The Reasons for Climate Change in Canada - Case Study Example

Climate change in Canada Supervisor] Climate change in Canada Introduction: The past few decades have seen a dramatic change in global climate. Countries around the world have started experiencing harsh weathers and rise in temperatures has become a normal phenomenon. As polar ice caps melt and sea level rises altering temperatures are becoming a serious concern for numerous. With more and more research it is becoming clearer than ever that human activities are directly responsible for this increase in temperatures (Aulakh, 2013). Researchers are providing great evidence that human activities are significantly increasing the amount of carbon dioxide within the atmosphere significantly boosting the global warming effect (Aulakh, 2013). The increase of carbon dioxide not only increases the global temperature but could even lead to the increase in the frequency of extreme climate events such as thunderstorms, tornados and floods. An example of such a phenomenon is the Ice storm that hit the entire eastern block of Canada (NOAA, 2008). The figure below shows the increase in the overall global temperature from 1880 to 2012. (UCAR, 2012) According to the report by IPCC since water tends to gain and lose heat at a much faster rate than land continents have experienced a much greater increase in temperatures than oceans. The report further tends to point out that since most of the land mass is located in the northern hemisphere, the region has experienced the warmest temperatures in the past 30 years than it has over the past 1400 years (UCAR, 2012). Reasons for increase in temperature: Canada is a developed country and contributes to around 0.5% of the world’s total population. However the country is responsible for releasing more than 2% of the total greenhouse gases that is emitted throughout the world. The difference in population and the contribution of greenhouse gas emission makes Canada one of the highest per capita emitters throughout the world. The main reasons behind this phenomenon is due to the country’s resource based economy, the size of area that the country occupies and finally the increasing demand for energy by its industry (HAE, 2007). (Environment Canada, 2013) To understand the reasons for this drastic change in climate one has to review the data that is available on greenhouse gas emissions. Greenhouse gases are produced in almost every task that is carried out in daily life. However the greatest production of greenhouse gases within the country is due the burning of fossil fuels in the form of oil and natural gas. The amount of fossil fuel that is burned to produce energy releases large amount of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The combustion of fossil fuels contributed to more than 89% of the total energy related emissions within the country in 2005 while the remaining 11% was due to fugitive releases. Fugitive releases encompass accidental release of natural gas into the atmosphere. Leakage, mining and handling of coal can all be thought of as a fugitive releases (HAE, 2007). Transportation activities within the country are cited as one of the major contributor to the emission of greenhouse gases through the combustion of fossil fuels. The transportation sector accounted for approximately 33% of the total emissions within the country. Experts believe that the increase in the popularity of light duty trucks have contributed to such a high number of emissions. These trucks release on average 40% more greenhouse gases than other gasoline driven automobiles (HAE, 2007). Mining and oil extraction have had a relatively lower contribution to greenhouse gases. The sector is responsible for a mere 2.6% of the total emissions released during 2005. However this increase is much greater than what the sector produced in 1990. The sector saw an increase by 152% in its greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 to 2005 (HAE, 2007). Energy production sector within the country contributed to 21% of the total greenhouse gas emissions that were produced due to the burning of fossil fuels. The sector has seen a great increase in the emission of greenhouse gases mainly due to the increasing population and the increase in the demand for energy. The increase in demand has in turn led to the increase in the use of fossil fuels such as coal and oil in the production of electricity and heat. The increase is also in part due to the lack of use of clean energies such as hydro or solar power. The use of alternate energy sources have seen an increase over the years however these sources only contributed to 0.3% of the total energy produced within the country (HAE, 2007). The map below shows the energy consumption of Canada. (Canadian Geographic, 2012) Impacts of climate change: The change in climate of the country could have a significant impact on the daily lives of its citizens. The impact can be on the health of individuals, economy of the country or the overall environment of Canada. The impact on each individual would depend upon the region in which a particular individual resides. There is no exact method with which one could predict the exact impacts that climate change would have on the people of the