Warm Up

You now know more about greenhouse gases and global warming. In this activity, you will learn how Canada's use of fossil fuels adds to global warming.

     

What are fossil fuels? The term fossil refers to hardened remains of plant or animal life from previous geological periods that are preserved in the earth's crust. Fossil fuels are materials that were created from plants and animals that lived millions of years ago and that can be used today to produce energy (heat or power). These fuels are coal, natural gas, and petroleum (oil).

           
coal

           
natural gas

           
petroleum (oil)

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Why is energy from fossil fuels important in our lives? Most homes in Canada are heated with natural gas. All forms of transportation use gasoline or diesel, both made from petroleum. Electricity in many parts of Canada is produced by burning coal, another fossil fuel. Consumption of electricity in most Canadian homes has increased considerably since the end of World War II.

Lighted billboards and even digital or television screens are used for advertising. How many computers and televisions are in your school? The office and staff areas probably have several computers and at least one photocopier. This pattern of increased consumption is repeated in all buildings, ranging from supermarkets to hospitals.

To add to the problem, all machines, electronic devices, vehicles, computers, etc. were built using energy. They were transported to markets using energy, and then they consume energy to operate. As if this is not a big enough problem, the processes by which many of the fossil fuels are mined and processed also use considerable energy.

So what about Alberta? Living in Alberta, you are well aware of the importance of the oil sands and the benefits that these bring to the economies of both Alberta and Canada. Alberta contains the second largest proven concentration of oil in the world. In an energy-hungry world, supporters of the oil sands argue that mining of these reserves is inevitable. Now that you know about internationalism and how we are connected to other countries, you can see how important our oil sands are to Canada and to other countries around the world.

Alberta Oil Sands

Some see the processes used to extract and prepare this heavy oil from the earth's sand as a dark side to this industry. Mining and processing the oil sands is the single largest Canadian contributor to higher greenhouse gas levels. At 4% of the total, this may not sound like much, but no other single industry or site anywhere in Canada contributes that much.

Of course, the oil sands are not the only Canadian contributor to greenhouse gases. In the pursuit of internationalism, Canada also has many minerals that the world needs, and most mining industries add to the problem as do the many factories in eastern Canada. Because Canada has cold winters, much energy is consumed, and greenhouse gases are emitted by furnaces and vehicles. Do you realize that in winter, diesel trucks and machines are left running because they will not start if the weather is very cold? The long nights of winter mean more electricity is consumed to light homes, businesses, and cities. The generators used to produce the electricity are usually driven by coal or diesel, so they emit greenhouse gases.

Canada is nowhere near the worst nation in the world in the total amount of greenhouse gases produced, but with a relatively small population, the amount that is generated when averaged on a per person basis is very high.

So what is Canada doing to fix the problem? Find out in the next lesson!