This is Adeola from CBC News reporting on the major Alberta oil spills in the last decade
Alberta has faced 5 major oil spills in the last decade. The largest oil spill being in Little Buffalo, Alberta. In April 2011. Nearly 4.5 million litres of oil spilled by the First Nations community of Little Buffalo. This happened to be the largest oil spill in 35 years for Alberta. The oil spill spread over 3 hectares of beaver ponds and muskeg, causing at least 4 beavers and 10 waterfowls to be euthanized. Plains Midstream, a pipeline company is responsible for this leak because of its failure to detect the leak and test it's emergency response plan. They were charged with 3 counts of violating environmental protection laws. This posses an imminent threat to water systems because if the oil found a way to seep through the ground and travel to the groundwater in the area used by Albertans, people who reside near Little Buffalo can get seriously ill if the contamination was cleaned. A year later another oil spill happened this time in Red Deer River by the same pipeline owner, Plain Midstreams. This time 461,000 litres spilled into a creek that flows into the Red Deer River. Again the leak happened due to Plain Midstreams negligence to it's pipeline. The company was charged with 2 more counts of violating environmental laws in 2014 and fined $1.3 million after pleading guilty. This oil spill without the proper clean up could of been catastrophic for Alberta's water system because not only would the oil travel to a variety of rivers and creeks by following watersheds, but if the animals ingested that oil which is most likely contaminated, and were later eaten by Albertans, the people residing near Red Deer could be seriously harmed. Within the same month of June another oil spill happened this time in Elk Point, Alberta causing 230,000 litres of oil to spill. Luckily the spill was nearly contained to the area and there was no harm to any wildlife or water. 2 years later another oil spill happened, but in Slave Lake, Alberta. This oil spill was not an emergency and wildlife not harmed. Most of the spill (68,250 litres) was processed water and the rest was oil as Calgary based CNRL (Canadian Natural Resources Limited) says. But hydrogen sulfide was found in the spill, which can causes respiratory irritations as well as other illnesses if high concentrations are inhaled, but only low concentrations were found at the site. If this spill was to find it's way into the water near Slave Lake and contaminate the water, sea life, and animals that Albertans consume/drink the aftermath would result with many health-related issues. A few months later an oil spill happened in a muskeg near Red Earth Creek but wildlife were not harmed. This time 60,000 litres of crude oil spilled due to a mechanical failure. Again hydrogen sulfide was found in the oil spill causing a minor threat to water systems and humans. Low amounts of hydrogen sulfide can cause irritation in the eyes, mouth, and nose, it even causes problems for those who have asthma. So if this oil leak was to find it's way into major watersheds and potentially a body of water Alberta uses for drinking many people could of got illnesses relating to respiration and sight. Even though there wasn't a large amount of casualties we must understand how dangerous oil spills are. Oil spills are very harmful to animals, humans and the environment. Animals could be suffocated by the oil, submerged by it which would make the animal's movement difficult. But being exposed to the toxic petroleum products can stunt the growth of animals and lower their reproductive rates, also it can cause organ damage to the animals. Oil spills are very harmful to the environment, when oil gets into the water it doesn't dissolve which forms a thick sludge. Oil can also disrupt the pH balance in the water. When humans come in contact with oil spills that contain hydrogen sulfide it can cause respiratory irritations as well as irritation in the eyes. A link in case the map isn't working is ​http://arcg.is/1HG0jG0
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I found this chart of greenhouse gas emissions by economic sector interesting because I gained a lot of knowledge on how Canada contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. As of 2017 oil and gas is the biggest factor that contributes to the greenhouse effect. I was surprised because I knew Alberta is a big province that leads the economy in oil and gas production and livestock production. But I didn't know that Alberta's economy was so big that it made those sections the biggest factor of carbon dioxide waste in mega tonnes. I found interesting how agriculture doesn't take up a lot of carbon dioxide because I thought raising live stock would be a huge contributor of carbon dioxide which would cause the greenhouse effect to be large. I found interesting how buildings emit a vast amount of carbon dioxide, but after reading I wasn't surprised that it emitted less carbon dioxide then transportation and oil. So this chart is what I found interesting about the government's website and Canada's contribution to the Greenhouse effect and climate change. But if we as a country don't reduce the amount of fossil fuels and carbon dioxide we emit, we will hit a point in global warming where the effects are no longer irreversible.
Christmas celebrations around the world are traditions many people like to keep. For instance in Canada many people like to set up Christmas trees and decorations, they put up stockings, ornaments and tinsel. Some countries around the world don't if they're predominantly a country that doesn't believe in Christmas because of their religion. Dubai celebrates Christmas and they have some special celebrations for Christmas. One celebration is to go Irish and set up the Christmas tree there. You can also go to Great British Christmas Ball and eat a British Christmas dinner. Another thing you can doing during Christmas is go get a peppermint massage. It's sure to put you into the Christmas mood. If you're into baking you can go to the festive cookie decoration event at Vida Downtown. There is a bunch of events you can in Dubai to celebrate Christmas. Whether you're in Dubai or in Canada you can still celebrate Christmas as if you're at home.
