Issues Related to Energy changes “Use of Fossil Fuels as a Source of Energy in Northern Canada”
In as much as the economy of the Aboriginal communities of the Northern, Canada has been dependent on fossil fuels; unfortunately, the energy source considerably harms the environment. Fossil fuels are a non-renewable source of energy that was formed several years ago and deposited underneath layers of sedimentary rocks. Besides, they are carbon-rich formed from the remains of plants and other organisms. The fossil fuels majorly include coal, natural, and oil, contribute almost 70 percent of the Northern Canadian energy. The communities use by-products of refined crude. On the contrary, the natural gas, which seems to be less harmful, accounts for 12 percent of the Northern energy usage. Again, the Northern Canadians use propane for heating, diesel for transportation, and electric power generation (Carter et al., 2017).
The impacts of the use of fossil fuels in Northern Canada
Even though the use of oil has many contributions to the economies of the communities settling in the north. However, there are several effects of the usage of oil to the people of Northern Canada. There have been several outcries from some of the northern communities regarding the undergoing activities in the surroundings. For instance, Alberta, situated in the north, has an oil sand site. The mining activities taking place in that particular area have resulted in adverse effects. The production plant produces bitumen, a hydrocarbon compound that has several impacts on human health (Meyer & Attanasi, 2003). Don't use plagiarised sources.Get your custom essay just from $11/page
Besides, some of the families migrated from the mining site of Alberta. It is because they could not endure the effect of the fumes and other gases produced from the plant any longer. An insight was given that bitumen comprises of chemical compounds that are acutely toxic to the body. Hence, they result in health complications since it forms in aromatic hydrocarbons and Sulphur (IV) oxide gas. The produced fumes and other hydrocarbon compounds caused expensively in terms of health conditions. Some of the people living in that region cried of specific health problems like constant headaches, dizziness, muscle spasms, throat congestion, and so forth.
Similarly, Sulphur compounds from bitumen undergo side reactions, resulting in the formation of toxic gases. The by-products from the hydrocarbons affect neurons and endocrines because they toxify the body. Also, some of the hydrocarbons are carcinogenic. There is a belief that certain hydrocarbon compounds are neurodevelopment toxicities. The carcinogenic substances from the hydrocarbons are harmful and cancerous (Raulf-Heimsoth et al., 2011).
Furthermore, bitumen constitutes heavy metals encompassing mercury, cadmium, and lead. These components of asphalt are very harmful to human health. For instance, exposure to cadmium may cause flu-like symptoms entailing fever, chills, and muscle ache. Likewise, continuous exposures might result in trachea-bronchitis, pulmonary edema, and pneumonitis. The exposure to cadmium might be its presence in the minefields and deposition in the environment. After depositing, the ground gets eroded to rivers and agrarian lands, which are significant for food production. The people from the north interact with the element when they consume the agricultural produces and fishes from the lakes.
Moreover, the use of technologies that solely rely on fossil fuels like diesel has also significantly impacted on the environment. The Northerners utilize diesel for the generation of electricity and transportation. During the burning of fossil fuels, there is an emission of harmful gases, including Nitrous oxide (N2O), Methane (CH4), Carbon (IV) Oxide (CO2), and CFC’s. They are greenhouse gases which later accumulate to significant levels in the atmosphere.
Concerning the emitted greenhouse gases, there are eventual drastic effects on both humans and the environment. The inhalation of the gases can result in respiratory problems. To be specific, the communities of Northern Canada have demonstrated some of the effects of the gases. Consequently, leading to their migration from their homes and searching for conducive places for settlement.
Additionally, there are environmental issues that have been experienced presently. For example, there have been dramatic climatic variations in the Northern parts of Canada. Regarding the 2019 report, Canada’s Changing Climate Report (CCCR), commissioned by the Environment & Climate Change Canada. The description illustrated that the average land temperature currently warmed at 1.7 C as 1948 (Bush & Lemmen, 2019). It gives an alert that the warming rate is higher in Northern Canada, in the northern British Columbia and Prairies. It is to show that Northern Canada is facing global warming as a result of fossil fuel burning in industries and power plants.
According to scientific research, global warming is caused by Ozone layer depletion. Emitted greenhouse gases primarily contribute to the destruction of the ozone. The chlorine contained in the Chlorofluorocarbons initiates the breakdown of ozone. Chlorine is capable of the destruction of the ozone since it acts as a catalyst. After every reaction, an atom of chlorine starts the damaging cycle again with other ozone molecules. A single atom of chlorine can terminate a series of ozone molecules (Petrescu et al., 2018). Since ozone molecules are broken down, therefore, they are not capable of absorbing ultraviolet light. Hence, we experience more extreme ultraviolet radiation on the surface of the earth. Therefore, it explains why Northern Canada experience much heat and rising temperatures.
