual storm events
What is the 1st leading cause of biodiversity loss?
Habitat destruction
Proven oil reserves
Identified deposits that can be extracted profitably with current technology
If soil doesn't take to fertilizer
If not held in soil or taken up by plants, N is lost from systems through denitrification, including N2O emissions to the atmosphere or leached in groundwater primarily as nitrate - P, K, and other micronutrients are leached
Deep Atlantic Circulation
Important mechanism for Heat Transfer from Low Latitudes to High Latitudes
Waste Management Solutions
Integrated waste management: a variety of strategies for both waste management and waste reduction
• Over the past 10,000 years:
Interglacial period
Ocean Management Challenges - Coastal Development & climate change
Issues include: • coastal erosion • saltwater intrusion on coastal freshwater aquifers • habitat losses (birds, fish, other marine life) • marine pollution and depletion of fishery resources
Selective Logging: Positives
Maintains recreation, scenic values, minimizing biodiversity losses
Carrying Capacity
Maximum population a given habitat can sustain
Haber or Haber-Bosch Process
N2(g) + 3H2(g) → 2NH3(g) + ΔH
Physical change
No change in chemical composition
• Bycatch:
Non-target organisms caught or captured in the course of catching a target species
Biodiversity and Forestry
Old growth forests have attributes that are typically absent from harvested/ managed forests; • Age (usually w trees spanning several centuries; contain high value timber and large amounts of carbon) • Varied tree sizes/spacing; contain high-value timber • Accumulated deadfall & standing trees • Large reservoirs of 'genetic material' • Habitats for many species
VEGETABLE/TUBER:
Ontario, PEI, BC important
Climate
Over a long period of time (three decades to thousands of years)
Producers, autotrophs
Photosynthesis: CO2 + H2O + sunlight → glucose + oxygen
Primary sewage treatment
Physical process
Biogeochemical Cycles
Planet earth is constantly undergoing cyclical phenomena - e.g. days, seasons - materials and energy move through various pools on earth in cycles over time too a.k.a. Biogeochemical cycles
Maximize NPP
Potentially limiting factor (& common "solution"): - Sunlight (move to prairies) - Nutrient limitation (move to prairies, add fertilizer) - Too little/ much moisture (irrigate, drainage tiles) - Competition from other plants (till and plant monoculture crops, plant GMO crops & use herbicide like "Roundup Ready Corn" and "Roundup"- hurts poor farmers!) - Predation from pests (use pesticide)
Wastewater and sewage treatment plants
Primary sewage treatment: • Physical process Secondary sewage treatment: • Biological process with bacteria Tertiary or advance sewage treatment: • Special filtering processes • Bleaching, chlorination
What can geographic isolation lead to?
Reproductive isolation
Is primary or secondary succession more common?
Secondary because it contains some aspects of previous community following a disturbance (human or natural)
Carbon (C)
The major active C pools: - Atmosphere (5-100 y): mainly CO2 - Surface ocean: organic and inorganic C - Terrestrial Biosphere (0-1000 y): mainly organic C in soil and plants - Fossil Fuels: organic C; would be inactive! - Deep ocean (1000s y): mainly dissolved inorganic C
New Forestry
Shift from short term economic maxto practices that mimic natural processes more closely • Rotation practices • Reinvesting organic matter/nutrients in sites • Minimizing chemical inputs • Diversifying range of tree species • Maintenance of non-timber parts of forest community • Wildwood forest
The Urban Gradient
Shift in: - Imperviousness (paved) - Forest cover - Biodiversity
Potential energy
Stored energy: Can be changed into kinetic energy
Global Warming
Surface temperature readings
• Over the past 100 years:
Temperature changes
• Over the past 1,000 years:
Temperature relatively stable
Estimated that, as a result of the combined efforts to date, Canada's greenhouse gas emissions in 2020 will be 734 megatonnes (Mt).
This is 128 Mt lower than where emissions would have been in 2020 if no action had been taken to reduce greenhouse gases since 2005
Urban Sprawl
Type of urbanization distinguished by: • Large areas of single-use development (residential) • Heavy reliance on automobiles • Minimal public open space • Lower density
Case Study: Walkerton
WALKERTON, MAY 2000 Approx. 5000 residents Escherichia coli O157:H7 in treated municipal water supply 1,346 reported cases of gastroenteritis
Virtual Water
Water Footprint: • glass of beer = 75 L • glass of wine = 120 L • cup of coffee = 140 L • hamburger = 2400 L • cotton T-shirt = 2700 L
Coastal Upwelling
Winds blowing southward along the west coast of the United States cause the surface layer of the ocean to move away from the coast
Composting
a form of recycling that mimics nature's recycling of nutrients
Phyletic Evolution
a population has undergone so much change that it is no longer able to interbreed with the original population and a new species is formed---> speciation
• Longline fishing:
a type of commercial fishing using lines with many baited hooks
Populations
all the individuals of a given species in a region. Not all individuals are identical, and there is genetic variation within and between populations
Communities
all the populations in a region and involve interactions among species
ecological footprint
amount of biologically productive land and water needed to provide the people in a region with indefinite supply of renewable resources, and to absorb and recycle wastes and pollution
Eco/Biocentric
belief that the rights and needs of humans are not more important than those of other living things.
Primary and secondary succession increases
biodiversity, species richness, and species interactions
Biocides
chemicals that kill many different kinds of living things (include: pesticides, herbicides, insecticides)
Case Study: Peel River Watershed: Protection Efforts
conflict between recreational and ecological value, value to First Nations and industrial development
• Age of Genetic Engineering:
developing crops that are resistant to: • Heat and cold • Herbicides • Insect pests • Parasites • Viral diseases • Drought • Salty or acidic soil • Promise and potential perils
Species
different types of organisms found on the Earth
IPCC (2013) - Update: Atmosphere:
each of the last 3 decades has been successively warmer at the Earth's surface than any preceding decade since 1890.
Kinetic energy
energy that a body possesses by virtue of being in motion • Flowing water • Wind • Heat: Transferred by radiation, conduction, or convection • Electromagnetic radiation
Generalist spp
• Broad niche (e.g. Black Bear)
Populations evolve through the action of natural selection on:
genetic variation.
Speciation can occur because
geographic isolation of populations or adaptations of part of population
Oceans are key components in
global cycles and energy flows, and thus to sustaining life on the planet
• Fishing down the food chain:
harvesting at progressively lower trophic levels as higher trophic levels become depleted
Environmental degradation
has time delays between our actions now and the deleterious effects later ex. Long-term climate change, Over-fishing, Species extinction
Gaseous Cycles
have most matter in atmosphere (ex. nitrogen, carbon)
Biological evolution
how earth's life changes over time through changes in the genetic characteristics of populations • Darwin: Origin of Species
Water is continually collected, purified, recycled, and distributed in the earth's
hydrologic cycle
Trends in non-native species
increased invasion
Natural selection
individuals with certain traits are more likely to survive and reproduce under a certain set of environmental conditions
Ecological tipping point
irreversible shift in the behavior of a natural system
Biomes
large ecosystems- the largest recognizable assemblage on earth (distribution controlled mainly by climate). Terrestrial biomes are defined mainly by dominant vegetation in the region
Keystone species
large effect on the types and abundances of other species -pollinators, top predators
Wind Power
least expensive and least polluting way to produce electricity, although it requires more power lines and a backup energy source
Recycle: Primary (closed-loop)
materials such as aluminum cans are recycled into new products of the same type
Ecosystem Sensitivity: Critical Load
max level of acid deposition that can be sustained in an area without compromising ecological integrity
Ocean Productivity (NPP)
most productive areas, presented in this map, are those with the highest biodiversity and biomass.
Law of conservation of matter
no atoms are created or destroyed when matter undergoes a chemical or physical change
Oceanic productivity governed by
nutrient distribution, which generally increases with depth
IPCC (2013) - Update: Ocean
ocean warming dominates the increase in energy stored in the climate system, accounting for more than 90% of the energy accumulated between 1971 and 2010. It is virtually certain that the upper ocean (0-700m) warmed from 1971 to 2010, and it likely warmed between 1870s and 1971.
