Sustainable and Renewble resources in Ontario - Essay Example

Sustainable and Renewable resources in Ontario Sustainable and renewable resources are among the most important featuresthat are set to determine the future development of the province of Ontario and this is the reason why more research has to be conducted in this area. The use of renewable resources have been recognized as playing a very important part in the development of the lives of individuals and states all over the world and Ontario is not an exception because of the fact that the people of this province are heavily dependent on these resources. The renewable resources that are found in Ontario are natural resources that can be replenished with the passage of time; the latter happening either through biological reproduction or through processes that occur naturally. These resources can be considered a basic part of the natural environment and in fact, they form a large component of its geographical features. It is therefore important to study the renewable resources of Ontario to determine their lifecycle, since a positive lifecycle is normally an indicator of the sustainability of the resource being studied, and the opposite is true. There is a connection between sustainable and renewable resources and the ability of the people using them succeeding. This depends entirely on the quality of these resources and the depth at which they are used in the day-to-day lives of those who are its frequent users. The practices involved in the use of renewable resources are what determine how well these resources are used as well as the means through which these resources can be sustained for use by future generations. The fact that Ontario uses renewable resources has ensured that both the public and private sectors within it have constructed interactions, which offer an opportunity for the various stakeholders to have an environment where rationales can be shared, and new initiatives concerning the use of renewable resources can be developed. The practices that enhance the sustainability of renewable resources, which have been put in place in Ontario, have been able to contribute to the long-term success of the preservation of the resources in this province. Sustainable development is a factor that has been able to contribute to the success of the people’s responsible use of renewable resources and, in fact, many businesses have ensured its implementation within their wider plans of the future (Christidis & Law 81). When the responsible use of renewable resources is integrated together with the mainstream business practices, it leads to the extension of the awareness of individuals in the society concerning the importance of these resources. It has been found that any studies concerning renewable resources, being geographical in nature, has to be done over a specific duration of time in order to note the results of the studies being conducted. Various issues usually emerge that may involve the stakeholders and these may require a response in order to protect the renewable resources in question. It is a fact that many businesses in Ontario at times have aims of integrating the sustainability of renewable resources when conducting their activities as well as in their processes and products, but often, these businesses end up facing significant challenges that they fail to adopt there measures. Recent studies on renewable resources have attempted to reinforce a connection between sustainability and innovation. This has involved the selection and maximization of the value of such studies for the long-term prospects that the businesses that function in this environment will have to consider when making their plans concerning the environment. For instance, a business that has a paper-recycling scheme is able to improve a balance sheet in several ways such as savings on costs, enhancing employee commitment, as well as ensuring that the forests within the province are preserved. Technology is one of the most important sources of solution during the implementation of projects whose purpose is to ensure the sustenance of renewable resources. With effective practices that enhance the responsible use of renewable resources, there will be an alignment of these practices with those of the businesses or individuals involved. The position of a company in its industry, its unique attributes and circumstances that influence the company’s strategy are important during sustainable processes that ensure the protection of renewable resources (Boyd 37). It is therefore important for the government and businesses to consider this when approaching matters concerning the retention of renewable resources in its current state. For instance, a company in an industry that is mature such as mining will focus its programs in areas that will be able to ensure continued access to available renewable resources and to maintain its license to operate. An emerging industry, for instance, that of renewable energy may view practices such as growth opportunities available for the company to access new and potential markets. Sustainable development approach for a business should fit culture and ways of working, in addition to this; sustainable orientation in a business helps decision makers in connecting sustainable development practices, a business’ strategic advantages, and distinctive characters of a business. Breath of vision is a characteristic that favours sustainable development and it involves having thoughts of pictures having good reputation, this make the business be viewed as a road concept that goes beyond compliance to that which has openings for new ideas. Stakeholder empowerment should take place through relationship fostering which is more than just having transactions. Progressiveness is a sustainable development culture in business, it enables the business have a long-term outlook and this portrays the ability of the business to be enthusiastic for any new opportunities and changes that may arise, in addition to this, it portrays the business’ commitment to growth, progress and high performance by using best practices (Etcheverry 32). Learning by doing is important for a company because the company is able to gain sustainable development at a great mileage while building on certain practices doing well for a particular stage of development. Environmental law has been discovered to be one of the new fields and concepts such as biological diversity, ozone depletion, among others did not exist; from 1970’s Canada did not have federal environmental department and there were few laws and regulations put in place to govern water pollution, governed air, and one of the strongest environmental law were worth $ 2000. There has been a tremendous proliferation and strengthening of both local and international laws on policies have taken place over the past three decades and Canada has the opportunity of changing