As a result of global warming, the communities settling in Northern Canada are now vulnerable. The most affected populaces are the elderly and children who are much susceptible to extreme climatic changes. With increased heat, skin diseases have become rampant since people are exposed to certain detrimental conditions (Mathur & Ibrahim, 2017). Regarding the prevailing conditions, it leads to unexpected economic situations in some households. Consequently, it makes the living standards of the affected families to be challenging.
Despite the unprecedented effects contributed by the use of fossil fuels, fortunately, the economy of Canada has gracefully grown. The utilization of oil in power generation has enabled development strategies to be established and achieved. The electricity supplied by power plants has been supportive. Besides, energy is the principal driver of the economy since it makes communication, transportation, and technological advancements possible. Several industries built hence, providing employment opportunities to northern Canada’s communities. Additionally, the improvement of new products and embracing the bio-economy steered by the underlying resource (Birch, 2016). They are subsequently aiding in the advancement of living standards of families because they can gain economically.
Since there have been several environmental and health issues, governments decided to show concern for the aboriginal communities in northern Canada. Therefore, presently, different energy techs utilizing solar and wind power applied to lessen the reliance of the cities. Both national and local governments proposed for the construction of wind turbines in Nunavut and solar walls in the Northwest. The principal aim of such projects is to assist in decreasing fossil fuel usage and fully adopting renewable energy. As well, other nations of the globe are looking forward to fully embracing the green power and blue economy for a better world.
Some reports illustrate that the northern communities are currently appreciating the adoption of the use of renewable energy. The form of energy is never depleted; the resources used in its generation are wind, biomass, tides, and sunshine. The requirements are readily available hence cheaper, unlike fossil fuels. At some point, they will get depleted and consequently will be progressively challenging to obtain. While fossil fuel gets expensive, renewable energy is economical hence, saves money.
Also, the utilization of renewable energy will result in exceptional management of the environment. The generation of renewable energy emits greenhouse gases at almost insignificant levels, unlike fossil fuel, which produces many gases. Thus, renewable energy is environmentally friendly and attributed to several environmental and health benefits (Barrington-Leigh & Ouliaris, 2017). Hence, the impact will reduce the population of the aboriginal community’s health problems and even migration.
While the northern communities are adopting the usage of renewable energy, other factors might be challenging. For instance, the issue of intermittency is a challenge for the solar wall. Sometimes, there is a variation of seasons. The provinces of Northwest Territories in specific scenarios experience winter. Thus, the solar walls might not be useful in the generation of energy during that period.
Another problem is the capabilities of storage. The energy obtained from solar power in the Northwest Territories might not be easy to store during summer. Hence, making the production and storage of energy a little expensive since there is a necessity of storage facilities.
From experience obtained from the usage of both forms of energy, there is an unwavering indication that renewable energy is the best. The energy form is environmentally friendly and cost-effective. Again, most nations of the world are already in the process of adopting green energy and encouraging the blue economy.
References
Barrington-Leigh, C., & Ouliaris, M. (2017). The renewable energy landscape in Canada: a spatial analysis. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 75, 809-819.
Birch, K. (2016). Emergent imaginaries and fragmented policy frameworks in the Canadian bio-economy. Sustainability, 8(10), 1007.
Bush, E., & Lemmen, D. S. (Eds.). (2019). Canada’s changing climate report. Government of Canada= Gouvernement du Canada.
Carter, A. V., Fraser, G. S., & Zalik, A. (2017). Environmental policy convergence in Canada’s fossil fuel provinces? Regulatory streamlining, impediments, and drift. Canadian Public Policy, 43(1), 61-76.
Mathur, S., & Ibrahim, F. (2017). The contribution of the volatile anesthetics sevoflurane and desflurane on global warming at Health Sciences North, Sudbury, Canada. In Anesthesiology Annual Meeting (p. A488).
Meyer, R. F., & Attanasi, E. D. (2003). Heavy oil and natural bitumen-strategic petroleum resources.
Petrescu, R. V., Aversa, R., Apicella, A., & Petrescu, F. I. (2018). NASA sees first in 2018 the direct proof of ozone hole recovery. Journal of Aircraft and Spacecraft Technology, 2(1), 53-64.
Raulf-Heimsoth, M., Pesch, B., Rühl, R., & Brüning, T. (2011). The human bitumen study: executive summary. Archives of toxicology, 85(1), 3-9.