MapAction is an organization that responds to humanitarian emergencies by collecting geographical data about the area and using the most crucial parts in the data to make a map. This is so aid agencies/organizations, governments, and response teams can use the data to help the people in need. They are mainly volunteers who are in that organization, and they really do good work. Emergency Response Coordinator, Axel Schmidt once thanked MapAction for their map that showed all the health facilities and GPS location when Cyclone Idai hit. I think MapAction does excellent work because response teams already have a lot to worry about. For example, how to approach the situation, the tools they need, and the aftermath predictions. With MapAction helping make maps based of geographical data response teams and organizations can use that data to pinpoint locations such as; high density populated areas, hospitals, health facilities, schools, churches etc. This reduces the tasks the response teams need to do giving them more time to save and rescue victims. It's not like MapAction does everything from a headquarter and stays there. As of December 7th 2019, 2 MapAction volunteers are going to Djibouti, East Africa to assist with the devastating floods affecting up to 250,000 days. All this happened when 2 years worth of rain fell in a single day which then became flash floods. More organizations need to be like MapAction because the work they're doing is incredible even if they aren't the people physically saving peoples live at the time of the crisis, they're part of the reason the response team even got to the victims.
I have various thoughts about the issue of water and plastic. First and foremost plastic in the water is unacceptable, plastic takes thousands of years to decay and as the video said 8 million metric tons of plastic enter sea from land every year. This means that all that plastic in the ocean is going to take thousands of years to decay. Not only will the plastic release toxins in the water that endanger humans health but it also affects sea life. When plastic enters a sea creature it causes the creature a slow and painful death. The creature dies due to ingesting the plastic, then when the animal decays the plastic is freed and can go injure another sea creature. Studies show that 1 million marine life die every year due to plastic and digesting plastic. Plastic in the ocean usually clumps and becomes big patches in the ocean. There is a humongous garbage patch in the ocean called the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, it's the largest patch of plastic and garbage in the world. Plastic intoxicating water will affect our agriculture because when farmers are using that same intoxicated water and are giving it to their animals and plants, harmful side affects could occur. Potentially endangering us humans. Water and plastic due not go together even if it's plastic water bottles because in the end plastic takes a long time to decay if it's not recycled and used for other things.
The topic I have chosen is greenhouse gas emissions. I believe greenhouse gas emissions are a top priority that needs to be solved because they are predominately the main cause of climate change. Greenhouse gas emissions are a top priority because the greenhouse gas emissions stay in the atmosphere for decades and nearly centuries. This causes the world to retain heat that isn't needed, which causes the world to get warmer. This a top priority because if the world continues to increase in temperature, catastrophic things will happen to the earth such as extreme flooding, heatwaves, and droughts. If I was older and an adult I would try to pitch an idea to the governments in the world (just like Greta Thunberg) about ways they can reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions they emit into the world. I would say that they could put high tax rates on greenhouse gas emissions so that companies that emit a large amount of greenhouse gasses emit less or find another way to produce their products. Greenhouse gas emissions are a big factor of global warming and climate change and if we as a world don't find a way to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions the world we know, won't be there for future generations.
This link will take to you the ash cloud apocalypse project made by Aaliyah and I.
My thoughts on public transportation vary. In someways I think public transit is bad and in some ways it's competent. But it all depends on what type of transportation you're using. In terms of rails and light rails transportation, my opinion on it is very good. i say light rail transportation is good because they don't run into traffic that much and they're a fast way for transporting products. For e.g., if you have a large product and you need to ship it, using the rail/light rail is a convenient way to transport it. I feel street cars aren't that necessary because if you already have buses and subways the street car is just taking up space on the road. The subway is underground so it's efficient because it won't run into stop signs and traffic because there is no traffic underground. Public buses are efficient because if you ever need to get somewhere that's nearby but not usually walked you can use the public transit. I feel like the street car is just excess space being taken up on the road. In my opinion I feel like the public bus is the best way of public transportation because of how easy it is to access. Those are my thoughts on public transportation.
When it comes to city building, I think the ancient way of building is better in terms of "Human Scale". What I mean is that the modern way is meant for cars not humans. City builders now build lots of roads and there isn't many places for humans to sit and enjoy views. The ancient way of building had few roads, and lots of places to sit. Also people lived in villages/integrated communities. Now people live in houses and apartments with few people or even by themselves. In the past people interacted with each other walked to places etc. Now people barely have to time to look around, sit and chat. If not for city builders building cities for cars and not humans, people would probably be in shape (since they walk mostly) and interact with each other more. The human scale for walking is 5 km an hour and for cars it's 60 km an hour. In that hour walking, you can have a lively conversation whereas when your driving you have to focus all your attention on driving. So that's why I think the "ancient way" of building is better than the modern way.
.The link below will direct you to my story map
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