Natural Resources of Canada and the United States -Hydroelectric Power -Coal Mining -Fishing in the Grand Banks

Hydroelectric Power in Canada  Hydroelectricity is electricity produced by hydropower. electricity hydropower electricity hydropower  It is a renewable source of energy, produces no waste, and does not produce carbon dioxide (CO2) which contributes to greenhouse gases.  Hydroelectricity now supplies about 19% of world electricity

How Hydroelectricity is made…

Renewable Energy Hydro-electric power represents almost all of our energy production from renewable resources. We must expand on the others!

What it Cost to Make Electricity… What it Cost to Make Electricity… Hydropower is the most efficient way to generate electricity. With in the last 10 years the Department of Energy has spent $1.2 billion on research and development for other renewable sources like wind, solar, and geothermal. They only $10 million on hydropower.

Negatives of Hydroelectric Power Production  A few recent studies of large reservoirs created behind hydro dams have suggested that decaying vegetation, submerged by flooding, may give off quantities of greenhouse gases equivalent to those from other sources of electricity.  Bacteria present in decaying vegetation can also change mercury, present in rocks underlying a reservoir, into a form which is soluble in water. The mercury accumulates in the bodies of fish and poses a health hazard to those who depend on these fish for food.  Hydroelectric plant flood vast areas of land, much of it was previously forested or used for Agriculture. Some people have lost their homes or way of life because of this.

Coal Mining in West Virginia  Coal was first discovered in what is now West Virginia in 1742 by John Peter Salley in what is now Boone County.  Coal occurs in 53 of West Virginia's 55 Counties  West Virginia has 4% of all coal reserves.

History of Coal Mining  Coal mining was a very dangerous occupation!  slag falls, explosions, fires, gases, cave-ins or being crippled for life either from broken bones or the 'black-lung' disease  Coal mining towns grew up around the mines  Housing, recreation, schools, church

Coal and Electricity  More than half of the nation's electricity is generated from coal.  Coal provides the majority of electric power in 32 states.  In the United States, the demand for electricity has increased 136% since 1970.

The Grand Banks  The Grand Banks are one of the world's largest and richest resource areas, renowned for both its valuable fish stocks and petroleum reserves. Situated off the southeast coast of the Island, the Grand Banks are actually a series of raised submarine plateaus with a water depth ranging between 36.5 and 185 meters. The relative shallowness of the water allows extensive marine animal and plant life to flourish on the bottom. As well, the warm waters of the Gulf Stream pass over the southern portion of the Banks in winter but cover almost all of the Grand Banks in summer.

Fishing…  The most common fish species on the Grand Banks has traditionally been cod but there are also flounder, haddock, ocean perch and hundreds of other species. Portuguese and Basques fishermen fished the Grand Banks as early as the 1400s but it was not until after John Cabot's voyage to the New World in 1497 that knowledge of the Banks and their valuable fishing resources spread throughout Europe. The Grand Banks have been continuously fished since that time by fleets from England, France, Spain, Portugal and later Newfoundland, Canada and the United States.

The need to regulate  Species started to decline due to over fishing  Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) was formed to make these regulations  These fisheries are slowly recovering due to a concerted effort by both Canada and other nations to enforce existing conservation regulations on Grand Banks fish stocks.

We can use but we must be smart about it!  What we can do:  Recycle  Conserve  Be innovative YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!