The State of Pollution in Canada

The State of Pollution in Canada

Canadians accept and understand that a clean and pollution-free environment is crucial for the excellent health and well-being of the people. They agree that clean water, air, and land has a significant implication in the attainment of better health, quality life, and more the cultivation of a productive society with a growing economy. The reasons behind good health and the strong economy are attributable to a general conducive environment of healthier fresh air rather than smoggy air with disease-causing bacteria. Pollution describes the process of introducing any substance into the atmosphere, which otherwise could not be present naturally, and this substance is a threat to the purity of the environment. These substances introduced may range from pesticides, pharmaceuticals waste bottles, and home debris. Water pollution is believed to be caused by four main factors, which include agricultural practices, untreated sewage, ocean acidification, and global warming. Clean rivers and lakes are significant in providing captivating places for the people to swim and boats to ride since there is no doubt of the existence of water pollutants in the water that may cause harm.  Clean water also contributes to a clean environment and natural beauty of the country. This promotes the tourism industry of Canada as tourists visit the country to enjoy the country’s good scenery and natural beauty.

Consequently, job opportunities are created, which then promotes the growth of Canada’s economy. This paper will seek to examine the state of aquatic pollution in Canada as well as the causes of water pollution in the country. The paper will also evaluate the effects of water pollution on the environment and human health in Canada.

The State of Aquatic Pollution in Canada

Most pollution in Canada is attributable to the increased activities in the environment such as industrialization in the growing cities, increased farming activities, exploitation of natural resources as well as increased vehicles in the automotive industry. Reports reveal that several sources of pollution pose a threat to the aquatic ecosystems, which ripples this threat to the people. In this case, the focus will be put on the sources of pollution, which include industrial discharge, agricultural contamination, and pipeline spills (Butler, 2020). Over the last two decades, Canada has made significant progress in suppressing water pollution. However, there is still much to be done to address this menace.

Breaking Canada’s water system, the national assessment declared that there are 16 subwatersheds in Canada. Surprisingly, nearly all these subwatersheds are in the peril of environmental disturbance, which stances multiple threats. The densely populated area tends to be on the verge of more significant risks due to heavy industry and farming. For instance, the regions of Lake Ontario and Eastern Lake Huron, as well as the Niagara peninsula subwatershed, demonstrate the most dubious situation of being profoundly affected in Canada due to such factors as fragmentation, improper water use, and high pollution levels.

Causes of Water pollution in Canada

Different factors and sources cause water pollution in Canada. It is alleged that one of the causes of pollution is oil sands. For instance, Alberta’s oil sands are one of the core causes of pollution in Canada owing to its massive carbon footprint. Reports show that the current trend project climate pollution due to tar sands oil to hit 104 MtC02 in the coming five years, which is about double the emissions witnessed in Norway.  This climate pollution implies that the levels of acid rain will significantly increase due to the oil sands, which in turn will lead to contamination of water and cause adverse effects on the ecosystem in the lakes and rivers of Canada.

Wastewater and pesticide runoff also form significant sources of pollution in the Great Lakes of Canada, which contain an estimate of 20 percent of the world’s fresh water supply. Moreover, industrial development and air pollution form part of the pollutants in these Great Lakes. Research conducted reveals that the waters of these Great Lakes are relied upon by over 35 million people from Canada and the United States. The lakes in Canada experience effects owing to the early settlements and industrial processes, which is an added burden over the present-day pollutants. For instance, a lot of toxic chemicals such as mercury, PCBs, and DDT have been released into the lakes over the last several years (“Costs of Pollution in Canada,” 2020). Unfortunately, these chemicals circulate and persist in the environment as they go through the food chain, and this implies that they will remain even in the coming years after having contaminated the lakes and environment.

Moreover, the effects of this pollution will be recurrent owing to their difficulty to eradicate

Noticeably, pollution within and around the lakes is not only a threat to the ecosystem but also the fleet industry since the shipping of cargo, and human transport becomes a problem. Additionally, tourism and recreational activities become hampered by the water pollution hazard. Climate change contributes to low water levels, which ultimately affect the shipping routes and even shorten the season for recreational boating.

Alberta’s lake also receives soil and runoff from Alberta’s forest and the nearby roads. The acid rain, pesticides, oil and chemical spills as well as road salt jointly with the runoff enter the lake. According to research, soil contamination forms about 12 percent of the soil in Alberta’s forest, and this contains very high levels of acids. This mode of pollution has an impact of increasing the levels of chloride from as low as 100 up to 4000 times, which is undoubtedly harmful to plant life (Butler, 2020). This form of pollution can be resolved by de-icing the roads during the winter season in Canada; however, the sodium chloride available in the road salt may still contaminate the soil in the runoff.

