1. Respond to issues influencing the sustainable use of natural resources
Unit 3 : Part 1.3
Respond to issues influencing the sustainable use of natural resources

2. AGRICULTURE
Generates 1.7% of Canada’s (GDP) and provides jobs to approximately one in 86 Canadians.
Supports many rural communities and provides a safe, abundant food supply.
Agricultural land is considered a renewable resource because, if it is properly cared for, crops may grow on it year after year.
Only about 7 % of the total land area
of Canada is arable - or suitable for
growing crops.

3. The most important natural factors affecting farming are:
Climate
Landforms
Soil conditions
Other factors:
Demand for certain products
Transportation systems available
Closeness to markets
Competition from lower-cost growers
Changing food prices on world markets

4. Challenges Farmers Face:
natural hazards (early frosts,
drought, floods, and animal diseases)
high costs for fuel and equipment
low crop prices
competition from subsidized farmers in other countries
competition from factory farms
Subsidy – money given by the government to offset the cost of producing a good or service.
Why would a governments pay farmers a subsidy?
It reduces farmers costs so they keep their price lower and have an advantage over farmers from other countries.

5. There are a number of trends in Canadian agriculture:
Changing consumer demands – people want healthier food.
2. Changing technology – allows more food to be grown
but may be bad for health / environment. (pesticides)

6. 3. Larger farms / less farmers – technology allows fewer
farmers to work bigger areas of land.

7. 4. Control of agriculture by transnational corporations.
Agribusiness industry – a large-scale farming business that carries out all the steps involved in producing food.
(growing / storing / processing / transporting)

8. 5. Growth of factory farms – large numbers of animals are kept in controlled spaces, treated with hormones and antibiotics to maximize growth and prevent disease.

9. SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE - FEEDING CANADA IN THE FUTURE
Sustainable agriculture – a method of farming that is profitable, protects the environment, conserves natural resources, supports the rural community and that lasts into the future.
How can sustainable agriculture be encouraged?
Buy locally grown food whenever possible.
Plant your own garden or participate in a community garden.
Support farms that use organic agriculture.
Organic agriculture - growing plants and animals without using synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, growth hormones, or antibiotics.

10. Mining

11. Canada is known for its mineral wealth. Three kinds are:
metallic mineral – a mineral that is a metal.
(iron, nickel, copper)
2. non-metallic mineral – a mineral that is not a metal.
(potash, salt)
3. Fuel mineral – a fossil fuel mineral.
(coal, oil, natural gas)

12. Finding the Minerals
All rocks contain minerals – but only a few places have enough to justify a mine.
Ore – the rock that contains
enough of a mineral that makes
it worthwhile to develop a mine.
How are minerals found?
Use tools that detect a magnetic field from certain metallic minerals.
Search for anomalies – characteristics of rock that are different from surrounding rock .(staining)
Know what type of rock certain minerals are found in and find that type. (sedimentary – fuel; igneous – metallic)

13. Mining and the Economy
Mining supplies raw materials for secondary industry.
It provides jobs in mining communities. (320,000)
Contributes to the local GDP. (NL – 8.6% from mining)
Contributes to Canada’s economy. (about $80 billion)
Helps the balance of trade – difference between imports and exports. ( $85 B in exports - $67 B in imports)

14. IMPACT OF MINING ON NATURAL SYSTEMS
Mining occurs on less than 0.03% of land but has a big ecological footprint.
Figure 6.45 The Panda Ekati diamond mine is located in the Northwest Territories. Six lakes had to be drained to develop the mine, and
another one was used for the storage of mine
waste.

15. Slag – molten waste material from nickel smelting.
Tailings – finely ground-up rock left over after the mineral has been extracted.
Acid rain – precipitation that is highly acidic due to pollutants.
Refining – part of the process that removes impurities when metal is separated from rock ore.
Smelting – the heating and melting of ore to extract a pure metal.

16. How does acid rain threaten the natural systems?
Kills or delays the growth of trees.
Makes soils less fertile.
Results in dead lakes – fish cannot live in them.
Contaminates the food and water people consume.

17. Mineral Sustainability
Minerals are non-renewable resources, they cannot be developed sustainably so that they last into the future.
However there are still things we can do:
Reduce mineral use
Recycle mineral-based products
Use technology to waste less minerals
We can also do things to reduce the affects on natural systems:
Restore old mines to their natural landscape.
Reduce pollutants from mining smelters. (less acid rain)
Reduce slag and tailings from mineral refining.