• Bottom trawling:
one of the most destructive means of fishing in which heavy nets are dragged along the sea floor scooping up everything in their path
• Gold Standards:
only offsets from energy efficiency and renewable-energy projects qualify for the Gold Standard - these projects encourage a shift away from fossil-fuel use
Non-point sources
• Broad, diffuse areas • Difficult to identify and control • Expensive to clean up
Arctic storage site
power, weather, war.
Greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide)
present at low concentrations in the lower atmosphere and keep the Earth's mean surface temperature at around 15oC
Soil Problems: Desertification
process by which fertile land becomes desert (result of drought, deforestation, inappropriate agriculture).
Mutation
random changes in DNA molecules. Most are mildly deleterious (harmful), some provide a benefit.
IPCC (2013) - Update: Sea Level
rate of sea level rise since the mid- 19th century has been larger than the mean rate during the previous two millennia. Over the period 1901 to 2010, global mean sea level rose by 0.19m
Communication
resent information for the target audience
Lateral recharge
some recharge comes from rivers and lakes
Soil formation
• Created from weathered "parent material", including ‒ Bedrock ‒ Sediments from 'geomorphological processes' (wind, water, ice, landslides)
Walkerton: Human and Environmental Failure cont...
supply Heavy rains & flooding Shallow well contaminated by surface water Water treatment system overwhelmed E. coli O157:H7 and Campylobacter spp. in neighbouring farms The primary source of contaminants - manure spread on a farm near Well 5 in late April 2000. DNA typing of animals and manure on the farm showed that E. coli O157:H7 and Campylobacter strains on farm matched strains prevalent in human outbreak cases.
Energy
the capacity to do work
Nutrient Enrichment and Oxygen Depletion
• Creating large dead areas within the oceans • These areas (hypoxic or oxygen-deficient areas) increased from 149 in 2003 to more than 200 in 2006
Mesotrophic
total phosphorus 0.01 - 0.02 mg/L moderate nutrients/plant growth reduced water clarity
Eutrophic
total phosphorus 0.035-0.100 mg/L high nutrients/plant growth very limited water clarity
Ultra-oligotrophic
total phosphorus <0.004 mg/L low nutrients, low plant growth high water clarity
Background Extinction
typical low rate exctinction
Synthetic fixation of N:
under high pressure at 450°C with a catalyst (costly, even if exothermic) • Produces more than 100,000,000 tons of N fertilizer per year (as NH3, urea, and NH4NO3)
Photosynthesis
uptake of CO2 from atmosphere and emit O2
Genetic diversity
variability in genetic makeup among individuals of the same species
Ecosystem diversity (richness)
variety of ecosystems in an area
Economic Systems are linked to the Biosphere: Ecological Economics
view human economic systems as subsystems of the biosphere that depend heavily on the earth's irreplaceable natural resources
Economic Systems are linked to the Biosphere: Traditional Economics
view the earth's natural capital as a subset or part of a human economic system
Recycle: Secondary
waste materials are converted into different products
Natural recharge
water percolates through layers to replenish aquifers
Environmental Importance of Boreal forest
‐ Ecosystem services to the tune of $700 billion/yr ‐ home to wide diversity of terrestrial/ aquatic wildlife ‐ Large areas now experiencing a number of serious environmental stresses
• Canada has three programs currently to protect marine areas (table 8.2):
‐ Marine Protected Areas established by Fisheries and Oceans Canada under the Oceans Act to protect and conserve important fish and marine mammal habitats, endangered marine species, unique features and areas of high biological productivity or biodiversity ‐ Marine Wildlife Areas established by Environment Canada to protect and conserve habitat for a variety of wildlife, including migratory birds and endangered species ‐ National Marine Conservation Areas established by Parks Canada to protect and conserve representative examples of Canada's natural and cultural marine heritage, and to provide opportunities for public education and enjoyment
Economic Importance of Boreal forest
‐ Supports commercial activities (logging, wood fibre, sawlog production, pulp/paper mills, fibreboard production) ‐ Almost 50% of the boreal forest is currently allocated to industry ‐ Recreation/ Tourism
Soil Profile
‒ Varied transition from 'parent material' and organic content (humic materials) ‒ Soil formation a lengthy process (e.g., 200-300 years for 1 cm to form in moist tropical soils)...
Changing Climate
• (e.g. changing precipitation and temperature patterns) - have implications on timber supply • Carbon sequestration in timber management might become a major factor in how we manage our forests, and embracing of "New Forestry"
International laws and treaties to protect species
• 1975: Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) • Signed by 172 countries
Government regulations: The Kyoto Protocol
• 1997: Treaty to slow climate change • Reduce emissions of CO2, CH4, and N2O by 2012 to 5.2% of 1990 levels • only countries that ratify the protocol will be legally bound to the protocol's commitments • Not signed by the U.S. • 30 industrialised countries have legally binding targets for reducing/limiting greenhouse gas emissions • Kyoto Protocol expired in 2012
Cost to deliver 1L from Fiji:
• 6.74 L (+1L inside) = 7.74L of water • 0.25 kg of greenhouse gases • 85% of bottles not recycled • 80% of brands contain chemical residues (including Bisphenol A, arsenic, other organics)
Pyramid of energy flow
• 90% of energy lost with each transfer • Less chemical energy for higher trophic levels
Hudson Bay Lowlands
• A sub-set of the boreal region dominated by peatland and lakes • 18% forested • Tamarack (larch- a deciduous conifer) and black spruce growing in wetlands or along upland banks
Ecosystem structure - abiotic
• Abiotic components play important role in determining how biotic components of ecosystems are distributed • Key abiotic factors: light, temperature, wind, water, and soil characteristics • Soil type is critical in determining the kind and extent of vegetation growth of an area
Recent Signs of Climate Warming
• Accelerated sea level rise - Rohling et al. 2009 • Greater insect damage, more forest fires - Kurz et al. 2008 • Greater ocean acidification - PNAS 2005 • Accelerated loss of polar ice - NOAA, NASA • Changes in biotic distribution and breeding - Post et al. 2009 • Accelerated melting of permafrost - Tarnocai et al. 2009
Peatlands
• Accumulation of partially decayed vegetation and organic matter • Most efficient carbon sink on planet • NPP exceeds decay • Characterized by: sphagnum moss, shrubs, sedges • Harvested as fuel in some regions
What is acid deposition?
• Acidity is a measure of the concentration of hydrogen ions (H+) in a solution and is measured using the pH scale (low values are 'acidic' vs 'alkaline') • Acidic deposition is a term that includes rainfall, snow, fog, and dry deposition from dust with a pH lower <5.6
Agriculture Latin Meaning
• Ager= field, cultura from colere= to cultivate
Ocean Management Challenges: Pollution
• All the polluted water from the land as well as airborne contaminants - oceans are the ultimate sink for many pollutants ("All drains lead to the ocean" Finding Nemo, 2003) • Marine pollutants take a number of forms, originate from many different sources, and have a wide range of effects • Chemical pollutants take two main forms: toxic materials and nutrients
Environmental Impacts of Forest Management:
• All trees (and related nutrients) removed; • Along with fire suppression, can allow pathogens to survive • Leads to soil compaction (heavy machinery) and soil erosion
Weather
• An area's short term temp, precipitation, humidity, cloud cover etc. over a period of hours or days
Feedback Mechanisms
• An important component of maintaining stability in ecosystems: in which information is fed back (or returned) into a system due to some change
Where does variation come from?
