Economic development Lecture 1 2015

Lecture 1 Economic development is accompanied by risk (risk unknown) Technology is a paradox Technology is the means by which we have improved the living of life On the other hand, there have been many negative environmental effects Scientific knowledge is provisional Reverend Malthus: hypothesized that unchecked population growth would quickly exceed carrying capacity, leading to overpopulation and social problems Sometimes we area unable to properly diagnose potential problems and use technology to fix it completely 3 different kinds of pollution: Acute- sudden release of highly toxic substances by petrochemical products or poisonous chemicals into the environment such as arsenic kills organisms Chronic- slow release of toxic substances (ex: fertilizer) Eutrophication- release of toxic substances results in excessive growth of biomass (ex: algae) Persistent DDT dichloro-diphenyl trichloro-ethane substances (can sometimes be acute) 2 types of displacement: (displacement through different media) Spatial displacement- transferred from one location to another by air current, ocean current, etc. Temporal displacement- contaminants accumulate over a long period of time Cumulative impact Primary reason for environmental problems: Use of materials Stock, Flow, or Continuous resources Continuous resources Constant supply regardless of how much we use Input Rules for Sustainability: Use of flow resources should be less than or equal to the regenerative capacity of the system Our use of non-renewable resources should be less than or equal to the rate at which we discover new material Output Rule for Sustainability: 1) Discharge of waste should be in rate amount of concentration, which allows the receiving system enough time to biodegrade the waste without damage 4 types of conflict in resource management Cognitive conflict: different understanding of a situation -> might lead to different solutions Conflict of value: different judgements about the ends to be achieved (what are the end goals?) Interest-based conflicts: disagreement regarding the distribution of benefits and costs Behavioural conflicts: occurs when there are different personalities involved Risk occurs when the behaviour of a system is known Inaccurate information forced judgement Uncertainty occurs if the behaviour of the system is unknown and it is not possible to estimate probability of given outcome Uncertainty Indeterminacy lack of understanding of cause-and-effect relationships- risk-assessment Ignorance a situation that escapes recognition, scientific weight should help us reduce uncertainty Tragedy of the commons Garrett Hardin pastures are common resources, driven by profit, revenue, and income As a rational being, every herdsman seeks to maximize his gain (homo-economious) Positive component (due to adding 1 additional animal to pasture) blinded by negative environmental effects (ex: overgrazing) Fish is a flow resource It is applicable to open access resources Each herdsman increases his herd without limit. Overshoot & collapse Freedom in a commons brings ruin to all It reappears in problems of pollution The tragedy of the commons can be prevented by coercive laws St. Paul Island when they run out of food they put resources for them Population exploded in 1950 Resources started depleting According to Hardin “Carrying Capacity is the fundamental basis for demographic accounting” Max population Max ‘load’ Waste assimilation capacity max waste natural system can receive, absorb, biodegrade, displace without irreversible damage on the system Technology can enlarge our carrying capacity. Trade can NOT enlarge (batch disease) Appropriated carrying capacity The biophysical resource flows and waste assimilation capacity appropriated per unit time from global totals Ecological footprint “the total area of land/water required to produce the resource used and to assimilate the wastes produced” William Rees and Wackernigel put away the idea of ecological footprint Carrying capacity cannot be appropriated Lecture 2 GDP used to be the way to measure economic welfare GDP doesn’t take environmental degradation into consideration Economic development? Dual economy: Simultaneous existence of traditional rural economies Look at the social indicators for measuring development A dual economy is the existence of two separate economic sectors within one country, divided by different levels of development, technology, and different patterns of demand. Economic Development: A Global Challenge (VIDEO) Digital.films.com/playTURGH7 Who started the Grameen Bank? Bangladesh Economic development: standard of living; how rich are people Dynamics of economic development: Measuring economic development: high living standard no poverty, basic healthcare, long life, education GDP per capita, Human development index: The Human Development Index (HDI) is a summary measure of average achievement in key dimensions of human development: a long and healthy life, being knowledgeable