North America - Environmental Challenges
Below is a brief summary of my own research on key environmental challenges in Canada.
CANADA
Canada produces a lot of oil from the Oil sands in Alberta. This results in huge tailing ponds of slurry which is a bi product of the production of oil. National Geographic notes that Canada’s climate is warming twice as fast as the rest of the world. Canada is seen as a leader in laws and combating climate change, however, this is at odds with its desire to produce more oil.
Boreal Forest
Canada is home to the Boreal Forest which is a coniferous forest that lies mostly North of 50 degrees north and is about 1000km wide and is situated between the Arctic tundra and the temperate rainforests, prairies grasslands and deciduous woodlands to the south. According to Wikipedia the Boreal forest is considered to be the world’s largest intact forest with approximately 91% of its pre-settler extent remaining. In Canada, eight percent of the forest is protected from development, the provincial government allows forest management to occur on Crown land under rigorous constraints.
The main forestry practice in the boreal forest of Canada is clear cutting, which involves cutting down most of the trees in a given area, then replanting the forest as a mono crop (one species of tree) the following season.
Some of the products from logged boreal forests include toilet paper, copy paper, newsprint, and lumber. More than 90% of boreal forest products from Canada are exported for consumption and processing in the United States.
Does this get the balance right between the need for employment for indigenous peoples and for protection?
Canada does not support the International Whaling Commission’s 1982 ban on whaling in the Southern Ocean. It is not clear why as it has no need for whale products.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
The below is a brief summary of my own research on key environmental challenges in the United States of America.
Oil Production
According to Wikipedia the USA is the world’s highest oil producer followed closely by Saudi Arabia and Russia at 15 million barrels per day. Worldwide 80 million barrels per day are produced with most countries managing to export oil with the exception of the USA which still imports oil.
Pollution
Wikipedia notes that in June 2017 the USA pulled out of the 2015 Paris agreement on climate change. This means that the USA Federal government will not look to meet its obligation to limit emissions after November 2020. (Since the election of Joe Biden as US President elect it is hoped that this will change). On the plus side 24 of the USA's 50 states have said that they intend to progress policies towards meeting the Paris agreement. The Paris agreement seeks to reduce emissions enough to limit global warming to within 2C by agreeing targets with each Country.
According to The World Economic Forum which has ranked the world’s best and worst air polluters, the United States has some of the highest amounts of carbon dioxide emissions per person of all countries. It also is one of the nations with the highest electricity consumption. Air pollution is largely a result of the generation of power from coal, oil and gas. The USA has over three times the emissions per person in metric tons per capita than the world average according to The World Bank.
Environmental Laws
Since Donald Trump has become president the USA has sought to remove over 80 environmental rules and regulations as reported by the New York Times on 12th September 2019. These would be taken for granted in other developed countries, and refer to air pollution and emissions, drilling and extraction, infrastructure and planning, animals, toxic substances and water pollution. One of the many effects of these changes is to significantly increase greenhouse gas emissions. Reading the full list on the article is far more depressing. (Since the election of Joe Biden as US President elect it is hoped that this will change).
Deforestation
According to Wikipedia in the 1600s prior to the arrival of European settlers about half of the land mass in North America was forested. The amount of forest cover has remained stable since the early 1900's and is now at about 37%. The main current threats to the forests are forest fires. The USA is the world’s second largest producer and consumer of forest products, and is responsible for one quarter of the world’s total production and consumption of forest products.