• Arises through mutation
Cross-breeding and Genetic Engineering
• Artificial selection to enhance varieties of crops • Takes 15+ years to develop new varieties by cross- breeding • Usefulness declines as pests/ diseases adapt
Urban Heat Island Impact
• Asphalt absorbs shortwave radiation from sun and is slowly released at night • Tall buildings within many urban areas provide multiple surfaces for the reflection and absorption of sunlight • Tall buildings also block the cooling convection of wind
Case Study: Canadian Cod
• At different points, Canada's most-fished fish • 810,000 tonnes in 1968 • Drops to 137,000 tonnes in 1978- Canada cries 'tragedy of the commons' and declares a 370km international boundary (up from 90). • Stocks rebuild • Canada intensifies its own fishing fleet • In 1986, inshore fishers complain of stock decline and are ignored
Mercury Cons
• Atmospheric mercury is deposited in soil and water during rain events and particulate settling • Not broken down or degraded, bioaccumulates • Large predatory fish (e.g. Tuna) can have mercury concentrations in their bodies that are as much as 10,000 times higher than the levels in the water around them
"Climate change will likely benefit Canadian farmers with an extended growing season and more precipitation, says the Department of Agriculture."
• Authorities in a confidential document Crop Sector Foresight Exercise said climate change will likely result in better harvests and more varied crops. The paper was released through Access to Information.
Population size governed by
• Births • Deaths • Immigration • Emigration
Carbon Cycle
• Boreal Forest = Carbon Sink • 186 billion tonnes of carbon stored in Boreal soils, water, trees and peat • Equivalent to 913 years' worth of Canada's greenhouse gas emissions • Viewed as more than double what is stored in tropical rain forests
Canada's Boreal Forests
• Boreal Shield contains about 1/4 of world's remaining original forests • Boreal is Canada's largest ecozone, covering almost 58% of land mass and stretching through all provinces except PEI, NS, and NB
Ontario's Forests
• Boreal dominant by area (60%) - patterned fertile upland, wetland, exposed bedrock - young soils - fire, floods, and insect infestations are nature, create even-aged stands
Case Study: Canadian Cod cont...
• By 1991 stocks are in serious trouble • 1992: DFO places a 6-mo moratorium on offshore fishing - later increased to 2 yrs • 1994: Fishery remains closed, except for limited personal catch (with lines) • 1996: Fishery opened with a catch limit of 16,000 tonnes (for research mainly) • 2003: Fishery closed indefinitely and cod is listed as an endangered species • Estimated 97% decline in stock in 30 years • Has not rebounded!
IPCC (2007)
• CO2 is most important anthropogenic greenhouse gas • Its atmospheric concentration has increased from a pre- industrial value of about 280 ppm to 379 ppm in 2005 • primary source of increased atmospheric concentration of CO2 is fossil fuel use, with land- use change providing another significant but smaller contribution
Ecological Extinction
• California Condor • Extinct in the wild in 1987 • Captive breeding program • Re-introduced in 1991
Pacific Maritime
• Canada's most productive forests • Very diverse ecosystems (not in # of tree species) • Western hemlock and western red cedar dominate • OLD forests (wet = little fire)
UN: Canada Outcome
• Canada's total commitment to reducing child mortality (MDG 4) & improving maternal health (MDG 5) will be $2.85 billion from 2010-2015 • Canada has prioritized basic education for its direct & proven effect on poverty reduction & sustainable development. By 2011, Canada had contributed $150 million to basic education in Africa • Canada doubled its international assistance, reaching $5 billion by March 31, 2011.
Stopping Climate Change:
• Carbon capture - geological injection • Carbon capture - mineral storage • Seeding oceans to absorb CO2
Carbon Neutral Business
• Carbon credits are an alternative to carbon taxes • Either produce less CO2 or offset what you produce through the use of carbon credits • One carbon credit is equal to one metric tonne of carbon dioxide • Controversial - lacking control and legislation • Mostly voluntary offsets
Feed Practices
• Change feeds used in aquaculture • Currently require more fish for feed than are produced • Sustainable feed (Soy or corn protein)
Chemical change, chemical reaction
• Change in chemical composition • Reactants and products
Water pollution
• Change in water quality that can harm organisms or make water unfit for human uses
First Priority: Primary Pollution and Waste Prevention
• Change industrial process to eliminate use of harmful chemicals • Use less of a harmful product • Reduce packaging and materials in products • Make products that last longer and are recyclable, reusable, or easy to repair
Human Impacts of Climate Change
• Climate change currently results in >300,000 deaths/year, with 325 million people seriously affected, economic losses >US $125 billion. • 4 billion people considered vulnerable and > 500M people at extreme risk. • Over next 20 years, "those affected will likely more than double - making it the greatest emerging humanitarian challenge of our time"
Climate Change and fires
• Climate change during 21st century's expected to result in frequent fires in many boreal forests, w severe environmental & economic consequence • Fire-prone conditions are predicted to increase across Canada. Potentially result in doubling of amt of area burned by end of century • Other climate change impacts that could add damaged or dead wood to forest fuel load (ex. as a result of insect outbreaks, ice storms or high winds) may increase risk of fire activity
Productive zones of the ocean
• Coastal zones • Upwelling zones (bringing nutrients from deep ocean) • Most productivity in oceans is on the continental shelves (at depths <200 m) - most fisheries in these areas
Fisheries
• Coastal zones (incl. continental shelves) supply 90% of global fish catch • ~ 50% of the world's population live within 100 km of a coast; projected to increase to 75% by 2100 (mega-cities) • Fish represent nearly 20% of total global intake of animal protein, (lower in Canada) • Fish are generally healthy to eat: pollution is changing this
Ecological Succession
• Communities and ecosystems change over time • A form of natural restoration: - primary succession - secondary succession
Integrated coastal management
• Community-based group to prevent further degradation of the ocean
Agriculture requires land
• Competition for a limited resource • Encroachment of cities, suburbs, on productive rural landscapes or valuable forest • Food vs Fuel production (Biofuels)
Great Lakes - St. Lawrence: transitional forest from deciduous (S) to boreal (N)
• Conifers: white pine, red pine, eastern hemlock, white cedar • Mix w deciduous broad- leaved species (yellow birch, sugar and red maples, basswood, red oak) • Some boreal species too (jack pine, spruce, aspen, white birch) • High plant diversity
International laws and treaties to protect species...
• Convention on Biological Diversity (BCD) • Focuses on ecosystems • Ratified by 190 countries (not the U.S.) • Introduced in 1992
Coal - Plentiful but dirty
• Conventional coal is plentiful and produces a high net energy yield at a low cost, but it has a very high environmental impact • Synthetic fuels produced from coal have lower net energy yields and higher environmental impacts than conventional coal
Conflict Over Water
• Countries must learn to share dwindling water resources • E.g. Nile River shared by 7 countries Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt use 97% of water that flows in Nile
Better planning for sustainability
• Create compact urban form that builds upon existing urban areas and decreases regional sprawl • Build mixed-income walkable neighbourhoods • Build neighbourhoods and towns in patterns that accommodate peoples everyday needs • Create and revitalize visible, accessible and linked range of open space opportunities • Preserve a region's agricultural heritage and environmental systems
Foundation species
• Create or enhance their habitats, which benefit others • Elephants • Beavers
Solar Energy
• Direct Solar Energy: any kind of energy obtained from sun and undergoes only 1 change to make it into a usable form (solar cells) • Indirect Solar Energy: kind of solar power that goes through more than 1 change to become usable energy (e.g. Wind, Biofuels)
Dams and Reservoirs: Cons
• Displaces people • Flooded regions • Impaired ecological services of rivers • Loss of plant and animal species • Fill up with sediment • Can cause other streams and lakes to dry up
Biomass
• Dry weight of all organic matter of a given trophic level in a food chain or food web • Decreases at each higher trophic level due to heat loss
Local Extinction (extirpation)
• E.g. Canadian Grizzlies Prairie population • Once found as fast east as the Red River in Manitoba • Human settlement and land changes forced the grizzlies north and west
Environment, Resources and Society
• Earth's climate is changing - human activities are a key driving force behind environmental change • Changes are occurring more rapidly with greater magnitude • threaten well-being of society and the ecosystems that sustain it
Primary Succession
• Ecosystems start from scratch • No soil in terrestrial systems • No bottom sediments in aquatic systems • 100-1000 years • Need to build up soils/sediments to provide necessary nutrients
Economic incentives for protection
• Ecotourism protects turtles and whales
Zoos and Aquariums Can Protect Some Species: Techniques for preserving endangered terrestrial species
• Egg pulling • Captive breeding
Forest: Benefits to public ownership
• Electorate controls management practices • Areas can be protected • Lease land (max 25yr) for forestry = tax revenue • Most infrastructure is still private (full public forestry hasn't traditionally worked)
Renewable Energy and Energy efficiency
• Energy efficiency improvements can save world at least 1/3 of energy it uses; it can save USA up to 43% of energy it uses • Advantages of reducing energy waste: • Reduce pollution and degradation • Slow global warming • Increase economic and national security • Prolong fossil fuel supplies
UN: Millennium Development Goals
• Eradicate extreme hunger and poverty • Universal primary education • Promote gender equality and empower women • Reduce child mortality • Improve maternal health • Combat HIV/Aids, Malaria/other diseases • Ensure Environmental Sustainability • Global Partnership for development
BCs Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR)
• Established by Dave Barrett (BC Premier early 1970s) • Lack of (or waning of) protection for agricultural land (recent BC govts) • Not all provinces have an ALR • QC: Agric. Protection Act (1978 to ...) • ON: Green Belt (2005 to ...)