and have a decent standard of living. Huge income variations reflect different levels of economic development 80% of world income is generated by 10% of population 90% of population generates less than 1/5 of worlds income In 2003, some of the countries with highest income level were Norway, US,… Productivity # of goods and services produced by each worker per hour Productivity of a Taiwanese worker has increased much more than a US worker Physical capital Increase in capital stock—investment Level of investment is related to saving rate of a country Human capital stock of knowledge embedded in a person Highly skilled workers make more than others Higher skilled labour means higher productivity “Brain drain” Technology blueprint of … process Causes of underdevelopment: Angola is an example of a nation trying to overcome its colonial past (death of General in 2002 is when the country started to experience peace) Poor countries have higher population growth rates Income inequality within countries: In Guatemala richest 5th receive 60% of the nations income Poorest 5th receive less than 4/5 Kuznets Curve Brazil – (income inequality) to be poor in brazil is to be poorer than people in India, but to be rich in brazil is to be richer than the rich in North America If there is a lot of income inequality policy makers are forced to adjust it through taxation or other measures Credit Markets: less developed countries have a less developed financial system Asymmetric information- borrower has more information about the use of the funds than the lender Brameen Bank lends women mostly to women; by 1974 it had approx. 3.7 million borrowers What is economic development? Can be defined as a standard of living, quality of life of people in an area: access to clean drinking water, good healthcare services, greater life expectancy Development can also be seen as development from primitive state to more advanced and industrialized economy. It can also be defined as changed is the form of economic organization from socialist systems to capitalist system (neoliberal systems) One index of measuring development is how many people earn less than $1/day Average household debt in Canada is over $20,000 Improvement in levels of technology from rudimentary state to more advanced: Energy, manufacturing technology, etc. Key determinant of productivity: skills of the people, technology that they have, and the quality of that technology Higher technological innovation higher economic development What is dual economy? Kuznets curve: measures income vs inequality. There is a wide income gap between the rich and poor. As development progresses, the income inequality gap reduces Human capital: stock or embodiment of knowledge, education, skills, training, and experience Neo-colonialism- modern day multinational corporations that go global Explain 3 economic indicators of the level of development of countries: human development index: income per capita, education, and life expectancy Purchasing power parity (ppp): differences in cost of living Problems of GDP- used by government, rehabilitation, leakage of money Genuine progress index: takes capital income and economic welfare into account: looks for ecosystem services 3 social indicators of development: geography, proximity to coastline for exports and imports, political instability/corruption Historical factors Colonial factors: restructuring of agriculture, partitioning of continent Indian act: to control the Indians; metis, inuit, and one more tribe Non-historical factors: lack of fair legal judicatories Mohammad Yunus: founder of Grameen bank Why some countries are underdeveloped: wars-> set back clock of progress, instabilities, School of thought on development: Market plan (reconstructions for countries that have been devastated by the way) There has been a historical sequence of ideas as to how countries/regions can develop successfully 1950s = growth pole theory polarization effect-> dominant industry which will begin to provide output, where some of the output will be used as input (backward and forward linkages to other sectors) -expert processing zones (Maquiladoras) propulsive industries ex: tourism sector 1950s-60s= modernization developing countries should follow or mimic the stages of development of ___ countries industrialization, polarization, through technological transfer from food aid, capital aid mapping, transportation, family planning 1970s= dependency based on the fact that the relationship between the former colonial Claut (power) and the colonies hasn’t changed; in place of it we have neo-colonialism. Relationship is a legacy of the past, former colonial controls political activities, and many other things through their multinational corporations Import substitution industries) is a trade and economic policy which advocates replacing foreign imports with domestic production 1980-2000 = World systems theory put forward by Emmanuel Wallerstain (only 1 world system: all countries are competing