18. CANADA:
A COUNTRY OF FORESTS

19. Canada is known for its forests:
397.3 million hectares
covers half of Canada’s total land area
almost 57% is considered commercial forest - land capable of producing marketable products.
Timber – wood that has been prepared for
use as a building material.

21. The value of forests:
They contribute to the
biodiversity of ecosystems
Economically they provide
jobs, money from taxes
and tourism
They provide goods like lumber
and newsprint
Ecologically they reduce soil
erosion, recycle water, produce
oxygen and absorb carbon
dioxide
They provide homes for wildlife

22. Who Owns Canada’s Forests?
Forest Harvesting Methods
A million hectares of forest are cut down each year in Canada.
What methods are used to harvest forests?

23. 1. Clear-cutting - involves clearing an area of all its trees at one time. (90% of forestry in Canada)
Preferred by forestry companies:
It costs less.
Safer for loggers.
Environmentalists don’t like it:
Leads to soil erosion.
Loss of biodiversity in
trees and animals.

24. 2. Strip Logging – long strips of land are cleared, leaving some islands of forest intact.
Advantages:
1. Reduces soil erosion.
2. Less disruptive to wildlife.
3. Natural reseeding takes place.

25. 3. Shelterwood Cutting – some mature trees are cut, others are left to provide shade for the growth of younger trees and seedlings. (Trees are generally the same age.)

26. 4. Selection cutting – removes mainly deciduous trees of various ages singly or in small groups.
Also used to remove diseased trees.
Left to regenerate naturally.

27. Sustainable Forest Development
Forests are a renewable resource and can be sustainable.
Each district in Newfoundland and Labrador requires a forest management plan – long-term goals for an area to be logged.

28. Ways to improve forest management include:
leave a band of forest around the shores of lakes and rivers
avoid cutting on slopes to reduce erosion
reduce the size of clear-cut areas
set aside areas of the forest to provide ecosystems for
wildlife or for seed reserves for future tree growth
Model forest – sustainable management of small areas of local forest that involves input from all stakeholders who work together as a team.

29. Global Forest Watch

30. WATER

31. What do you use water for?
Read “The Comforts of Home” on page 296.
Would you like a limit on how much water you can use?
Water ethics – a set of moral principals or beliefs about is right or wrong when considering the use of water.

32. Is water a product to be bought and sold, or is it a basic human right
Is water a product to be bought and sold, or is it a basic human right? Or is it both?
Commons – natural resources such as oceans and fresh water that belong to everyone.
Commodity – an economic resource such as a raw material or agricultural product that is exchanged for money.
Canada has 0.5% of the world’s population and 20% of the fresh water.
However, we only have 7% of the usable water because much of it is deep underground or away from populated areas.

33. Canada’s Wetlands
Wetlands – a place where the water table is at ground level.
(bog, swamp)
Many wetlands are being drained, filled in and developed for other uses.
However, wetlands are important:
They filter our drinking water.
Store water.
Provide a home for wildlife.
Provide recreational opportunities.
Provide food.
It is important that we not mistreat wetland areas.

34. Water diversion – the rerouting of water from one drainage basin to another.
As population and the economy grows there is pressure to divert water from one place to another. Should we?
Should Canada divert or sell its water to the United States?
Privatization – changing ownership of a property or resource from public ownership by government to private ownership by an individual or business.
Would conservation be encouraged by private ownership?
PROFIT
CONSUME

35. In 2000, a water crisis in Walkerton , Ontario, killed 7 people and made 2300 ill.
In NL and Lab, over 150 communities can be under a boil water advisory.
Groundwater –
water found
beneath the
Earth’s surface
in the spaces in
soil and bedrock.

36. How can we ensure a safe, sustainable water supply?
Test and treat municipal water supplies.
Treat sewage before it goes into the water supply.
Develop and enforce strict laws to prevent contaminants from entering the water.
Do not dump contaminants down the drain or put them in the garbage.
Conserve water – use less.

37. Assignment Agriculture : P. 257 Q #1, 2c, 4 a&b P. 259 Q #1 and 2
Mining : P. 279 Q # 1
P. 283 Q # 1 and 2
Forestry : P. 291 Q #1b, 2, 3
Water : P. 301 – Stretch your thinking
P. 305 Q # 1 and 2
Worksheet : economic activity