Case Study: Peel Commission
• Established by Yukon Territorial Government and First Nations in 2004 • Consulted widely over 7 year period • In 2009, Peel Commission Recommandations: • 80% of watershed to be recommended to be protected • 20% for oil, gas, mineral development • One of last remaining ecologically intact watersheds in N America, 7 times the size of Yellowstone National Park • People travel the world over to paddle these waters • Cultural significance
Current View
• Ever-changing mosaic of patches of vegetation • A steady state requires long periods of time • Mature late-successional ecosystems • State of continual disturbance and change
UN: Progress
• Extreme poverty's falling in every region • 43 million more children in sub-saharan Africa are in primary education • Child mortality has fallen 35% in last 2 decades • Maternal mortality has fallen 34% • Malaria deaths in Africa decreased 30% in the last decade • Since 1990, 2 billion people have gained access to clean drinking water
Detritivores
• Feed on dead bodies of other organisms • Earthworms • Vultures
Negative Feedback
• Feedback provided to a system moderates the initial change and equilibrium is re-established
Positive Feedback
• Feedback provided to a system reinforces and exacerbates the initial change
Threat of Flooding: Benefits of floodplains
• Fertile soils • Nearby rivers for use and recreation • Flatlands for urbanization and farming
• Benefits of floodplains
• Fertile soils • Nearby rivers for use and recreation • Flatlands for urbanization and farming
Environmental Impacts of Forest Management: Natural Disturbances
• Fire leaves trees in wet areas (refuge habitat for wildlife; seed source for re-generation) • Fire's important part of reproductive cycle of many coniferous species, increases soil fertility, kills pathogens in forest ecosystems
Ocean Problems
• Fisheries collapse • Pollution- organic toxins: oil, PCBs, dioxins • Pollution: sewage • Acidification: for Coral reefs and mollusks • Habitat destruction: coastal development, erosion, wetland destruction, river degradation, and boating • Climate change
Irrigation Problems
• Flood Irrigation is wasteful (40% lost), there are better methods: - human powered pumps - harvest and store rainwater - polyculture canopy
k-strategists:
• Focus on 'quality' not quantity of offspring • time devoted to assist offspring reach maturity • examples: larger mammals e.g. elephants, humans • are larger and usually longer-lived
Alternatives to Pesticide Use
• Fool the Pest - yearly crop rotation - adjust planting times • Polyculture - increase plant diversity, provide homes for pest predators • Genetic Engineering • Biological Controls: natural predators/diseases
Dams and Reservoirs
• For Agriculture, Hydropower, Municipal Use • Main goals of a dam and reservoir system • Capture and store runoff • Release runoff as needed to control: Floods, Generate electricity, Supply irrigation water, Recreation (reservoirs)
Case Study: Giant Hogweed
• Garden ornamental from southwest Asia that is naturalizing in North America • There is evidence that Giant hogweed can shade out native plants • Threatens salmon spawning sites • You can get severe burns if you get the sap on your skin and the skin is then exposed to sunlight
Transitioning to Future Energy
• General conclusions • Gradual shift to smaller, decentralized micropower systems • Transition to a diverse mix of locally available renewable energy resources • Improved energy efficiency • Fossil fuels will still be used in large amounts • Natural gas is the best choice
Genetically modified Organisms (GMOs)
• Genetic Revolution - alter organisms DNA • Takes about 1⁄2 as long as cross breeding and much cheaper • Can insert genes from any organism
Examples of Tax Shifting
• Germany shifted taxes from labour to energy, thereby lowering fuel use by 5% • Finland's carbon tax reduced emissions by 7% in eight years • Sweden raised taxes on carbon and sulphur emissions, thereby cutting taxes on personal income and shifting two per cent of the country's total tax revenue • Denmark is a leader in that it collects over six per cent of its total tax revenue from green taxes
• Over the past 900,000 years
• Glacial and interglacial periods
Zoos and Aquariums Can Protect Some Species:
• Goal of ultimately releasing/reintroducing populations to the wild • Limited space and funds
The Green Revolution
• Grain production has doubled since 1960, while harvested area has increased only 3% (650 to 670 million hectares) • Worldwide "intensification" of agriculture: ‐ Bred and engineered more productive crop strains ‐ Shifting to more "productive" regions (prairies for grain) ‐ Fertilization ‐ Mechanization ‐ Pesticides
Problem with monocultures
• Gros Michel banana, dominant cultivar until the 1950s • Panama disease wiped out clonal colonies • Cavendish banana replaced Gros Michel as top export
Urbanization and wildlife
• Habitat Loss • Reduced connection among remaining patches • Perforation of large patches • Increased edge & degradation of remaining habitat • Introduction of non-natives • Convenient to think of wildlife in three categories • urban avoiders, adapters, exploiters
Light Pollution
• Health effects of over-illumination may include: increased headache incidence, worker fatigue, medically defined stress and increase in anxiety • correlation between night shift work and the increased incidence of breast and prostate cancer • Impairs nocturnal wildlife • Impact breeding of some animals
High-quality energy
• High capacity to do work • Concentrated • High-temperature heat • E.g. Strong winds, Fossil Fuels, Nuclear
Problems with solar power
• High cost of producing cells • Need to be located in sunny desert areas • Storage of produced energy
Dealing with nuclear wastes
• High-level radioactive wastes • Must be stored safely for 10,000-240,000 years • Where to store it • Deep burial: safest and cheapest option • Would any method of burial last long enough? • There is still no facility • 1985: plans in the U.S. to build a repository for high-level radioactive wastes in the Yucca Mountain desert region (Nevada)
High-quality matter
• Highly concentrated • Near earth's surface • High potential as a resource
Threat of Flooding • Flood plains
• Highly productive wetlands • Provide natural flood and erosion control • Maintain high water quality • Recharge groundwater
Threat of Flooding: Flood plains
• Highly productive wetlands • Provide natural flood and erosion control • Maintain high water quality • Recharge groundwater
Case Study: Problem with Coal Ash
• Highly toxic • Arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, mercury • Ash left from burning and from emissions • fertilizer for farmers • Most is buried or put in ponds • Contaminates groundwater • hazardous waste
New Mass Extinction
• Human induced • Current extinction rate is at least 100 times higher than typical background rate of .0001% • Will rise to 10,000 times the background rate by the end of the century • rise 1% per year • Cause 1⁄4 to 1⁄2 of the world's plant and animal species tovanish • 9-52% of all terrestrial species will be on an irreversible path to extinction by 2050 • Shifts in timing of seasons, food supplies etc.