for better or worse: economically, technologically, politically, and culturally) Some countries are advantaged while other are disadvantaged “Dutch disease”-> gain in one economic area means losses in another 1980s=Neo-liberal Counterrevolution Renold Regan and ___ Free market economies and trade liberalization will increase competition and innovation Remove subsidies, and all barriers for trade 1990s= Sustainable development Intensification involves exercising the option on land areas currently used in production of the relevant commodity(s) — creating more product with the same land area in the same location. For purposes of our analysis, we defined intensification to include the displacement of one commodity by another within existing land areas suitable for production of both commodities. Displacement in these models occurs when the technology or policy option causes a more favorable economic outcome relative to current land use. Extensification is the process of introducing production into land areas that were previously unused or used for less intensive purposes. In practice, to meet the demands for food imposed by an increasing population, extensification has often involved exploiting marginal lands with resultant degradation and/or desertification. These terms define the limits of a continuum of land use change resulting from outcomes driven by technology or policy options. Processes of Economic Development: Advantages of economic activities: Agglomeration effects Ex:Santa Clara, San Joselot of high tech industries Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge Blackberry Forward linkages new firms take semi-processed goods of an existing company firm and use it as input for their company Backward linkages if firms image that produce the raw materials/supplies as well as machineries to an existing company Ex: hotel industry (if hotels are increasing wine sales, go back to winery and ask for more wine supply, and the winers go back to grid farmers) Ancillary activities form of activities that include maintance, repairs, securities, transportation, other services Economies of scale (external economies) cost savings resulting from the advantages that are derived from circumstances beyond the firms own organization and methods of protection (control of the firm) Development in the area will provide additional training, investors will bring money, technical schools evolving, and eventually the urban areas will expand Fixed social capital f- Urbanization economies Gunnar Myrdal (Swedish economists) Cumulative causation in core regions Ex: potential that new technologies will be transferred from the core to the surrounding area and there will also be investment capital “Spread effect” (or trickle-down effect in peripheral regions) growth will spread to the surrounding areas Import substitution industries (ex: china b/c they are able to learn quickly and make it their own) Disadvantages of economic activities Crumbling infrastructure Agglomeration diseconomies: disadvantages associated with growth in an area (ex: traffic congestion, higher cost of rent or inflation, high cost of waste production, greater traffic policing, or city planning problem) De-industrialization: occurs when factories or companies close down, downsize, and relocate decrease the productive capacity Creative destruction: transferring of investment capital of decline to a new region (ghost towns-ex. Detroit) Brownfield sites Gunnar Myrdal (Swedish economist) “Backwash effect” in peripheral regions Brain drain when educated people migrate from rural areas to urban cities Creative destruction -Transfer of investment, capital decline to a new region - “Ghost town” ex: Detroit Lecture 3 Social indicators: brain drain Balanced, healthful dietKawashiorkor , marasmus (child that is facing stunted growth) -Too much sugar diabetes, too much salt hyper tension and high blood pressure, too much fat obesity Adequate medical care - Afghanistan vs. Sweden / US (longer wait time )vs. Cuba (access to good medical services) Environmental sanitation and disease control Sufficient educational opportunities 3 key areas: -professor/student ratio, advanced countries: small class sizes while developing countries: larger class sizes -when the region has gender balance, we find that due to population growth there is an inability for parents to send all their children to school… more severe in Islamic countries. Women are more productive in work activities - Remuneration of payment, wages and salaries for teachers Individual freedom of conscience and freedom from fear (freedom of conscience allows you to chase your dreams this freedom is often restricted which lowers the chance for you to get what you want out of life) Decent housing Social and political milieus promoting equality Sustainable development: meeting the needs of present generations without comprising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs economic: growth social: Involves economic, social & environmental