resource profiles. carbon dioxide emissions

Resource Profiles

Carbon Dioxide Emissions

http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-files/Guardian/documents/2011/02/10/CarbonWeb.pdf

CO2 Emissions in tons per person

Total CO2 Emissions in million tons

http://www.china-profile.com/data/fig_co2-emissions_3.htm (2005)

CO2 Emissions per Country per Capita 2010

http://www.wrsc.org/attach_image/carbon-dioxide-emissions-country-capita?order=type&sort=asc

CO2 Sources

http://co2now.org

Clear Cutting the Amazon Rain Forest

Bolivian DeforestationOnce a vast carpet of healthy vegetation and virgin forest, the Amazon rain forest is changing rapidly. This image of Bolivia shows dramatic deforestation in the Amazon Basin. Loggers have cut long paths into the forest, while ranchers have cleared large blocks for their herds. Fanning out from these clear-cut areas are settlements built in radial arrangements of fields and farms. Healthy vegetation appears bright red in this image.

http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2009/08/60-stunning-satellite-photos-of-earth/

Water Resources

http://www.unwater.org/statistics_res.html

Selling Canada’s Water

Canada are near the top of water-rich nations, trailing only Brazil, Russia and China.

the amount of water on Earth has remained the same over the past four billion years

Of all the water on our planet, 97.5 per cent is sea water

three-quarters of the remaining 2.5 per cent is locked in polar ice caps

The tiny bit left over is drinkable

Selling Canada’s Water

Estimates of Canada's supply of fresh water vary from 5.6 per cent to nine per cent to 20 per cent of the world's supply, depending on how one defines "fresh water" – whether it means "available," "usable," or merely "existing." One study says Canada has 20 per cent of the world's fresh water – ranking it at the top – but only nine per cent of "renewable" fresh water.

Canadians consume 350 litres of water a day per capita, second only to the Americans as the most profligate wasters of water in the world. The average global citizen needs only between 20 and 40 litres of water a day for drinking and sanitation.

Water will be "the oil of the 21st century," or "liquid gold," and that it will cause wars between nations.http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/water/

Water as a commodityGerry White is an entrepreneur who wants to sell

Canada's water to the world and sees no reason why he should be prevented from doing so.

White quickly developed a plan to skim 500,000 cubic metres from Gisborne Lake each week and ship it in bulk to overseas customers. He argued that draining 500,000 cubic metres of water would lower the lake an inch, but this would be replenished naturally within 10 hours.

He also argued it would be a godsend to jobs-poor Newfoundland

"Belongs to everyone and to

no one""There is a common assumption that the world's water supply is huge and infinite," Barlow has said. "This assumption is false. At some time in the near future, water bankruptcy will result.”

She cites a United Nations study that says by the year 2025 – less than 15 years – two-thirds of the world will be "water-poor.”

"The wars of the future are going to be fought over water," Barlow has declared.

Canadian Environmental Law Association (CELA) that says: "Water is an essential need, a public trust, not a commodity. It belongs to everyone and to no one.”

Maude Barlow is chair of the Council of Canadians

Open Pit Mining

Oil Sands

Open Pit Mining: Diamonds

Today, diamonds are the most valuable stones in the world not only because of their beauty, but also because of their utility. Diamonds are not only specifically cut for use in jewelry, but they are also used for special cutting tools like saw blades and drills because the stones are extremely hard and durable. Like everything else in the world, diamonds come with a cost and often times the environment and the people in communities surrounding diamond mines foot the bill.

Whether diamond mines are responsibly managed or not, environmental destruction is inevitable and like most types of mines the area surrounding the mine is adversely effected. Most diamond mines are open pit mines requiring the digging of thousands of square meters of land. Some diamond operations are conducted on the beach or off shore, in which case retaining walls are built to protect the mine from waves and tidal fluctuations. In these cases, large quantities of sand and rock (and sometimes coral reefs) are removed from the mine and placed elsewhere.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6991185

Canadian Diamonds

http://www.7books.net/7-books-on-blood-diamonds/

Diavik Diamond Mine Canada

Fueling WarsRough diamond caches have often been used by rebel forces to finance arms purchases and other illegal activities. Neighbouring and other countries can be used as trading and transit grounds for illicit diamonds. Once diamonds are brought to market, their origin is difficult to trace and once polished, they can no longer be identified.How can a conflict diamond be distinguished from a legitimate diamond?"Diamonds are forever" it is often said. But lives are not.We must spare people the ordeal of war, mutilations and death for the sake of conflict diamonds."

http://www.un.org/peace/africa/Diamond.html

Blood diamonds are not named for their color but rather the very real blood which is shed in order to mine them and more sinister, the arms for civil war for which they are used to pay for.  If you wear a conflict or blood diamond on your hand, then you really do have blood on your hands!

http://geology.com/articles/blood-diamonds.shtml

Drag Net Fishing Practices

http://nettour2005.blogspot.ca/2005/10/bbc-news-tuesday-october-4-2005.html

Fishing Methods

http://library.thinkquest.org/04oct/01590/humans/fisheries.html

Natural Gas Fracking Methods

Gasland

http://www.treehugger.com/culture/burning-tap-water-and-more-gasland-exposes-the-natural-gas-industry.html

http://www.world-science.org/blog/hydraulic-fracturing-fracking-study-methane-water-pnas/

Quality of LifeOur quality of life is directly linked to the quality of our environment. We desire a high quality of life and therefore we must desire a high quality of environment…. but do we hold or environment with such a high regard?

Are resource harvesting or extracting methods environmentally sound or not?

What are the economic, social and ecological impacts of harvesting the resource?

What is the interdependence of ecology and economics?

Sustainable Environment

Deep Ecology Deep Ecology is a philosophy of nature which sees that underlying the environmental crisis there is a psychological or spiritual disease stemming from the illusion of separation between humans and the rest of the natural world.Shifting values will profoundly alter the ways we relate to each other and to the Earth (Fritjof Capra).

http://www.deep-ecology-hub.com/shallow-ecology.html

What are the principles of deep ecology?

Satish Kumar explains the difference between shallow ecology and deep ecology terms first coined by the Norwegian philosopher Arne Naess. Drawing from his Jain religious background, he describes what he sees as the sacredness of nature. He suggests how the notion of deep ecology could be developed still further to form a reverential ecology that challenges the Darwinian notion of survival of the fittest.

http://smallplanet.org