Course Finale!

After taking this course, Environmental Resource Management, I feel as though I understand the working of the four spheres of the environment a lot better. This course has taught me quite a bit and I've really enjoyed learning how we can hlep the environment. The stewardship projects were a very unique way to wrap up the the semester and I had fun trying to make our school more aware of the benefits of CFLs. Overall, it was a good experience and I'm glad that I chose to take this course. :D

The Low Down on Lead in London and Area

In an article published by the London Free Press, schools across Thames Valley are testing their water for elevated lead levels in response to Ontario’s Chief Water Inspector, Jim Smith, requesting that the water be tested in older homes, nurseries, schools and hospitals. This order was made one week after The Free Press reported many older London homes had levels of lead that failed to meet health standards even after the pipes were flushed out. The testing has been ordered for older homes that may be begin supplied wit water via lead pipes and in institutions like hospitals and school that serve vulnerable populations like children and pregnant women.
Concern is being taken because of the nasty effects that lead exposure can have on humans of all ages.

According to the National Saftey Council at ncs.org, lead posiing can cause a wide array of problems in people of all ages. Young children under the age of six are especially vulnerable to lead’s harmful health effects because their brains and central nervous systems are not fully formed. The effects are as follows for low level exposure:
-reduced IQ
-learning disabilities
-attention deficit disorders
-behavioural problems
-stunted growth
-imparied hearing
-kidney damage

Effects on children under te age of six exposed to a high level of exposure:
-mental retardation
-coma
-death

Lead can also cause a wide array of problems in adults, even with their brains and central nervous systems fully formed. Lead can:
- increase blood pressure
-cause fertility problems
-nerve disorders
- muscle and joint pain
- irritability
- memory or concentration problems
It takes a significantly greater level of exposure to lead for adults than it does for kids to sustain adverse health effects. In pregnancy, a woman who has an elevated blood-lead level can easily transfer this to the fetus through the placenta. Pregnancy itself also can cause lead to be released from the bone, where lead is stored, and enter the blood stream. This lead will end up in the fetus.

An article published by the City of London outlines the areas at risk for lead poisoning within the city and what the city is doing about it. It was outlined that some homes in London, built before the mid-1950s, may have lead levels higher than Provincial Standards due to lead water pipes (water services) running from the City’s water main in the street into the home. As water travels through the lead service pipe it can uptake trace amounts of lead and may exceed the Provincial Standard (the Provincial Standard tis 10 micrograms per litre, as outlined by the Ministry of Environment).

A map is supplied to inform Londoners if their home is supplied with lead piping. Lead service connections were often used in London prior to 1952. To check for yourself, locate your water metre, typically found in the basement, and look at the pipe coming up through the basement floor into the bottom of the water metre. Lead is grey, does not echo if you gently strike it, scratches easily and leaves metallic marks when you rub the scratched area against paper.

The City has a three-pronged plan to address lead water pipes:
1. Education and awareness campaign to educate homeowners who have lead pipes and to provide information about replacing the pipes.
2.Investigation into changes to the water chemistry (pH, hardness, etc.) which could minimize the uptake of lead into the water.
3. Replacement of lead pipes, in conjunction with homeowners and as part of our broader infrastructure renewal efforts.
--Watermain Replacement Program is focused on ensuring our piped water infrastructure is renewed at a sustainable rate. As part of the program, when a watermain is replaced, the service connections are also replaced to the property line. On average, approximately 400 service connections are renewed each year.
--Lead Service Replacement Program provides opportunity for a homeowner to replace their portion of the lead service connection from the property line into the house. The City will replace the public portion at no cost to the homeowner, as outlined in the City of London (Water By-law W-3 Clause 6.17(b).

This site also discloses resources for professional residential water testing and how water delivry systems are beign replaced. In conclusion, the people of London should be concerned about lead in their water, as of the adverse effects that it can cause on the human body are permanent and life altering.