components oxymoron- is sustainable development contradictory? Cornucopian= horn of plenty (endless supply of materials) associated with Green folk stories/mythology Cassandras= predictions are not believed Earth Summit – Rio Dejenero Sustainable development is an oxymoron - Make haste slowly If we continue the current rate of consumption in the rate of population growth, there will be dire consequences Sustainable Development: “meeting the needs of the present without compromising ability of future generation to meet their own needs” It reconciles environment and development Sustainable development involves intra-/inter-generational justice It is anthropocentric. It views human needs and well-being that incorporates non-economic values Re-orienting technology and managing risks Intergenerational equity every generation should deal with their own waste. Leave resources in good quantity and quality so future generations can use it…. Moral and ethical call Also, we should not leave waste materials for future generations to deal with… so who should deal with that in the future? Intergenerational equity everyone should be mindful of his/her action on their neighbour… no victims/no victors 2 major principles: Polluter pay principal companies that cause pollution should be responsible for paying for the cost of clean-up ex: BP Precautionary Principal lack of scientific knowledge should not be used as a business to postpone actions that will prevent environmental harm/crisis Agriculture and food production systems 1.Population pressure hypothesis growing human population and search for wild food … People will start fighting over food and cause them to settle down and cultivate 2. Oasis hypothesis: people gathering around water bodies due to drought Dump heap: garbage Cultural progression hypothesis: every society moves from primitive, traditional state to more advanced, industrialized, and urban state Iroquois St. Lawrence river valley Yangize River- china, rice Potatoes- South America Sunflower- Canada Millet- West Africa Nile valley Egypt Squash corn, etc. Clovis culture Soil as a system: Soil consists of mineral matter, organic matter, air, and water Dead and living microorganism, decaying matter Bacteria, algae, earthworms, insects, mammals, amphibians, and reptiles Agriculture Revolutions: First agriculture revolution Second agriculture revolution Intensification … (Crop rotational practice using different types of crops on the same land) … Use of natural means of fertilizer (Clover- type of plant that fixes nitrogen in soil replenishes soil fertility; used a lot in western and eastern Europe) 2nd agricultural revolution happened when industrial manufacturing was taking place in Europe… a lot of people were working in factories in Europe- Reciprocal relationship because manufacturing industries provided the rules for farming … Hoe = flat metal plate for farming (rudimentary tools-agriculture, horse-drawn carts) Third agriculture revolution development of tracktorization, mechanization (designed to remove rocks from the ground) Reapers (remove stray/hay or other materials from ground) Deer plows Development of chemical ingredient/input to food production pesticides, chlorines, insecticides, fungicide, rodenticides, weedicides, herbicides Crow benefits Ottawa paid $3.6 mill subsidy to Canadian Pacific Railway to build a rail line through the Crow’s Nest Pass 1897 : Abolished in 1995 Swidden agriculture Subsistence, shifting cultivation Pastoral nomadism raising of farm animals for food, clothing, and shelter Types of pastoralism: Sedentary (take animals to field to graze and bring them back to home--- settled agriculture) Nomads (roam systematically in search of fodder or pasture and water) Genetically modified organism (GMOs) Industrial agriculture VIDEO: Food Inc. The current method of raw food production is largely a response to the growth of the fast food industry since the 1950s. The production of food overall has more drastically changed since that time than the several thousand years prior. Controlled primarily by a handful of multinational corporations, the global food production business - with an emphasis on the business - has as its unwritten goals production of large quantities of food at low direct inputs (most often subsidized) resulting in enormous profits, which in turn results in greater control of the global supply of food sources within these few companies. Health and safety (of the food itself, of the animals produced themselves, of the workers on the assembly lines, and of the consumers actually eating the food) are often overlooked by the companies, and are often overlooked by government in an effort to provide cheap food regardless of these negative consequences. Many of the changes are based on advancements in science and technology, but often have negative side effects.The products made have been shown in several studies to enlarge male sexual organs and increase male breast size. The answer that the companies have come up with is to throw more science at the problems to bandage the issues but not the root causes. The global food supply may be in crisis with lack of biodiversity, but can be changed on the demand side of the equation. 