Other Energy Ideas
• Hydrogen • Geothermal (89% of Iceland homes) • Biomass (wood)
Cities are for cars not people
• Hypertension, diabetes, heart disease and cancer have all doubled or tripled in the last 20 years • 3 million people in Canada have diabetes, est. cost by 2020 is $17 billion
Case Study: Asian Carp
• Illegal to transport live Asian Carp across the border • 100s of millions spent to stop invasion of Great Lakes • Electric barriers on the Des Plaines River near Chicago
Sustainable Food Production Systems • Integrated Pest Nutrient Systems
• Imbalances in nutrient availability can lead to depletion of nutrients, with corresponding reductions in crop yields • goal to max nutrient use efficiency by recycling all plant nutrient sources w/n the farm and by using N fixation by legumes • Soil productivity's enhanced through use of local and external nutrient sources, including manufactured fertilizers
Coal bed methane gas
• In coal beds near the earth's surface • In shale beds • High environmental impacts
Hydrologic Change
• Increase in peak discharge (height) and storm volume (black area); and earlier onset times for basin response • Increase in peak discharge from road areas in harvested watersheds
Case Study: At the shoreline - 2009
• Initiative between Ontario lakefront mayors and provincial ministers • Five-point action plan to protect the Great Lakes - to coordinate "actions and investments to protect the lakes - to improve and promote beaches, natural areas, waterfronts, trails & tourism - to attack nuisance and toxic algae - to reduce stormwater and sewage discharges - to build a business case for, and measure results from, Great Lakes investments
More Case study: Zebra mussels
• Introduced in the Great Lakes in 1980s • Established in Lake Simcoe in ~1995 • Filter whole lake in less than 5 days • Displace native species
Case Study: Mackenzie Valley Pipeline Inquiry (1974)
• Investigated the social, environmental, economic impact of proposed gas pipeline through Yukon and Mackenzie River Valley • Inquiry cost: $5.3 million (CAN); 40,000 pages of text and evidence created • A 'watershed moment' in Environmental Impact Assessment process
Biodiversity
• Involves the variety of life (within ecosystems) at various scales.... • Evolved over long periods of time via interactions between abiotic and biotic components of ecosystems;
Case Study: Who is Thomas Berger?
• Justice Berger may be best known for his work as the Royal Commissioner of the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline Inquiry which released its findings in 1977 • The Berger Report determined that northern Yukon was too susceptible to environmental harm, and that no pipeline should be built in area. Berger recommended no energy corridor be built in Mackenzie Delta region
Sustainable City Planning
• Land use planning that puts people first
Aral Sea
• Large-scale water transfers in dry central Asia • Salinity (7 fold increase) • Wetland destruction and wildlife • Fish extinctions and fishing declines
Human activities make floods worse
• Levees can break or be overtopped • Paving & development increase runoff • Removal of water-absorbing vegetation • Draining wetlands & building on them • Rising sea levels from global warming means more coastal flooding
• Human activities make floods worse
• Levees can break/ overtopped • Paving & development increase runoff • Removal of water-absorbing vegetation • Draining wetlands and building on them • Rising sea levels from global warming means more coastal flooding
Ocean Basics
• Light to about 200m • Average depth is about 4000m • Deepest trench: nearly 11000m in Pacific (Mariana Trench) • Continental shelf - underwater extension of continent's perimeter, moving to abyssal plain, to the ocean trenches (hadal region) • Shelves are productive (light, nutrients) vs. abyssal zones
Plants as Biofuels
• Liquid biofuels • Biodiesel • Ethanol • Biggest producers of biofuel • The United States • Brazil • The European Union • China
Botanical gardens and arboreta
• Living plants • 3% of the world's rare and threatened species, little funding
Point sources
• Located at specific places • Easy to identify, monitor, and regulate
Case Study: Mercury
• Long-term exposure to high levels of mercury can permanently damage the human nervous system, kidneys, and lungs • This toxic metal is released into the air from rocks, soil, and volcanoes, and by vaporization from the ocean (1/3) • Human activities—primarily from the smokestacks of coal-burning power plants, cement kilns, and coal-burning industry (2/3)
Low-quality energy
• Low capacity to do work • Dispersed • E.g. heat
Municipal Benefits of Low Impact Development (LID)
• Maintenance burden reduced • Reduced storm surge volumes • Increased system capacity • Quantity and quality improvement • Watershed protection • Increase Property Tax Revenue
Ocean Management Issues
• Managing fisheries and stocks • Regulations for protecting marine areas
Should we just stop eating fish?
• Many of our fisheries will be severely damaged in 50 years- Biodiversity preservation might protect these. • over-fishing must stop • Large fishery captured fish are less "energetically profitable" than feedlot beef • Most fish farms are ecologically unsustainable (large footprints wrt energy inputs, pollution, and potential to damage surrounding natural ecosystems) • Canada should set a better example. We fish 1% but have had one of the most severe and embarrassing collapses- otherwise we can never expect countries with more need/less resources to improve
• STOCK SIZE:
• Measured by large trawling fishing companies that may have "on boat" processing, may be foreign • Predicting stock size is difficult • It seems to be common sense that management should be cautious because of this uncertainty
Wind Power: Pros
• Moderate/High net energy • Widely available • Low cost electricity • Easy to build • Little to no CO2 emissions once built
Managed and logged forests
• Monoculture re-plantations; seedlings typically derived from same genetic base (thus, a direct reduction in genetic diversity)
Lower genetic diversity makes forests ...
• More susceptible to pest infestations and disease • Less adaptable to future change • Less capable of supporting diversity of animal, bird species currently found bc requires characteristics of old growth forests, species decline & possible extirpations
Smart Growth
• Most urban and some rural areas use some form of land-use planning to determine the best present and future use of each parcel of land • One way to encourage more environmentally sustainable development with less dependence on cars, more controls on sprawl, and reduction of wasteful resource use is to employ smart growth
More Fertilizer
• Much added inorganic fertilizer does NOT make it in to plant biomass • Lands on soil and is held, transformed, lost (leaching or volatilization), or taken up by plants • Isotope tracer studies show that only typically 10- 60% of added inorganic N ends up in plants!
Lake Simcoe Watershed development
• Musselman Lake (Southern part of the watershed) • Canal and Mitchell Lakes (Northern part of the watershed, along the Trent-Severn Waterway)
Nitrogen Cycle
• N cycles between atmosphere and lithosphere; most importantly via biological activity • most organisms cannot directly access atmospheric N (they need assistance of nitrogen fixators)
Specialist spp
• Narrow niche, vulnerable to environmental change (e.g. Panda)
Case Study: Emerald Ash Borer
• Native to Asia and Russia • Damages trees in larval form • Impacts flow of nutrients up trunk • Leads to death of tree
Case study: Zebra mussels
• Native to the Black and Caspian seas (Europe) • Introduced from the ballast of freighters in the mid- 1980s • First discovered in Lake St Clair in 1988 (between Lakes Huron and Erie), near Windsor-Detroit • An aggressive invasive: caused near-extinction of 10 native species in Western Lake Erie • Transported by recreational boaters, canals
Phosphorus problems: Eutrophication
• Natural process of nutrient enrichment in water bodies greater productivity • P and N are often two main growth-limiting nutrients
Nuclear change
• Natural radioactive decay • Radioisotopes:unstable • Nuclear fission • Nuclear fusion
Forest Fires
• Necessary to return nutrients to soil • For reproduction • Initiates 2ndary succession • Fire suppression: alters the dynamic • Can result in larger fires
Problems with modern agriculture
• Need for irrigation systems (large-scale water diversions) results in changes in groundwater, soil characteristics, precipitation patterns, water quality • Soils are changed chemically, physically, while natural food chains are truncated • Processes of Natural succession are altered/suppressed in agricultural landscapes • A greater # of domesticated herbivores compared to natural herbivores • industrial system of livestock production directly affects land, air, water, biodiversity through emission of animal waste, use of fossil fuels, and substitution of animal genetic resources
Ecosystem structure - biotic
• Niche: specific combination of the physical, chemical, and biological conditions for growth; • Habitat: where the species lives • 'Competitive Exclusion Principle' - No two species can occupy the same niche in the same area - Consider "alien species"? • Keystone and Foundation Species
Fertilizers
• Nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium are usually the dominant nutrients in fertilizer (even if N is limiting nutrients, too much added N alone will quickly lead to other deficiencies (other micronutrients too!) • Unlike N, P and K are mined from minerals (there is not abundant inert P or K that can be 'fixed' biologically or chemically)
Forest: Benefits to private ownership
• No US softwood tariffs, free market (for good or bad) - still adhere to some broad environmental standards
2009 Copenhagen
• Non-binding agreement • Deep cuts in global emissions are required, to hold increase in global temperature to below 2oC. • Annex 1 countries commit to implement emission targets by 2020 • Developing countries to submit (by 31/1/10) actions to reduce emissions. • A framework for national and international monitoring of what developed and developing countries will do
Low-quality matter
• Not highly concentrated • Deep underground or widely dispersed • Low potential as a resource
Nuclear Fission
• Nuclei with large mass split into lighter nuclei when struck by neutrons • Each reaction releases more neutrons plus energy creating a chain reaction • produces radioactive isotopes • Light water reactors produce 85% nuclear energy
Effects of Eutrophication
• Nutrient enrichment encourages increased growth of aquatic plants, favouring growth of phytoplankton over benthic plants rooted in the substrate • Benthic plants get shaded out; thus less O2 is produced at depth • O2 depletion is further increased by the decay of the large mass of phytoplankton produced • Fish decline due to O2 depletion
Ocean Circulation
• Oceans annual uptake of CO2 is ~ 1/3 of anthropogenic emissions • Carbon stores in deeper water, dead organisms, ocean sediments and coral reefs • Considerable lag in this uptake, however - too slow to compensate for current rate of CO2 emission increase • Ocean acidity forecast to increase 150% by 2100
Marine reserves
• Off-limits to destructive human activities • Fish populations double • Fish size grows • Reproduction triples • Species diversity increase by almost one-fourth
Primary Production
• Often light or nutrient limited - Marine ecosystems: P, Si, Fe • Oceans are the source of much of our atmospheric O2
Are heavy oils from oil sands/shales the answer?
