Does Canada Need to Adapt how It Manages Its Freshwater Resources, Given the Predicted Impacts of Global Warming - Term Paper Example

Does Canada Need To Adapt How It Manages Its Freshwater Resources, Given The Predicted Impacts Of Global Warming? Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Introduction 3 Freshwater Resources in Canada 4 Freshwater Use 5 Managing the Freshwater Resources 6 Conclusion 8 References 10 Bibliography 12 Introduction Canada has been witnessing an up-coming water crisis. This crisis is apparent from the rising amount of disease eruptions that are water-related, dying out watersheds and marine bio-network accompanied by troubles because of an old and feeble water infrastructure. The climate is getting warmer with every passing day because of global warming (United Nations Global Compact, “Climate Change and the Global Water Crisis: What Businesses Need to know and Do”). It has been forecasted by scientists that with such a warm climate, the world would get warmer as well. Owing to this, an augmented regional inconsistency in rainfall would be witnessed all across the globe. The freshwater resources would be deeply and gravely affected by the fact, especially in the US. The warm type of weather would result in the reduction in the number of obtainable sources of water, and thereby escalating the requirement for water in turn (Noah & Et. Al., “Climate Change and Freshwater Resources”; Morrison & Et. Al., “Water Scarcity & climate Change: Growing Risks for Businesses & Investors”; UNEP, “How will global warming affect my world”). Canada enjoys good number of renewable resources of freshwater in contrast to the other countries and so, it is extremely vital for Canada to deal with its water resources efficiently (Library of Parliament, “Freshwater Management in Canada: II. Resources, Use and Treatment”). Freshwater Resources in Canada Almost 95% of the earth’s water is held by the oceans. Apart from that, the remaining only 5% is considered as usable freshwater. Out of this total amount of freshwater existing on earth, around 33% is collected in the glaciers as well as ice caps. The outstanding 66% is ground water and only an insignificant part of about 1% is present on the surface that can be obtained through rivers, lakes and other water sources (Library of Parliament, “Freshwater Management in Canada: II. Resources, Use and Treatment”). Canada is quite providential as considerable quantity of freshwater is present there inside the borders. Although being rich in the freshwater resources, Canada still faces water scarcity because of the uneven distribution of the water in the country majority of which is not even obtainable for use. The planet’s 7 percent of the renewable freshwater is present in Canada but the hard fact is that only a small proportion of that storage is currently accessible. The renewable storage of freshwater in Canada comprises principally of groundwater including the several watercourses as well as lakes which envelops approximately 8 percent of the territory. There are wetlands that act as a source of renewable freshwater which enfolds around 16 percent of the country. And lastly ice along with snow forms a part of the renewable sources of freshwater (Library of Parliament, “Freshwater Management in Canada: II. Resources, Use and Treatment”). Despite of being rich in freshwater resources, the country still faces dearth of water because most of the populace lives far away from those sources. Certain parts of the country are quite parched whereas there are some parts which face less dearth of water and the other parts witness plentiful rainfall (Library of Parliament, “Freshwater Management in Canada: II. Resources, Use and Treatment”). Owing to such uneven and imbalanced conditions, the country should seriously focus on managing its freshwater resources. Freshwater Use Canada is known to use its freshwater resources excessively. The majority of the water is used up on power and other different utilities, private as well as governmental sectors, manufacturing, agriculture and primary resources. Most of the water used for these purposes was recycled but bulk consumption was done by the agriculture sector accompanied by the manufacturing sector. Water is also used from the in-stream. This usage of water is not possible to be gauged quantitatively like the withdrawal water usage as the water in this case is not sourced from the natural environment. However, although with the presence of such a factor, the usage of in-stream water still remains to be an important issue as it has an effect on the water quality as well as on the accessibility for the other users (Environment Canada, “Water And Canada: Preserving A Legacy For People And The Environment”). Managing the Freshwater Resources Therefore, it can be well understood that the actions of human poses the greatest hazard to freshwater. The actions affect the quality as well as quantity of the freshwater. It is immediately necessary for the country to undertake measures in order to defend and control its freshwater resources. The asymmetrical distribution of water resources as well as the negative effects of global warming bring into reality an impending threat to the water supply of the country (Learning for a Sustainable Future, “Canada’s Freshwater”). It was estimated by the International Food Policy Research Institute that the water consumption of the country would keep on increasing noticeably with every passing year (Library of Parliament, “Freshwater Management in Canada: II. Resources, Use and Treatment”). Thus, it is important for the country to control its freshwater resources by controlling the excessive use of resources because of boost in the numbers of population. The country should immediately stop the modifications made in the natural lakeshores as well as in the riverbanks. Obliteration of the country’s peat bogs along with the other different wetlands should be checked. The country should keep a strict vigil and control on the emissions released by industries into the environment as these emissions are acidifying the lakes which is polluting the water to an extent making it further unusable. The level of pollution and emissions needs to be controlled as the release of greenhouse gases are bringing in irregular alterations in the various water body levels. Strict measures and standards should be adopted in case of manufacturing, agricultural and urban industries as their activities are chemically as well as organically polluting the water. The country should actively treat its wastewater and recycle it so, that it can be used again (Morrison & Gleick, “Freshwater Resources: Managing the Risks Facing the Private Sector”). Conclusion With reference to the above discussion, the reasons and ways of managing the freshwater resources of Canada can be evidently stated. The climatic alterations owing to global warming are estimated to bring in a huge scarcity of water. Therefore, it becomes immensely important for a country like Canada which is rich in water resources to manage them effectively so as to fight and survive the scarcity. The threat to the resources of water is usually caused because of the human activities so, it is necessary to restrict such activities which might aggravate the problem. The initial measure towards effective management of the resources would be to control and restrict the industrial and agricultural waste which ultimately calls for restricting of the human activities. Another effective way would be to recycle the waste water for the purpose of re-using it. References Environment Canada. “Water and Canada: Preserving a Legacy for People and the Environment”. October 21, 2011. Government of Canada, 2003 < http://www.ec.gc.ca/eau-water/96511B42-F99E-4EC6-8BC9-FF79CD699B96/watercanada.pdf> Learning for a Sustainable Future. “Canada’s Freshwater”. October 21, 2011. A Decision-making Approach to the Study of Selected Canadian Issues, 2011 < http://www.lsf-lst.ca/media/water.en.pdf> Library of Parliament. “Freshwater Management in Canada: II. Resources, Use and Treatment”. October 21, 2011. Science and Technology Division, 2004 < http://dsp-psd.pwgsc.gc.ca/Collection-R/LoPBdP/PRB-e/PRB0447-e.pdf> Morrison, Jason & Gleick, Peter. “Freshwater Resources: Managing the Risks Facing the Private Sector”. October 21, 2011. Pacific Institute, 2004 Morrison, Jason & Et. Al. “Water Scarcity & Climate Change: Growing Risks for Businesses & Investors”. October 21, 2011. Pacific Institute, 2009 Noah, Hall D. & Et. Al. “Climate Change and Freshwater Resources”. October 21, 2011. NR&E Winter, 2008 UNEP. “How will global warming affect my world?” October 21, 2011. IPCC, 2003 United Nations Global Compact. “Climate Change and the Global Water Crisis: What Businesses Need to Know and Do” October 21, 2011. Pacific Institute, 2009 Bibliography Bakker, Karen J. & Bakker, Karen. Eau Canada: the future of Canada’s water. UBC Press, 2007. Kumagai, Michio & Vincent, Warwick F. Freshwater management: global versus local perspectives. Springer, 2003 Read More