Lesson 18 — Activity 2: Environmental Interdependence
Completion requirements
Lesson 18 — Activity 2:
Environmental
Interdependence
Environmental Interdependence
Warm Up
In the last activity, you learned how people are connected socially through technology. In this activity, you will learn about our environmental interdependence and understand how the forces of mankind and nature can have short-term and long-term impacts on the earth.
Another way that countries around the world are connected is through the environment they share. Changes to the environment in one place can often affect other places even if they are on other continents. Below, you will learn more about natural and man-made disasters that affect the environment that is shared around the world.
Natural Disasters
Such changes
have always occurred as a result of natural disasters. These can impact
more than just one country. The tsunami in the Indian Ocean on December
26, 2004, caused horrendous destruction and loss of life in many
countries. People all over the world watched this tragedy unfold.
Originally at Bild:Davidsvågfoto.JPG., Public Domain,
Tsunami in the Indian Ocean
Volcanic Eruption
A
volcanic eruption can spill ash and toxic gases over international
boundaries. New Zealanders often have to tolerate smoke from bush fires
in Australia.
Natural Disasters
Such changes have always occurred as a result of natural disasters. These can impact more than just one country. The tsunami in the Indian Ocean on December 26, 2004, caused horrendous destruction and loss of life in many countries. People all over the world watched this tragedy unfold.
Originally at Bild:Davidsvågfoto.JPG., Public Domain,
Tsunami in the Indian Ocean
Volcanic Eruption
A volcanic eruption can spill ash and toxic gases over international boundaries. New Zealanders often have to tolerate smoke from bush fires in Australia.
In 2016, wildfires ravaged large areas in northern Alberta, forcing the largest evacuation in Alberta's history. The entire city of Fort McMurray, with approximately 80,000 residents, were forced to evacuate, and many people lost their homes and businesses due to the wildfires.
Click on the Play button below to watch a short newscast about the Fort McMurray wildfires.
Man-Made Disasters
The effects of man-made disasters can also impact wide areas of the earth's environment. With industrialization (the large-scale introduction of manufacturing), various types of damage occur, sometimes through ignorance and, at other times, through accidents. These may be the result of mechanical failures, accidents, human error, or some combination of these.
Oil Spill: Exxon Valdez video
Click here to watch a video that shows the devastation caused to the Alaskan coast when a tanker leaked a large amount of its oil.
Oil Spill: Exxon Valdez video
Click here to watch a video that shows the devastation caused to the Alaskan coast when a tanker leaked a large amount of its oil.
Click here to watch a video that shows the devastation caused to the Alaskan coast when a tanker leaked a large amount of its oil.
Chernobyl Accident
Click on the Play button below to watch a video to learn about the devastation in Chernobyl, after a man-made accident at a nuclear power plant.
As devastating as natural and man-made disasters are, they do not affect the entire planet, and eventually their impact is repaired. Today, mankind is facing a threat that has the potential to negatively affect the entire planet for generations to come. For as long as people have inhabited earth, they have used the earth's resources. However, because of the rapid growth of industrialization during the last century, both the population and the need for energy are much greater. This has resulted in a negative impact on the earth's life-sustaining resources of land, air, and water. Canada is a victim of poor practices in other countries, but it also causes this problem. Let's take a look at some of these negative impacts below.
Plants and trees produce oxygen through photosynthesis. When large forests are cut down, less oxygen goes into the air. This deforestation can cause two other problems: flooding and mudslides. Because the forestry industry is very important to Canada, balancing the needs of the environment and the industry is very challenging.
Rivers flow from one country to another, and oceans have coastlines in many countries. Water does not stay in one area or country, regardless if it is pure or polluted. Waste that goes into a river ends up in lakes and oceans. Canada shares several river systems and lakes with the United States, a major industrial nation.
Polluted air can travel long distances and affect many countries. It can cause acid rain that kills the plant life in areas that do not have any factories. The forest in this photo was damaged by acid rain that was caused by air pollution.