Costs of Water Pollution in Canada

Water pollution has far-ranging severe effects in several ways in Canada. This paper classifies the costs of pollution from an economic perspective as opposed to the biophysical framework. This mode of classification means that the costs are categorized concerning the consequences of the costs in the eco aspect; instead of what and who bears them,

they are classified according to the implications of the costs in economic terms rather than by who or what carries them. This perspective is preferred over other frameworks because it eases the juxtaposition of different economic costs and benefits. This framework distinguishes the costs of water pollution into three distinct categories.

The first category is concerned with the direct effects of pollution on human welfare. These kinds of welfare effects are those burdens that pollution imposes on human health and the general well-being of the people but are not linked with economic activities. These impacts are either health-related or non-health losses of life satisfaction. The health issues may include suffering like increased diseases (morbidity) and increased mortality rates. On the other hand, non-health issues include the loss of enjoyment in recreational activities resulting from contaminated water

The second category of costs encompasses the impacts experienced by the pollution on the manufacture and use of market goods and services. These costs manifest themselves either through increased expenditures or deduced income or both of them, to people, the government, and business entities. For instance, the value of income earned from farming activities is likely to be affected due to lower crop productivity resulting from ground-level ozone. Furthermore, those patients who fall ill from pollution need to buy medication, which is an impact on the individuals and families.

Another category of costs is the effects of pollution on the value of produced and natural capital assets. Items that fall in the category of produced capital assets include homes, roads, bridges, buildings, and other built assets. Natural capital assets include forests, agricultural land, and different ecosystems. Water pollution has a negative cost implication as it reduces the ability to produce goods and services, for instance, acid rain causing degradation in lakes and forests. In any case, all these effects are intertwined, and they all affect the wealth of a country and are thus referred to as wealth costs of pollution.

Direct Welfare Costs of Water Pollution

As aforementioned, these impacts have a direct influence on the way people live, their health, and their well-being.

Human health Costs of Water pollution

It is undeniable that polluted water contains untreated sewage, chemicals, pesticides, and bacteria.  All these constituents cause several health issues, either directly or indirectly, to the people.  For instance, the use of this polluted water for an extended time exposes the victims to adverse effects related to the nervous system. The chemical components contained in this contaminated water may cause abnormal growth in the heart, breathing difficulties, and even lungs, among other problems. Some pesticides get into the water supply at the supply plants like the carcinogenic and cause problems to the nervous. The untreated sewage released to the rivers and lakes contains fecal waste, which has bacteria such as E.coli and is likely to cause intestinal diseases. For instance, E.coli  bacteria is alleged to have caused the Walkerton outbreak. These bacteria got into the water supply through the farm runoff. Chlorine is prevalently used to disinfect water, but it can be harmful to the human being when ingested in high quantities (“Costs of Pollution in Canada”, 2020). The chemical may cause stomach discomfort. Another health threat of water pollution is an increased cancer risk, which results from the by-products produced after the reaction between chlorine and organic matter like soil.

Similarly, an increase in the mortality and morbidity rates can be used to give an estimate of the cost of pollution by assessing the supplementary deaths and infections resulting from pollution. Moreover, the effects of pollution on direct welfare can extend to the reduction of natural assets that generate benefits whose value benefits the people. For instance, the examples described above relating to the pollution of water and hindering recreational activities. In Canada, Lake Erie is considerably tainted by pollution owing to phosphorus pollution. This causes welfare loss to tourists who had never had a chance to visit there.

Wealth Costs Due to pollution on the value on the Natural and produced Assets

This form of costs is attributable to the degradation and destruction of the assets in a country. As aforementioned, these costs are concerned with the reduction of value of national wealth.  For instance, when acid rain impacts aquatic life, by making the habitat inconducive from marine organisms, activities such as fishing and recreational become jeopardized. Economic assets such as roads, bridges, and buildings are affected by acid rain through corrosion.

Income Cost of impacts on Produces and Natural Assets

Pollutants reduce the capacity income generation by the use of produced assets. Examples of primary manufactured products include factories, bridges, and built infrastructures. These assets may also include historical monuments. Acid rain has the effect of facilitating premature wearing, which then leads to additional costs of maintenance. There is also an issue of other operational costs that are incurred in the attempt to curb the effects caused by water pollution.

Summary and Conclusion

Water pollution costs the Canadian government, businesses, and families. It cannot be declared that the costs cannot be measured, but reviews reveal that they can add up to tens of billions. Pollution harms Canadians’ health by jeopardizing their economic activities, enjoyment if life, and at times, increases the mortality rate.

References

Basu, N., & Lanphear, B. P. (2019). The challenge of pollution and health in Canada. Canadian Journal of Public Health, 110(2), 159-164.

Butler, F. (2020). How Serious Is Water Pollution in Canada? http://filterbutler.com/blog/how-serious-is-water-pollution-in-canada/

Costs of Pollution in Canada. (2020). https://www.iisd.org/story/costs-of-pollution-in-canada/