Sustainable Forestry Management

"Canada is a forest nation. With nearly 300 million hectares of forests and another 92 million hectares of wooded land, Canada has the third-largest expanse of forested land of any country in the world, including 30% of the planet’s boreal forest." (SFM Management in Canada: Clear Policy - Questionable Practice) As Canada is home to such lavish expanses of natural forest, it in our job and the governments to prevent the over harvesting of these stands of trees. The SFM, works to balance all the different uses of the forest while making sure that environmental functioning continues to preserve forest life for the future. So far, Canada is on there way to implementing sustainable forestry practises, but still needs some work in the field of standing by and enforcing their rules.

The current (2003-2008) National Forest Strategy, A Sustainable Forest: The Canadian Commitment, defines actions and goals that will lead to sustainable forest management in Canada. These are grouped under eight broad themes:
-ecosystem-based management;
-sustainable forest communities;
-rights and participation of Aboriginal peoples;
-forest product benefits;
-knowledge and innovation for competitiveness and sustainability;
-the urban forest and public engagement in sustainability;
-private woodlots’ contribution to sustainability;

-reporting and accountability.

Now, Canada has some great ideas and goals but how do they plan on implementing them?
The 1992 National Forest Strategy required the development of SFM Criteria and Indicators (C&I), which the CCFM published in 1995. In 2003, the CCFM updated these C&I, which have been referred to as "the most broadly accepted Canadian forest values generated to date"

The six criteria under the Canadian approach to SFM are:
-biological diversity;
-ecosystem condition and productivity;
-soil and water;
-role in global ecological cycles;
-economic and social benefits; and
-society’s responsibility.

The criteria are evaluated using a total of 46 indicators. According to the CCFM, this criteria will represent the forest values that Canada will need to sustain. So Canada has some great ideas, but the first and only report on Canada’s forests using these C&I was published in 2000 (based on the 1995 C&I). The report is a view of Canadian forests and their management through the lens of the six criteria, but it offers no inferences or conclusions regarding the sustainability of Canadian forests except to suggest that the efforts by various governments to protect more land are positive. Canada really needs to be completing these reports every year including conclusions regarding better ways to improve forest sustainability. A forest inventory that tracks the SFM indicators is an essential tool for successful monitoring and reporting on forest sustainability. The federal government produced Canada’s Forest Inventory (CanFI) reports in 1986, 1991, 1994, and 2001.

Overall, I just think that Canada has some great ideas for laying the foundation to sustaining the nations forests for future generations. The rules just need to be implemented more strictly and more often, maybe even with harder punishments for people and organizations that violate the protection of the forests. Canada needs to be doing yearly reports on their forests, as to better monitor and survey the changes and effects that their newfound policies have had on the forests of Canada.

Annoying Alien Bug Infestations!

Hemlock Woolly Adelgid aka Adelges tsugae
Link: http://www.saveourhemlocks.org/

This is a fluid-feeding insect that feeds on hemlock trees throughout North America. This insect was introduced from Asia to the Pacific Northwest in 1924, and to the Northeaster US in about the 1950s. This insect lacks natural enemies and has spread throughout the US creating extreme amounts of damage to stands of natural Hemlock trees and is considered to be the greatest threat to Hemloack Trees.

Due to this threat the USDA Forest Service is taking action by furthuring research to help prevent futhur infestations and by following these management steps:
· Biological Control: Mass rear and release available predators including
technology development of mass rearing and release techniques. Evaluate the
effectiveness of predator release and impacts on HWA populations.
· Chemical Control: Refine and update application technology; pilot test new
methods; update recommendations to users; where appropriate, provide technical
and financial assistance in control programs.
· Survey & Monitoring: Enhance detection and delineation of new and current
infestations; implement and evaluate improved sampling techniques and methods
to predict rate of spread; identify areas at high risk.
· Impacts/Economics: Conduct an assessment of potential economic and ecological
impacts. At a regional level, quantify impacts to the hemlock resource and assess
potential effects on associated fauna and flora, threatened and endangered species,
and water quality.
· Silvicultural Management: Identify, demonstrate, and disseminate information on
silvicultural alternatives for landowners.
· Slowing Spread: Facilitate the establishment of compatible state regulatory
policies; develop a program to enhance detection of new infestations; provide
financial and technical support for eradication of new infestations.
A full report on their managrement and research can be found at:http://www.na.fs.fed.us/fhp/hwa/pub/hwa_mgt_plan.pdf

