We live in a world that is changing very rapidly. The pollution of our land, air and water has caused changes that we are only beginning to understand. In developed countries, a large amount of excess food and goods go to waste, while half of the world's population lives on less than $2 a day. The Internet can connect people across the world in ways our ancestors could never imagine, but natural resources are diminishing rapidly as the process of urbanization moves across country-sides. As individuals we did not create these problems, but as individuals we can solve them. Every single one of us depends on the planet, and every single one of us is responsible for its survival. Changing the ways in which we live in can be very difficult, but it is possible. As a society, we must relearn... (more)
We live in a world that is changing very rapidly. The pollution of our land, air and water has caused changes that we are only beginning to understand. In developed countries, a large amount of excess food and goods go to waste, while half of the world's population lives on less than $2 a day. The Internet can connect people across the world in ways our ancestors could never imagine, but natural resources are diminishing rapidly as the process of urbanization moves across country-sides. As individuals we did not create these problems, but as individuals we can solve them. Every single one of us depends on the planet, and every single one of us is responsible for its survival. Changing the ways in which we live in can be very difficult, but it is possible. As a society, we must relearn our respect for nature.
INDIGENOUS PERSPECTIVE
The Alberta tar sands are the largest oil reservoir of crude bitumen in the world, located in Northern Alberta, Canada, Treaty 8 area, beneath 4.3 million hectares of boreal forest. Bitumen is a semi-solid mixture of crude oil, sand, clay, and water; it is mined and processed in order to separate and extract the oil. About two tons of tar sands are required to produce one barrel of oil (Oil Shale & Tar Sands) and for every barrel of oil produced, 3-5 barrels of water is used in the separation process. At the end of the day, for every barrel of oil produced there is one barrel of un-recyclable water waste. Canada has a large-scale commercial tar-sands industry, with more than one million barrels of synthetic oil produced per day (Oil Shale & Tar Sands).
Continual expansion of open-pit mining and Tar sands contribute to negative environmental impacts, such as the destruction of the Boreal forest, muskeg, and wildlife, and high greenhouse gas emissions that increase global warming. Water-waste is drained into the Athabasca/McKenzie River, causing the connected waterways to become poisonous or to dry-up. Many First Nations in the Treaty 8 area are directly affected by the oil industry. There are high levels of bile and colon cancer, lupus and a variety of illnesses within each community attributed to polluted water reserves, air pollution, and contaminated natural food sources. An Indigenous environmental movement is bringing to light the continuous destruction to First Nations people and communities.
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The earth is the foundation of all life. The ways that we grow our food, produce our goods and power our homes and cities are depleting resources, polluting the planet and drastically reducing the biodiversity of our planet. By increasing our respect for nature in all its incarnations, we will have taken a big step towards building a sustainable future. Sustainable living will protect the resources that help us to live and enjoy life for future generations. In this section, you can learn about the major issues that affect our planet today, from climate change to animal rights, and about what we can do now for those to come. Furthermore, as you will see, the environment goes hand-in-hand with human rights and economic justice: a culture of peace cannot be built without an understanding of how deeply all of these issues are interwoven.
References
Downstream: Film, focuses on the controversy surrounding the development of Alberta's oil sands. Web Address:
http://www.babelgum.com/browser.php#play|SEARCH,queryString:downstream,order:MOST_RELEVANT|0,3015242
http://www.tarsandswatch.org/tags/aboriginal-rights
Tar sand impacts across Canada. Article Address:
http://www.wildernesscommittee.org/campaigns/wildlands/boreal/alberta/reports/Vol27No04/article1
Rainforest Action Network- Alberta Tar Sands. Web Address:
http://understory.ran.org/2009/02/26/rbc-get-out-of-the-tar-sands/
Indigenous Environmental Network. Web Address:
http://www.ienearth.org/cits.html
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