• Oil sand, or tar sand contains bitumen • Canada and Venezuela: oil sand have more oil than in Saudi Arabia • Extraction • Serious environmental impact • Low net energy yield: Is it cost effective?
Case Study: Easter Island
• Once thriving island nation • Millions of palm trees • Population 7000 at peak • mysterious collapse
Case Study: Peel River Watershed Info
• One of the only remaining undeveloped watersheds • Lawsuit against Yukon development plan of the Peel watershed • Led by Thomas Berger
Managing solid waste
• Open dumps vs. Sanitary landfills • Incinerating garbage and other wastes
Hyperabundance and Removal
• Over-population of native species can also occur: - Where natural habitats have been disturbed - When predatory species are removed • Species culls often used to control these population explosions • e.g. Ontario Spring Bear Hunt • Removal of species can disturb habitats e.g. sea otter on west coast (see last lecture)
Musselman Lake: Results: Sediment
• P settles to sediment, free forms and bound to CA/Fe/Mg/Al • Mobile, released from Fe/Mg under low oxygen (sediments = nutrient source) • Sediments = high P concentration, also extended low oxygen periods
Canal and Mitchell Lakes
• Part of the Trent-Severn waterway • Flooded in 1904 for canal construction • Currently surrounded by agricultural land and natural vegetation Complaints: • Increased aquatic plants • Algal blooms
Selective Logging
• Periodic harvesting of selected trees of various ages in stand • Valuable mature trees; or poorly shaped, unhealthy, damaged trees • Objective: maintain an uneven-aged, mixed- species forest stand
Wetland based sewage treatment
• Peter Montague: environmental scientist • Remove toxic wastes before water goes to the municipal sewage treatment plants • Reduce or eliminate use and waste of toxic chemicals • Use composting toilet systems • Natural water purification system • Sewer water flows into a passive greenhouse • Solar energy and natural processes remove and recycle nutrients • Diversity of organisms used
Sunlight to Produce Energy
• Photovoltaic (PV) cells (solar cells) • Convertsolarenergytoelectricenergy • Design of solar cells • Sunlight hits cells and releases electrons into wires • Solar-cell power plants around the world
Conventional natural gas
• Pipelines • Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) - propane and butane, liquefied under high pressure • Liquefied natural gas (LNG) - low temp, high pressure
Problems with Aquaculture
• Pollution- Inland systems can improve on this • Release of non-native spp. (e.g. Tilapia in Florida) • Disease friendly! • Ecological footprint is about 150 and 10000 X the actual pond area farmed for shrimp and tilapia respectively
Gene or seed banks
• Preserve genetic material of endangered plants
Water Pollution
• Primarily caused by: - agricultural activities - industrial facilities - mining - worsened by population growth/ resource use
Water Pollution: Cause
• Primarily caused by: - agricultural activities - industrial facilities - mining - worsened by population growth/ resource use
Consumers, heterotrophs
• Primary consumers = herbivores • Secondary consumers • Tertiary consumers • Carnivores, Omnivores
Ocean Hydro power
• Produce electricity from flowing water • Ocean tides and waves • So far, power systems are limited - cons: $$$, equipment damaged by storms
Livestock and Dairy:
• QC and ON produce more than 1⁄2 of all pigs and poultry • Beef is produced mainly in the west: 43% Alberta • Dairy products are produced more locally (e.g. QC and ON do not have substantial beef production, but are substantial dairy suppliers)
Prevent Salinization
• Reduce Irrigation • Flush soil (wastes water) • Years off between crops • Underground drainage • Plant salt tolerant crops
Improving food and soil security
• Reduce Soil Erosion - Promote Soil Conservation: - Terracing - Contour planting - Strip cropping with cover crop - Alley cropping, agroforestry - Windbreaks or shelterbelts - Conservation-tillage farming
Sustainable Food Production Systems • No-Till/Conservation Agriculture
• Refers to zero, minimum, or low tillage to protect and stimulate the biological function of the soil while maintaining/ improving crop yields • Includes direct sowing/ drilling of seeds instead of ploughing, maintenance of permanent cover of plant material on the soil ("cover crops"), crop rotation
• The Government of Canada's approach to climate change is focused on delivering environmental and economic benefits for all Canadians through:
• Regulations to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions; • Strategic investments in areas such as clean energy technology and climate change adaptation; • World-class scientific research to support policy development and decision-making; and • Taking a leadership role in international climate change efforts
Industrialized Farming
• Relies on high-input monocultures • Goal is to steadily increase crop or meat yield • Plantation agriculture: cash crops - Primarily in less-developed countries • Increased use of greenhouses to raise crops
Conventional Tillage Still Dominates World
• Reluctance to change from what has worked for decades • Lack of knowledge on damage to soil via plough-based techniques • Complex management skills required to successfully transfer over to No-Till • Canada (16% No-Till in 1996 to 46.7% in 2006)
Wetland based sewage treatment • Peter Montague: environmental scientist
• Remove toxic wastes before water goes to the municipal sewage treatment plants • Reduce or eliminate use and waste of toxic chemicals • Use composting toilet systems
Can we get water from the ocean? Desalination.