Gypsy Moth aka Lymantria dispar
Links:

http://www.na.fs.fed.us/spfo/pubs/fidls/gypsymoth/gypsy.htm
http://www.fs.fed.us/ne/morgantown/4557/gmoth/.fs.fed.us/ne/morgantown/4557/gmoth/
http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfp/gypsymoth/manage.htm

The Gypsy Moth is a defoliating insect. It was introduced to the US in 1869 by a French scientist and the first real outbreak occurred in 1889. The gypsy moth is known to feed on hundreds of species foliage in North America, but usually infest hardwood and the most common hosts of the insect are oaks and aspen trees. These insects will defoliate the crown of a tree, which can severely stunt radial growth. Trees can recover from the Gypsy Moth, but if a tree is frequented more than once by the insect, they are made weaker and are unable to regenerate as well in the future.

There are a variety of natural enemies that are known to the Gypsy Moth which include: insect parasitoids and predators that were introduced over the last 100 years from Asia and Europe, small mammals are perhaps the most important gypsy moth predator, especially at low population densities, birds are also known to prey on gypsy moths but at least in North America this does not substantially affect populations.

A number of tactics have the potential to minimize damage from gypsy moth infestations and to contain or maintain gypsy moth populations at levels considered tolerable. These tactics include monitoring gypsy moth populations, maintaining the health and vigour of trees, discouraging gypsy moth survival, and treating with insecticides to kill larvae and protect tree foliage. The tactic or combination of tactics used will depend on the condition of the site and of the tree or stand and the level of the gypsy moth population. Tactics suggested for homeowners are probably too costly and too labour intensive for managers to use in forest stands.

The goverment of British Coloumbia prevents infestation by following these steps:

-Prevent shipment of or intercept, commercial goods and vehicles infested with life stages of gypsy moths. This activity is presently the responsibility of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency who have established regulated areas to minimize the risk of spread of known gypsy moth populations.

-Detect newly introduced populations through a province-wide inter-agency detection program. Click here for more information on the detection program.
-Eradicate new introduced populations when detected before they become widely established and impossible to eradicate. Click on this link to obtain a more detailed description of the Eradication Strategy
-Develop cost effective and timely methods to prevent shipments of infested personal goods when people move to North America om areas permanently infested with gypsy moths.
-Seek new, proven, practical and environmentally sound methods of eradicating gypsy moths that further reduce effects on non-target moths and butterflies.
-Maintain communication systems to ensure advance knowledge of outbreaks of gypsy moths wherever they occur in the world so as to respond quickly to the increased threat of introduction such outbreaks produce.

The governement deals with already established infestations by following an eradication stadegdy:
This stadegdy depends on a monitoring system using pheromone traps to do early detection of moth introductions. Once moths are detected, the following year a more intensive trapping program, known as "delimiting trapping" is initiated to provide more accurate estimates of the location and approximate size of the moth population. If populations are significant (as determined by gypsy moth control specialists), the trap data - sometimes combined with egg mass survey information - is used to determine the area of treatment.



The Asian Long Horned Beetle aka Anoplophora glabripennis
Links:

http://www.asian-longhorned-beetle.com/asianlonghornedbeetle-3.htm
http://www.uvm.edu/albeetle/management/prevention.html

The Asian Long Horned Beetle (ALB) is believed to have arrived in North America in wooden packing material used in cargo shipments from China. The trees that are favoured by this insect are maples, but have been discovered in poplars, willows, elms, mullberries, and black locusts. The insect feeds on the heartwood of mature trees, and burrow through the bark, therefor leaving sawdust-like piles at the base of the tree. They make holes in which sap flow will seep from the tree, causing the tree damage.