direction following trail blazed by various European nations and Sweden in the implementation of an environmental policies and laws that are more proactive (Peters, Shariff and Whitmore 8). Sweden is restructuring the economy to incorporate ecological principles instead of putting efforts on accomplishing impossible tasks such as limiting of the various environmental impacts of the economy that are responsible for the consumption of energy and resources. Canada has obvious choice since other European nations and Sweden are able to deliver a future desired by Canada and the entire planet; therefore, in order to achieve sustainable future, there should be a decreasing energy and natural resources consumption in industrialized countries (Meil et al. 19). Canada has to implement policies with the objective of achieving dematerialization and substitution, maximizing efficiency on production, make substitutions on renewable resources for resources that are non-renewable such as fossil fuels. In addition to making and searching for replacements of substances that are environmentally harmful with those that are biodegradable, natural and safe; knowledge should also be substituted for raw commodities and other raw materials. Most contemporary Canadian environmental politics institutions began existing after 1960s and environmental Canada led the way by cobbling together new federal units with previously existing units. This is owed to the existence of expanded government responsibilities, federal bureaucrats and politicians’ responsibilities and pressure exerted by alarmed public together with the environmentalists. The Greening of Canada was provided by Brace Boem and Thomas Conway and they state that Federal institutions and decisions are useful in accounting for this complex entity from 1960 to the time when Green plan was implemented in early 1992 (Pelletier, Arsenault & Tyedmers 989). From an array of published and unpublished government documents, interviews with those involved in Green plan events, Conway and Brace provided a history of Canada’s environment, and this is interesting for a person interested in federal environmental policies formulation and implementation. The context of federal environment policy making is explored while focusing on Environmental Canada together with other federal departments, environmental and business interests, and international institutions among other nations (Mackenzie-Grieve & Post 788). Beyond the human perspective of making decision and actions, Conway and Brace acknowledged the ordinary environment and implemented its own resulting in unpredictable dynamics of environmental politics. Throughout the history of Ontario, the use of renewable resources such as water has been undertaken in a manner nearly very independent of planning for their development, management and protection. Most of its towns and industrial facilities were located on the banks of lakes and rivers in order to facilitate transportation and ensure proximity to abundant water supplies (Gray, Hodgin & Veale 32). Through time, however, as these towns grew, very little regard was given to the protection and management of these resources upon which they relied in a massive way. Examples of this include the sitting of industrial facilities adjacent to well fields or rivers, as well as the location of landfill sites in old gravel pits where accumulated liquids would certainly drain away, and spread animal waste on fields with little or no regard for where spring runoff would accumulate. Under the current circumstances, the government of Ontario has left local governments with the task of managing their water supplies and planning their communities around them (Dike & Dike 161). As a result of massive field testing and computer modeling, municipal engineering and planning departments have been working together to subdivide their regions into areas where land use that is compatible with water resources can be established. This has been done in order to ensure that the water supplies are protected through the management of the growth in the communities. The understanding the connection between water regions and the impact of land use is critical in the development of workable solutions for all. While there are some free market environmentalists who genuinely believe in the conservation of renewable resources through market mechanisms, a majority of these can be termed as being anti-environmentalists. Within the Ontario, it is a fact that there have developed massive industries that have made the use of renewable resources the basis of their activities. While this has been the case, the fact remains that their activities have had a detrimental effect on the environment, despite their professing that they are conscious of protecting their environment. These industries tend to portray themselves as being conscious of the need for the conservation of renewable resources yet they are often the first to resist or go against any form of action or legislation that is meant to make the conservation of these resources a reality. These people using the massive financial resources that are available to them, who have sought to hijack the environmentalist cause for their own gain. They have come to work against resource conservation with the aim of ensuring that any legislation that is passed for this purpose is all but effective (Cline et al. 615). Despite this being the fact, not all industries working within Ontario should be labelled as being against the conservation and sustainability of renewable resources because there are some that are genuine in their intentions. In case those who oppose the negative activities of industries in matters concerning renewable resources keep labelling these exceptions as being insincere, then there is a high risk that they will be alienated, and this would be detrimental to the cause of achieving the sustainability of renewable resources. In conclusion, it can be said that the use of and sustainability of renewable resources in the province of Ontario has to be given the highest priority because it is the only way through which they can be preserved. The best way through which to undertake this task is through a direct involvement of the Ontario government, which should actively participate in the planning on the usage of these resources. This will ensure that all individuals in the province are aware of their responsibility of preserving of these resources for the sake of future generations. Works Cited Boyd, David "Within Limits: Canada's Record on Environmental Protection is a Patchwork of Weak Laws and Even Weaker Enforcement." Alternatives Journal 30.1 (2004): 37-8. Christidis, Tanya, & Jane Law. "Annoyance, Health Effects, and Wind Turbines: Exploring Ontario's Planning Processes." Canadian Journal of Urban Research 21.1 (2012): 81-105. Cline, Richard G., et al. 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