1940s McDonalds used to be a Drive-In changed it to a manufacturing company Perdue pickers they take the chickens from the chicken houses at night to the processing plant Typical grower earns $18,000 /year Corn is main component in beef ingredients Teaching fish how to eat corn 200,000 pounds of meat is eaten by average American per year High corn diet ecoli &certain mutation occurs (which is acid resistant) Many beef recall E.coli spinach, apple juice, leafy greens Child died in 12 days because of eating food (E.Coli) They didn’t recall the meat until 16 days after he died (Kevin’s Law) Lecture 4 Green Revolution: classical breeding Transgenic ally modified organisms Recombinant DNA technology (delete genes or add genes that add flavour – transfer genes from one species to another) The term is widely used since the 1940s to describe the effort to increase the diversity crop yields in agriculturally less advanced regions of the world Normann Borlaug helped Mexican farmers grow wheat and grain Brought high yielding crops that can adapt to pest and disease infestation High- yielding modern varieties (MV) of wheat, maize, and rice characterized the green revolution Green revolution seeds were more responsive to controlled irrigation and synthetic fertilizers and the miracle seeds spread throughout developing world Food Inc. Benefits of biotechnology: Intensification (increase yield per hectare of land which is cultivated maximize use of soil in order to increase productivity) and Intensification (ex: marginalized land) Reduce the acquisition of new lands for cultivation Advantage: Precision farming- genes lethal to pests eg. Bt crops that were engineered to include their own Bt gene (protein that is lethal to insects nearby the crop) Requires every crop to have their own inbuilt pesticide Monarch butterflies were dying in huge numberswhen you take the pollen from cone… (Pollen kills monarch butterflies) The Svalbard Global Seed Vault genetically modified systems selects the best seed… over time we forget about traditional varieties. “Doomsday” Seed Vault a secure seed bank in the Norwegian island… holds spare copies of seeds in gene banks workwide Problems of Green Revolution: Excessive use of water, fuels, chemical fertilizers and pesticides (crops grow faster) Biodiversity loss through monoculture (planting one type of seed can result in extinction of species) We need polyculture many seeds Disease and pests Narrowing human diet (the kind of food we eat doesn’t cater for the 6 types of food we need in our everyday diet) -Some farmers are converting food crops to energy crops (Ex: canola) the crops can be transferred to ethanol production Bio-fuels affect food availability Biotech companies like Monsanto into bio-powers (owning seeds can dictate the supply for the market- forcing us to eat what we don’t want) Food Inc. in factory farms, all the chickens heads are poked & injected with hormones… which makes the hormones bio magnify (build up) in living beings from lower tropic levels to higher tropic levels What is organic farming? The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) World Health Organization (WHO) define organic farming as: “A holistic production management system which promotes and enhances agro-ecosystem health, including biodiversity, biological cycles and soil biological activity. The primary goal of organic agriculture is to optimize the health and productivity of interdependent communities of soil life, plants, animals and people” a system that is complex and interdependent in a self-sustaining way. Doesn’t require use of fossil fuel- time consuming Food is a social construct Can Organic farming feed the world: Studies show that less industrialized countries stands to benefit from organic farming. Eg Brazil, Mexico, etc. deeper roots Currently we use around 10 calories of fossil energy to produce on calorie of food energy Organic farming enhances soil fertility and encourages crops to develop deep roots Water use; organic farms rely on drought-tolerant species grown in the tropic and water-demanding crops in the temperate regions too much irrigation high salt (salinization) Localization: Organic farming prevents global commodity chains Farmers in GTA areas are out of business: DIRTI High level of depreciation, High level of inflation, high levels or repair of equipment, Taxes, Insurance TPP: trans pacific partnership Avoid pesticides: Healthy plant grown in healthy soil will be more resistant to pest damage Nutritious benefits: Organic crops contain higher levels of 21 essential nutrients than conventionally grown counterparts Seed-saving: seeds are not just a source of food, they are living testimony to more than 10,000 years of agriculture domestication Job creation: Organic farming relies on