Currently, there is no known biological or chemical form of defense against the ALB and to make matters worse, they have few natural predators. In case of infestation, the affected trees are cut down and the wood is destroyed. There have been large isolated outreaks in Brooklyn and Amityville, New York, and in Chicago, Illinois. In all instances where ALBs are found, authorities have reacted quickly to stop the infestation from spreading.

The University of Vermont list steps to eradicating and preventing the ALB as follows:
-Identify and remove all infested trees as soon as possible.
-Removal should include grinding of the stump to a depth of 8 inches when there is evidence of ALB infestation on the lower 2 feet of the bole or on the roots.
-All materials resulting from the tree removal will be chipped and burned.
-Replanting within the infested areas should be done with non-susceptible tree species
-Carry out visual delimiting survey to determine the extent and area of infestation.
-Initiate a public awareness program to alert the public and other organizations of additional infestation sites.
-Prevent by prohibiting infested wood

GMOs Need Labels!

GMO’s can be a very touchy subject, but in my opinion, the people of Canada should get to know if their food is genetically modified. I mean, if it is required that products have to be labelled with a list of the product’s ingredients, its nutritional values, and where is was grown or produced, I don’t think that it’d be asking too much to enlighten buyers are to whether their food is a GMO. Altering the genetics of a food is altering the food’s original state. If we were to add a new ingredient to a food, it’d have to be listed. So, why should altered genetics not be labelled?

GMOs and their effect on the long term health of the consuming population has been debated and is a highly controversial topic. GMOs are also being accused of causing problems and reactions for people with certain allergies. An article was published in In Motion Magaize that stands for the need for labelling foods and lists the common hazards that GMOs can cause to the population. An example of this is when Nebraska researchers used a Brazil-nut gene and spliced it into soybeans. The protein that was spliced from the nut and into the bean could potentially cause allergic reactions for children or adults living with nut allergies who ingest something made from one of these soybeans. Acording to an article published on Action on Bioscience.org by Arpad Pusztaie, a Ph.D. holder from the University of London, GMOs are still a very new science and needs to be further tested to discover the long term effects that new technology like this could have on the human body. This topic is just another reason for why GMOs should have to be labelled. It would offer the public a simple piece of mind and make people with these allergies feel more secure by knowing what they are consuming.

Some people have gone as far as saying that labelling GMO’s is a consumer right due to some of the reasons that I have listed above. The government claims that it would be too costly to label food that is genetically modified but, according to an article published by the Organic Consumers Organization, a study commissioned by Quebec’s Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Foods reveals that it would cost 28 million dollars Canadian. Compare that price to the first estimation of 950 million. So if it would actually only cost the new estimation, why would labelling food be such a bad idea?

But are Canadians willing to pay the extra price that would be incorporated into food prices for labelling? According to Dr. Wuyang Hu, a Post Doctoral Fellow in The Department of Rural Economy at the University of Alberta, who wrote his doctoral thesis, "Three Essays on Genetically Modified Food Labeling and Consumer Behavior", on how labeling GMO products could impact consumer behavior, he says,
"Consumers are willing to pay more money for more information about the food they are eating. Mandatory labeling does cost more, but the consumers are willing to pay that additional cost. I do not have a solution as to which is better economically, mandatory or voluntary labeling. That model would be too much work for a single PhD thesis. I focused on the consumer side. I hope, one day soon, someone will combine my research with the supply models so that we can have a clearer picture of the issue."

So, in conlusion, there is an abundence of reasons why GMOs shodl be labeled, as it would give consumers a simple piece of mind and prevent health related reaction risks like with allergies.