• Removing dissolved salt • Distillation: evaporate water, leaving salts behind • Reverse osmosis, microfiltration: use high pressure to remove salts • 14,450 plants in 125 countries
Forest Ecosystem Products and Services
• Renewable non-timber forest products (NFTPs) are commodities (wild rice, mushrooms, berries, maple syrup, edible nuts, furs, hides, medicines, ornamental cuttings, seeds) • Contribute $1 billion/yr to economy • Canada: world's leading forest-product exporter (~15.9% global trade) • For 200+ Canadian communities, forestry is >50% of economic base
Second Priority: Secondary Pollution and Waste Prevention
• Reuse • Repair • Recycle • Compost • Buy reusable and recyclable products
13 countries have at least 60% of the world's crude oil reserves
• Saudi Arabia: 20% • Canada: 15% (oil sands now classified as a conventional source) • United States: 1.5%
Agricultural Activities
• Sediment eroded from the lands • Fertilizers and pesticides • Bacteria from livestock and food processing wastes
Canal and Mitchell Lakes: Conclusions
• Shallow lakes with lots of habitat for plants (influenced by zebra mussels) • Changes in diatoms indicate greater nutrient input • Diatoms also indicate change in habitat availability (increase in motile species) • Investigate solutions to agricultural inputs • Identify any other P sources (upstream in the Trent- Severn waterway) • Continued monitoring
Thermocline
• Sharp transition in ocean temperature, between warmer surface waters and cooler waters at depth • Typically at 120-240 m depth, but varies dependent on ocean currents and latitude
Nuclear powe
• Slowest-growing energy source and expected to decline more • Economics • Poor management • Low net yield of energy of the nuclear fuel cycle • Safety concerns • Concerns of transporting uranium
Human impacts on biogeochemical cycles
• Society could not exist without biogeochemical cycles and the bacteria that help them work • All of the cycles are susceptible to disturbance by human activity • Major transfers between some of the reservoirs in the cycles are human-induced • Some of the most notable and difficult environmental challenges now faced by society derive from these transfers
Nitrification
• Soil bacteria change ammonia and ammonium ions to nitrate ions (NO3-)
Top soil erosion is a serious problem
• Soil erosion: movement of soil by wind and water (Natural/ human causes) • Harmful effects: - Loss of soil fertility - Water pollution
Switching to renewable energy
• Solar energy: direct or indirect • Geothermal energy
Tertiary or advance sewage treatment
• Special filtering processes • Bleaching, chlorination
Canadian Legislation
• Species at Risk Act (SARA) • Committee on the Status of Endangered Species in Canada (COSEWIC) - Designates the conservation status of wildlife - Developed in 1977 - Identifies and assess specie status under SARA • Not many species have been removed from list
Human Impact of Hydrologic Cycle
• Storage and redistribution of surface runoff for domestic, agricultural and industrial uses • Storage structures to control floods (dams, floodways) • Drainage of wetlands • Groundwater pumping • Land use changes (e.g., deforestation, urbanization) that pathways alter patterns of runoff and evapotranspiration
My World - moving forward
• Strong global leadership to make large and lasting social changes • Investment in Green Technologies and a global economic shift to sustainable practices • Continued scientific support and development for a better world
Green or Carbon Taxation
• Tax-shifting: Charging tax on environmentally harmful activities while reducing taxes on income, labour, wealth
Water Shortages are a reality in many places
• Too many people drain resources • Drought and Climate Change - 30% earth's land area experiences severe drought - Will rise to 45% by 2059 from climate change • Wasteful use of water
Live Green Toronto
• Toronto is the first City in North America to have a bylaw to require and govern the construction of green roofs on new development (2012) - green roofs: provide shade, good for environment, can decrease urban heat impact, etc.
Methane hydrate
• Trapped in icy water • In permafrost environments • On ocean floor • Costs of extraction currently too high
Last Priority: Waste Management
• Treat waste to reduce toxicity • Incinerate waste • Bury waste in landfills • Release waste into environment for dispersal or dilution
Fukushima 2011
• Tsunami caused meltdown of 3 of the plants 6 reactors • 300,000 people evacuated, 20km exclusion zone • Not expecting any health impacts
Water Transfers
• Tunnels, aqueducts, and underground pipes can transfer stream runoff collected by dams and reservoirs from water-rich areas to water-poor areas • Case Study: Aral Sea - water transfers with climate change
• Case Study: Navigable Waterways Act: in 2012
• Under new Navigation Protection Act, only 62 rivers/canals, and 97 lakes are deemed worthy of federal protection • Of Canada's 37 designated Canadian Heritage Rivers, only 10 are covered - all bc of economics and oil industry
Disadvantages of urbanization
• Urban dwellers consume 75% of the earth's resources • Large land areas need to be disturbed to supply urban dwellers with resources • Urban areas produce most of the world's air and water pollution, impacts to connectedness • Pollution levels generally higher due to inability to disperse/dilute as efficiently • Most cities are not sustainable due to high resource input and high waste output
Solutions to Light Pollution
• Use lower wattage bulbs • Change to motion activated lights • International Dark-Sky Association (IDA). Established in 1988, it works to educate the public on the need for smarter lighting
• Over the past 4.7 billion years the climate has been altered by
• Volcanic emissions • Changes in solar input • Movement of the continents • Impacts by meteors • Changing global air and ocean circulation
IPCC (2013) - Update
• Warming of climate system is unequivocal, and since 1950's, many observed changes are unprecedented over decades to millennia. The atmosphere and ocean have warmed, the amounts of snow/ ice have diminished, sea level has risen, and the concentrations of greenhouse gases have increased.
Marine Protected Areas & Regulation
• Why is it hard to protect marine biodiversity? 1. Human ecological footprint and fishprint are expanding 2. Much of the damage in the ocean is not visible 3. The oceans are incorrectly viewed as an inexhaustible resource 4. Most of the ocean lies outside the legal jurisdiction of any country
Wind Power: Cons
• Windy areas may be sparsely populated - need to develop grid system to transfer electricity • Winds die down; need back-up energy • Storage of wind energy • Kills migratory birds • "Not in my backyard"
Ocean Management Challenges - Energy
• World demand for energy, particularly oil and gas, continues to rise • Most accessible ocean oil basins have already been developed, so exploration/development into increasingly challenging and fragile environments like the Arctic Ocean and North Pacific (e.g. Beaufort Sea) • Recent research has highlighted the potential for seabed-based methane hydrates to meet some energy demands • Risk of oil spills both during production and transport (e.g., Exxon Valdez, Alaska 1989)
Carbon (C)
• building block for all necessary fats, proteins and carbohydrates that are needed to sustain life
How is carbon incorporated into the food chain?
• carbon incorporated into the 'food chain' (carbohydrates passed along) • residence times of C in the biosphere vary: old growth forests (100s of years)
Planning and Management
• characteristics of system {landscape, population, land use, climate, flora/fauna} • Best "model" of how it works • Expected outcomes (scenarios) w some uncertainty / certainty e.g.: flood risk maps, earthquake hazard assessment, climate change forecasts • Conveying outcomes to the public/ developing collaborative strategies between stakeholders for best management approach
Organic Agriculture
• combines current approaches to sustainable agriculture (including IPM, IPNS and No-Till Agriculture) and other management strategies into a single approach • It's a production management system that aims to promote & enhance ecosystem health • Based on minimal use of external inputs, relying more on locally available resources • Minimizes air, water, soil pollution • Standards are set to regulate organic agriculture with respect to pesticide and fertilizer use; GMOs; sewage sludge, etc... • Has become large industry in Canada & elsewhere, now a $50 billion per year industry worldwide, but, • Still not a solution for global food security for poorer nations
What does EBR give you the right to do?