region however, experts believe that there certain effects of climate change can already be seen and the with the passage of time the magnitude of these effects would only increase (HAE, 2007). Canada currently plays host to a climate that varies with each region. Canada’s western coast that shares a border with the pacific ocean tends to experience mild winters and experiences a great deal of precipitation in the form of rain and snow throughout the year. The temperature of this area however has risen by 1.2°C over the years (HAE, 2007). The mountainous terrain of British Columbia plays host to a number of glaciers that are situated at the mountain peaks. The same manner as the country’s Pacific coast, these regions have also seen an increase in the annual temperature. The annual temperature has increased by more than 1.5°C over the past 60 years (HAE, 2007). These are just some of the effects that have been observed over the years. With the rate at which greenhouse gases are being produced experts tend to believe that these changes would become more dramatic in the near future. Impacts on precipitation: Of all the impacts of greenhouse gases one effect is bound to become prominent throughout the country and that is a reduction in the frequency of snowfall. A reduction in snowfall would decrease the amount of snow that would usually accumulate on roads and passages of the country. The reduction in snow however would also mean a decrease in winter activities such as skiing snowboarding and even dog sledging. Extreme temperatures could even melt the glaciers at a faster pace which could result in the flooding of areas that are near rivers and streams (HAE, 2007). Glaciers are basically large masses of ice that are formed on mountain tops and travel down the mountains at a very slow pace. These glaciers are located at within the western cordillera and can even be observed along the mountain tops of eastern Arctic. Glaciers are one of the greatest sources of water supply in Canada. With the accumulation of snow glaciers tend to move down the slope of mountains and reach down at the foot of these mountains. The streams that are formed due to the melting of glaciers peak during the summers. With the rise in temperatures the rate at which glaciers melt tends to increase. Recent survey of the glaciers at the Rocky Mountains tends to suggest that the snow around these glaciers is thinning which tends to reduce the flow of water that is formed due to the glacier’s melting. The area covered by glaciers in northern Saskatchewan River Basin saw a decrease of 22% within the time period of 23 years. Moreover 328 of the glaciers that have been documented within the region have completely disappeared (HAE, 2007). A large region of Western Canada depends a great deal on stream that is formed due the melting of glaciers. The reduction of the glaciers means that there would be less stream flow and hence less water would be available to this region. In addition the agricultural region of Alberta, British Colombia and Saskatchewan need irrigation for their crops. The three regions account for more than 96% of the total irrigation produced in Canada. With low water streams providing water to these areas through irrigation would become significantly difficult (HAE, 2007). Conclusion: Global warming is not just an issue that is plaguing Canada but is causing great changes within the global climate. The emissions of green house gases such as carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide are mainly responsible for this change in climate. The largest emitters of these gases within Canada are transportation and power generation sector. Fossil fuels that are burnt for operating vehicles and producing energies are increasing the overall rate of carbon dioxide within the atmosphere. The effects of increase in climate have already started with experts believing that greater impacts would be observed by the people of Canada in the near future. Reference List Aulakh, R. (2013, September 27). IPCC 2013: Humans ‘dominant cause’ of global warming, says UN report. Retrieved November 10, 2013, from thestar.com: http://www.thestar.com/news/world/2013/09/27/ipcc_2013_humans_to_blame_for_global_warming_says_un_report.html Canadian Geographic. (2012, June 10). Energy use in Canada. Retrieved November 10, 2013, from canadiangeographic.ca: http://www.canadiangeographic.ca/magazine/jun12/energy_use_canada_map.asp Environment Canada. (2013, April 15). National Greenhouse Gas Emissions. Retrieved November 10, 2013, from http://ec.gc.ca: http://ec.gc.ca/indicateurs-indicators/default.asp?lang=en&n=FBF8455E-1 HAE. (2007, August 4). Climate change in Canada. Retrieved November 10, 2013, from www.statcan.gc.ca: http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/16-201-x/2007000/10542-eng.htm NOAA. (2008, January 10). 10th Anniversary of the Devastating 1998 Ice Storm in the Northeast . Retrieved November 10, 2013, from www.erh.noaa.gov: http://www.erh.noaa.gov/btv/events/IceStorm1998/ice98.shtml UCAR. (2012, December 31). How much has the global temperature risen in the last 100 years? Retrieved November 10, 2013, from www2.ucar.edu: https://www2.ucar.edu/climate/faq/how-much-has-global-temperature-risen-last-100-years Read More