Some Ways to Reduce Your GHGs

Making a personal effort to reduce GHG emissions should be a personal goal for all Canadians, and people around the world. Here are a few ways that people can modify their personal activities if their lives to help reduce the emission of green house gases.
I’ve looked a few ways that people can reduce their emissions with help from the website, http://www.caledoncountryside.org/greenpower/CCA-2003021501.pdf , there is a list of "6 easy ways to Lose a Tonne (Of Air Pollution)". Their suggestions are written in italics.

1. "Replace 4 indoor lights with compact florescent light bulbs, and two outdoor lights with motion detector lights". This is a great idea, but to further it, couldn’t a house hold, or workplace just replace all of the their traditional light bulbs with fluorescent bulbs as they run out? The same goes for outdoor lights. People could drastically reduce their energy costs, and the amount of GHG’s they produce through using electricity if they replaced all or nearly all of their outdoor lights with motion lights.

2. "Have Energuide complete and audit of your home’s energy efficiency and follow up on their recommendations." This is a great idea, and could help to eliminate a lot of appliances that are energy sucking and waste producing machines. A few other home fixer-upers would be:
-improve window insulation so heat is not lost from poorly sealed window panes
-wash clothing in cold water
-hang dry clothes to reduce the energy required to use a dryer
-turn off lights when you leave a room
-recycle! Have bins for multiple types of recycling
-compost! This can reduce waste
-get some canvas bags for grocery shopping to eliminate the use of wasteful plastic bags
-try to cut down on waste produced by composting and avoiding individually packed items

3. "Turn off desktop computers overnight."
This is a great recommendation that can be applied at the workplace and at home. I know that the family computer at my house if left running frequently. Imagine how much energy is wasted in big office buildings because of all the computers being left on. This suggestion can also apply to radios, stereos, televisions, video players and other entertainment systems that are constantly left running.

4. "Reduce car emissions by: driving less than 80 kilometers a week (car pool, commute, combine errands, bike, roller blade, skateboard, walk), keeping your car tuned up with the tires inflated, reducing idling, and staying close to the speed limit will reduce pollution. Also, working close to home can reduce the amount of emissions that are produced by making lengthy commutes to work or can cut them out entirely by using a bike or walking.

5. "Plant Trees!" There are oodles of ways that trees can reduce emissions. First, they are carbon sinks, and they produce more oxygen. Plus, they can provide more shade for your house in the summer and reduce the cost of air conditioning.

And...if you have some money to throw around you could:
-invest in solar panels to make your home more energy efficient
-buy a fuel reducing car like a hybrid

Finally, in the market for a new home? Make it small, the smaller the house the less money that is spent on things like heating and cooling, which in turn would lower a person’s level of energy consumption.

My Ecological Footprint

After completing the ecological footprint, I received the following results:

Category Global Hectares
Food 3.1
Mobility 0.4
Shelter 0.6
Goods/Services 1
Total 5.1

If everyone lived like you we would need 2.8 planets

For the Lifestyle footprint I received the following result:
Low Growth: Everything goes wrong that can go wrong, in this future of risk and paranoia. Total ecological footprint is halved, but for the wrong reasons - economic stagnation and social malaise. The rich consume avariciously while others tighten their belts, amidst a host of problems - climate change, urban unrest, toxic waste, mutant organisms, and international terrorism.

A few of the possibly ways that I could reduce my emissions would be to make all (not just some) of the light bulbs in my house energy efficient. I could wash my clothes with cold water all the time, and use the clothes line to dry them (weather permitting), as well I could influence the rest of my family to do this. I could also do more recycling and separate all the recyclables into separate piles. By buying energy efficient appliances (or asking my paretns to do so), I could reduce the amount fo energy that my house consume everyday. Driving an energy efficient vehicle would also help to reduce my ecological footprint, but I don’t exactly have the money to buy one. When I’m older I’ll buy a small house to reduce the amount of energy needed, but that’s in the future. When I have control over what is purchased in my home I will make sure that it is environmentally friendly.

:)