• comment on environmentally significant government proposals, • ask ministry to review existing law, or need for a new one, • ask a ministry to investigate harm to the environment, • seek permission to appeal a ministry decision on an instrument, • use courts or tribunals to protect the environment, • get whistleblower protection
Threats to coral reefs
• coral bleaching caused when water temps are too warm; 3°C warming by 2100 in shallow waters may result in annual/biannual bleaching, causing severe damage and widespread death of coral polyps • ocean acidification: increased acidity (carbonic acid) caused by increasing atmospheric CO2 concentrations • destructive fishing practices: coastal erosion, marine pollution, irresponsible tourism activities • rates of destruction of coral reefs now exceed 2% per year - nearly 5 times the rate of rain forest elimination
Urbanization
• creation and growth of urban and suburban areas • built environment is all the buildings, spaces and products that are created, or modified by people • Australia, Europe and North America are 80% urbanized and people spend nearly 90% of their time indoors
UN: Outcomes
• developed countries pledged to donate 0.7% of annual national income to less-developed countries • by 2009, only 5 countries—Denmark, Luxembourg, Sweden, Norway, and the Netherlands met goal • average amount donated in most years has been 0.25% of national income • USA gives only 0.16% of its national income to help poor countries
Secondary Succession
• don't start from scratch • Some soil remains in a terrestrial system • Some bottom sediment remains in an aquatic system • Ecosystem has been: Disturbed, Removed, Destroyed
Benefits of Urbanization
• economic development, transportation, education and innovation • Residents better access to medical care, social services and education • Recycling more feasible in concentrated urban centers
Nitrogen (N)
• essential for life • essential component of chlorophyll, proteins and amino acids • atmosphere contains >78% N2 gas as well as other gaseous N forms (e.g. NO2 - nitrogen dioxide, NH3 - ammonia)
Phosphorus (P)
• essential for metabolic energy use • not very common; tendency for species to store and re-use P rather than outright discard • P is a dominant 'limiting factor' in ecosystems • agricultural productivity relies very heavily on external inputs of P
Coral Reef Systems
• found throughout tropics & sub-tropics • diverse and ancient ecosystem (having first appeared ~ 225 million years ago) • take centuries to accumulate - through deposition of calcium carbonate skeletons types of: • fringing reefs (found along continental margins and offshore islands) • barrier reefs (those separated from the land by lagoons) • atolls (distinct coral islands, developed around now submerged lagoon areas) (e.g., Maldives)
Hydraulic fracturing
• fracturing of rock by pressurized liquid to release gas • common in wells for shale gas, tight gas, coal seam gas • one of the biggest threats to water quality • millions of litres of water, thousands of litres of chemicals, and thousands of kilograms of sand to blast apart rock
• "The Great Conveyor Belt"
• global ocean circulation system, transfer heat pole-ward; driven by differences in density of seawater • Seawater density a function of temperature (thermo) and salinity (haline) • Cold sea water sinks at: N. Atlantic, Arctic Ocean, Weddell Sea (in the Antarctic); forming 'deep waters' (water may remain here for 1000's of years) • Flow of the NADW is equivalent to that of 100 Amazon Rivers (Broecker 1995). (NADW = North Atlantic Deep Water)
Economics of Climate Change
• greatest and widest-ranging market failure ever seen. • evidence gathered by the Review leads to a simple conclusion - the benefits of strong, early action considerably outweigh the costs • costs of action are less than the costs of inaction • On a balance of probabilities, the failure of our generation to climate change mitigation would lead to consequences that would haunt humanity until the end of time
Sulfur Cycle
• has an 'atmospheric component'; thus better recycling potential (or rates) • S not available in lithosphere • more highly dependent on microbial organisms for movement in the 'cycle' (unlike P) • bacteria transform S into various forms in soil • transformations either under aerobic or anaerobic conditions leading to: • H2S (gas) --> atmosphere • 'sulphate salts' --> remain in the soil • interaction of S cycle with other nutrient cycles creates added complexity (e.g. O, N) e.g. SO2 formation, acid rain
Hydrology and Invasive Species. Hydrologic changes that can result from the Mountain Pine Beetle and salvage harvesting include:
• increased peak flows & water yield • increased surface erosion • damage to forest road surfaces, cuts and fills, and drainage structures • channel destabilization • fish habitat loss • increased landslide activity • elevated water tables • loss of soil and site productivity • loss of water quality
Shelterwood - Partial Cuts
• involves the complete removal of stand in series of cuts • used w mid- tolerant species, those can tolerate partial shade as saplings, but also require some sunlight in order to thrive (e.g. Oak, White Pine) • Results in even- aged stands
Forestry and Climate Change
• key part of carbon cycle • Carbon liberated at harvest either returned to roots (40-60%, returned slowly to soil) or 'stored' as downstream forest products (paper, lumber, etc.) • Canada's managed forests were a 'net carbon sink' over the 1990 to 2009 period, though some notable years when CO2 emissions well exceeded removals
R-strategists:
• large numbers of young early in life and over a short time period • Invest little energy as "parent • examples: insects, rodents, algae, annual plants, fish • usually small and short-lived; tend to dominate the early stages of the successional process
Sulfur (S)
• like all macro-nutrients, an essential component for life • a building component of proteins • S not often a 'limiting factor' in ecosystems
Phosphorus Cycle
• main reservoir is ROCK • uplift and weathering soil • uptake by plants, then higher trophic levels • plant decay / animal wastes and bones key return flow of P • P enters streams & rivers lakes & oceans • productive estuarine and shallow coastal zones with high P
Sedimentary Cycles
• mobilize materials from the lithosphere to the hydrosphere and back • Operate slowly • Elements locked in geological formations for millions of years • E.g. Phosphorus, Sulfur
Local governments as sustainability leaders
• municipal government taking leadership to implement sustainability measures and practices regardless of global, national, or regional government assistance
Hydrologic Cycle
• necessary for life • humans are 70% H20 • Earth is unique in having liquid water (unlike Mars, Venus) • most is stored in oceans • cycling from these reservoirs varies (some residence times in deep oceans is 30,000 + years; while atmosphere is 9-12 days)
Carolinian Forest: Deciduous forest along Lake Erie and Ontario, largely cleared
• northern limit of Carolinian forest • Walnut, sycamore, white oak stop here • (Would be) the most diverse forest (# of tree species) in Canada • land use change (urban/ag/rec) has destroyed most of area
Oceans are Basic
• pH = 8.14 (probably dropped from pH 8.25 in the last 200 years) • WHY? CO2 • Oceans are a sink for atmospheric CO2, but it comes at a cost of acidification, leading to dissolving of calcium carbonates (shells and corals)- ecological consequences may be severe
Ontario's Environmental Bill of Rights (EBR)
• passed in 1993. Provincial government has responsibility to consult the public on environmental decisions, and the public has the right to have a say.
Is Democracy failing the environment?
• policy should follow the majority • problem: current environmental problems are harder to explain/see for general public • large corporations, individuals concerned about employment etc.
Economics often drives policy...this needs to change • Case Study: Navigable Waterways Act
• right to navigation is 1 of oldest and most fundamental principles of common law • The Supreme Court of Canada, adopted "floating canoe" threshold in 1906, holding that any water that was navigable and floatable was w/n its scope • Any act that impacted "navigable water" required an environmental assessment
Boreal Agreement
• signed on May 21, 2010, brought together environmental activists and the forestry industry for the first time
Endocrine Disruption:
• the interference of normal bodily processes such as sex, metabolism, and growth by chemicals • soaps and detergents, birth control etc. • causing feminization (or hermaphroditic changes) ... e.g., these may also be partially responsible for fall in human male sperm counts in the past 50 years
Atlantic Maritime (eastern QC, NB, PEI, NS)
• transitional forest • Balsam fir, spruces, white/ red pine, eastern hemlock • Yellow birch, sugar maple • has most forestry on private land • Natural regeneration post- harvesting (little replanting here)
Water Resources
• using available freshwater unsustainably by wasting it, polluting it, charging too little for this irreplaceable natural resource • 1/6 people doesn't have sufficient access to clean water, this situation will almost certainly get worse
New Urbanism
• walkability: stores/recreational activities located within a 10-minute walk • mixed-use and diversity: blend of pedestrian- friendly shops, offices, apartments, and homes to house people of different ages, classes, cultures, and races • quality urban design: aesthetics, architectural diversity • environmental sustainability: minimal impact • smart transportation: well-designed train and bus systems connecting neighborhoods, towns, and cities
Case study: Passenger Pigeon
• was one of most abundant birds • Audubon: flock took 3 days to fly over • Passenger pigeon hunted to extinction by 1900 • Habitat loss • Commercial hunting • Easy to kill: flew in large flocks and nested in dense colonies • One person made $60,000 by killing 3M birds (1878)
Hydropower Generation
• water flowing over dams & energy of tidal flows and ocean waves to generate electricity • environmental concerns/ limited availability of suitable sites may restrict use of energy resources
Surface Runoff
• water that doesn't percolate into the ground or evaporate • 2/3 of annual surface runoff is lost to floods etc. • 1/3 is reliable runoff - considered available for human use • Surface runoff varies from place to place, in some areas up to 70% is currently used to meet water needs
Dominant Boreal Trees:
• white/black spruce • jack pine • tamarack • balsam fir • poplar • white birch • trembling aspen
Environmental cost of bottled water:
• ~5L of water and 0.5L of oil are used to produce a single 1L plastic bottle
Development benefits of LID
•Increase Property Value • Better Aesthetics and Streetscapes • Reduced irrigation/water savings • Dual-Purpose Systems ( ie. Garden & Stormwater) • Reduced net capital costs
Quagga Mussel
•Increase in Quaggas •Better cool water survival •Longer growing season •Attach to less ideal substrates
