Canadians and Greenhouse Gas Emissions By: Sarah Deslippe

What are Greenhouse Gasses? Carbon Dioxide: most common type, comes from petroleum and natural gas and coal Methane: occurs when vegetation is burned, digested or rotted. Comes from coal mining, landfills, and agriculture Nitrous oxide: Burning of fossil fuels for agriculture, occurs in chemical fertilizer

Question How does Canada compare to the world with regards to per capita greenhouse gas emissions? What are the sources of greenhouse gases in Canada? How have the total and per capita emissions in Canada changed over the years? What are the possible implications if Canadians continue emitting greenhouse gases at our current rate?

Hypothesis I predict that a graph showing international statistics would show very low GHG emissions in at least 80% of countries surveyed and a very high consumption in the remaining 20% I believe that Canada’s emissions will have increased over the 10 year period I will be discussing I predict that Canada will have a very high record of GHG emissions owning to our climate and standard of living

International Statistics GHGs per Capita per Country in 2003

Data For International Comparison Cross-sectional Study Examines and Compares the Total Consumption of GHGs in Tonnes of CO2 equivalent Single Variable Data

Annual GHG Emissions in Tonnes per Capita around the World

Frequency of Tonnes Per Country in 2003

Analyzing the International Distribution Chart Data Distribution is NOT Normal data is too widely spread, yet too much falls within one standard deviation –High consumption in few developed nations (parts of North America and Europe) –Low consumption in many underdeveloped nations (Africa, parts of Latin America) –High consumption in Newly Industrialized nations and oil bearing nations (Iran, Kuwait, other parts of Asia) –Medium consumption of few developed nations (parts of Europe)

GHGs in Canada Sources and Types of GHGs in Canada

Reasons for Higher GHG Emissions in Canada Colder winters Longer Traveling Distances Increase in Standard of Living

Graph Showing CO2 Emissions in Canada in 2003

Tonnes of GHGs in Canada

Tonnes of GHGs per Province within the years 1990 and 2003

GHGs per Capita per Province Within the Years 1990 and 2003

Province Breakdown Sources per Province and Reason for Change

Kilotonnes of GHG Emissions per year in Canada

Facts on Graph Concerning Line of Best Fit on Total Emissions in Canada I chose linear regression as the “r 2 ” value was 0.01 units closer to one then that of the quadratic y = mx + b m= 10,911, b = r 2 =.97 r =.98 Bias? Unlike the other Graphs, this one is not per capita

Environmental Impacts Melting of northern Glaciers may lead to wide scale flooding (raise sea level six to seven meters Increase risk of seasonal forest fires in Yukon and Northwest Territories Deadly “debris flows” in BC from wetter winters Hotter summers decrease surface water for consumption and recreation Decrease of biodiversity Coastal regions sensitive to flooding and erosion Negative impacts on crops from smog and lack of water More Hurricanes of Katrina’s magnitude

Health Impacts Warmer climate means increase in West Nile, Malaria, and Lyme disease Heat stroke and dehydration Asthma and allergies intensified Increase in micro-organisms that contaminate food Increase susceptibility to lung and skin cancer

Conclusion My hypothesis concerning international statistics was incorrect as I did not consider the impact of newly industrialized nations If Canadians and other citizens continue consuming energy the way we do we will either end up with very serious environmental and health impacts, or we will run out of energy sources

Source of Data Canada, a Big Energy Consumer: A Regional Perspective Author: Marinka Ménard Manufacturing, Construction and Energy Division Environment Canada National and Provincial GHG Emissions United Nations Statistics Division –Greenhouse Gas Emissions One Tonne Challenge –Climate Change Impacts

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