Canada 2041 A sustainable future

Introduction

Welcome, this webpage will teach you about Canada, the problems in Canada and the solutions i have come up with to make Canada more sustainable by 2041.

Alpine lake in Alberta Canada.

What is Canada like now?

Canada is the 2nd largest country in the world behind Russia. Canada is only 150 years old which makes it a very young country. The population of Canada is 36,626,083 and growing. Most of the population lives in the great lakes st Lawrence region. Canada is very attractive to new immigrants due to pull factors.

This is a picture of Toronto, Canada.

Problems in Canada

Canada has many issues due to what we do. This does not mean Canada is a bad country, in fact i believe Canada is one of the greatest countries. Some examples of issues in Canada are pollution, energy and water use, transportation, deforestation and urban sprawl. Most of these issues contribute to climate change which is our worst enemy. Climate change is when we burn fossil fuels or pollute the co2 gases get emitted into the atmosphere and start the greenhouse effect. When the atmosphere gets warmer there are more natural disasters and the northern ice caps will melt which causes flooding. If we don't stop polluting it may become to late and we may not live to see the future. Many issues like the burning of fossil fuels are caused because of money. No-one would be willing to spend all their money to put solar panels on each house around the world. The same concept goes with nobody would like to waste fossil fuels because it gives them money. I have come up with many solutions for these issues.

Solution #1 Mixed Use Building

What problems will mixed use buildings solve?

Mixed use buildings will help stop pollution and urban sprawl. Mixed use buildings are buildings that have stores or other uses at the bottom of the building and homes all the way to the top. Mixed use buildings are convenient for people that live in them while being somewhat spacious. Mixed use buildings help stop pollution because people wont have to drive to stores, they can just walk to them. Cars pollute a lot and this is a easy way to pollute less. Mixed use buildings are also great because they go up not to the side. Building up is beneficial for the environment because there will be more space for people to live while not invading our greenbelts. Lastly Mixed use buildings provide convenient jobs for many which is a great addition to the many up's of them!

This is an example of what a mixed use building could look like in the future.

Solution #2 Green Space on unused space

In Canada we have many green areas to visit. If urban sprawl continues none of these green areas will be left. My plan is to make use of the unused space. If nothing is being done with space we will turn those spaces into green areas like habitats for animals and parks for people to visit. If we build more green space the air will be more clean due to the increase in trees producing oxygen. Also less animals will go extinct if we turn these areas into safe animal habitats. Keeping green space is a huge part of keeping Canada a amazing country. By 2041 if we make all unused space into green areas people will be more happy and the air will be more clean.

Solution #3 Selective cutting

Deforestation is a huge problem that has a simple solution. Deforestation is caused by us cutting down forests for pulp, paper and other uses. When we cut down trees in forests we don't care what we cut we just cut down everything. This is very bad because we are taking out forests very fast. Without trees our air will be very dirty and it will be very hard to breathe. Cutting down forests in one swoosh is called clear cutting. There is a method of cutting trees the is way better for our environment and can still allow the cutting of trees. Selective cutting is when you cut one or two trees and leave the others this goes on until you have halved the forest. This is the method where they specifically cut trees (mostly the older ones) this deosnt especially help our environment as we are still cutting trees but it is still better than clear cutting. Another advantage of selective cutting is the forest will still be able to sustain wildlife and gives more room for reforestation. If we begin selective cutting our forests will be way more sustainable by 2041.

Information from : http://pandy242.tripod.com/id42.html

Selective cutting @ CP24

Solution #4 Incentive for Solar Panels

Our world is getting polluted day by day due to the burning of fossil fuels. Energy and water use are huge contributors to climate change. Solar panels and renewable energy can help stop the burning of fossil fuels and help stop climate change. Most people in Canada would not mind having solar panels but that is not the problem, solar panels are too expensive ranging from $18,000-19,500. If we give more incentive to get solar panels more people will install them making Canada less polluted. How we can give incentive is if someone buys solar panels from the government they will pay for half of the solar panels cost. Solar panels normally pay themselves off after 20 years (3 dollars per watt for 20 years )30x7300= 219 000 watts in 20 years. This gives people more incentive to buy solar panels and even after paying of the solar panels they will make profit which means double incentive. Solar Panels can reduce climate change by a lot and can change the future of Canada.

This is a school in toronto that went eco friendly and installed solar panels.

Solution#5 Smart Cities

Canada is already a very technology oriented country but we can make it even better and even more sustainable. Smart cities are centered by technology and can help save tons of energy,water and time. Smart cities track all your information in a safe way. Smart cities in Canada will have automatic light sensors that turn on when you in the room and turn off when your not and dims when it gets darker outside. Smart cities track your information to find out the times you use different appliances and helps save energy using that information. Things like sinks that automatically turn of when they are not in use are a part of smart cites. Even though these solutions may seem little they and up saving tons of energy and water and help stop climate change because less fossil fuels will have to be burned for energy. If smart cities were deployed all around Canada there would be an estimated saving of 178 billion dollars. This will help make Canada more sustainable and can be achievable by 2041.

information from: http://insidebigdata.com/2015/10/25/the-benefits-of-becoming-a-smart-city/

Solution#6 Reducing environmental footprint

As the youth minister for a sustainable future i have been working with Unilever to make our country more sustainable by 2041. With Unilever we have come up with plans to reduce the population of Canada's environmental footprint. Our plan is to help reduce greenhouse gases and waste production. Greenhouse gases are the gases we emit into the atmosphere from burning fossil fuels and polluting. Greenhouse gases help climate change. We can reduce the amount of greenhouse gases by only allowing the selling of Eco-friendly fridges, laundry machines and appliances. We can reduce the amount of energy needed making the power companies burn less fossil fuels. To make waste production more sustainable we must stop the dumping of non hazardous waste and increase the amount of recycling by teaching Canadians what is recyclable and what is not. Posters will be shipped to all Canadians showing what is garbage and what is recycle. this will reduce the amount of workers having to sort recycling items and will help more items to be recycled and not sent to landfills. All these ideas will definitely help reduce your environmental footprint and will definitely help make Canada a better place.

Conclusion

In conclusion as the youth minister of a sustainable future i hope these ideas will be approved as they will definitely help the environmental status of Canada. All these solutions will help make Canada more sustainable and will also help reduce climate change. Canada is a great sustainable country and will continue to be one if we work together to keep it great!

Note: these paragraphs were summarized to be read easier.

Credits:

Created with images by alexindigo - "Canada" • joerghummel - "sunset canada nature" • FtCarsonPAO - "Earth Day" • dennisflarsen - "bow river banff alberta" • tpsdave - "hurricane earth satellite" • keijj44 - "horse rider rodeo"

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