labour-intensive management practices Against organic farming: Expensive Crop rotation= planting different types of plants on the same parcel of land at different times Advantage: helps restore soil fertility and nutrients to soil…. Also breaks cycle of pests and diseases Contour farming= plowing furrows along the train of hills… mostly gentle sloping hills (East of Toronto) Advantage: soil erosion is trapped especially real erosion (concentrated surface runoff within narrow channels) Gullies deeps roofs or trenches that occur on the surface of the land as a result of runoff Terracing= kind of process where we create a series of steps along a train of steep slopes and they have raised edges (embankment) which trap runoff and hold water on the horizontal plane, once we have enough moisture we can plant crops. (East Asia) Advantage: helps with erosion Intercropping= plant multiple crops on the same parcel of land at the same time Shelterbelts= farming practice which serves as wind break which are planted along the edges of fields to slow the wind Reduced tillage= Furrows are cut in the soil, a seed is dropped in and the furrow is closed.. leave furrows in the soil and when they begin to decompose it restores nutrients to soil, enhances pollination Alley cropping= shelterbelts +intercropping Outline: Urbanization Central Place Theory Types of cities Socio-economic organization Urban sprawl and processes Urban structure and immigration Social problems in inner Canadian cities Problems of post-industrial cities CITIES: Proximity to rivers, climate conditions, location within a particular resource/reason EX: Calgary owns its existence due to Canadian Pacific Railway Montreal owns its existence due to the junction of 2 major riversused for fair trade in the early days of Canadian settlement (Quebec city=New France) Urbanization Urban Form (structure and organization of cities includes: built environment, layout of streets, different land use types) -Street level, middle level, top level (residence, apartment) - Urban retrofitting programs (renovate old apartments to make them energy efficient) Good ones are gentrification programs rehabilitation of old urban areas in order to attract wealthy class to cities Urban Ecology (described as the demographic and ethnical composition of urban areas) Urbanism (way of life that is fashioned from a urban setting built with attitude and behaviour of people) In most urban areas, there’s a lot of freedom such as freedom of lifestyle Values are different -religion, folklore, language…. 25 to 200 ethnic groups in Canada Canada attracts the crème of intellectuals (adds to the work force calibre and increases productivity) At the same time, it brings a lot of need for political system to be adjusted Multicultural act of 1988 (creates a more tolerable and acceptable society) Central Place Theory Urban System Interlocking urban systems Walter Crystaller a German Geographer in 1930s Crystaller used the following terms; Range Max distance individual is willing to travel to obtain a good/service The shorter the distance the greater the interaction… the more frequent trips we make The greater the distance the lesser the perpetuity to travel (Distance decay effect) First Law of GeographyTobler… everything is related to everything else but closer things are more related than distant things High-order goods and services Expensive and specialized goods and services found in major cities Low-order goods (grocery stories) Threshold population (min number of people that are serviced by a particular market sector) Perishable industries closbatce to higher population… same space and room to be used another time ex: downtown core areas Any firm or business that would thrive is one with high population size and low transport cost In ideal circumstances, there is flat plain with good transportation 3.7 person population density Poor cities tend to have high population General Motors and Crystlar- Ontario got the largest share Montral, Vancouver, Toronto – First Level Halifax, Victoria, London, Guelph – Second Level Ouje-bougoumou- Third Level Walter Crystaller (founder of Central Place Theory) the evolution of cities is the result of the shopping behaviour of people … we determine where we want to work, socialize, attend school, and by doing so we create demand for housing, shops will spring up to supply the need Types of Urban cities Gateway cities aka. Port cities (serve as a link between one region and another command as a entrance and exit of goods and services) Rio de genero Gold and cocoa production Accra (Ghana) Cocoa production and export Calcutta Juice production and cotton Shock City characterized by surprising and disturbing changes (ex: Manchester, Detroit) Owed their existence not to ecclesiastical (religious) activities but to manufacturing, metal fabrication, assembly lines, and processing of goods Colonial cities were established by colonial government… centre of political administration And were used for resource extraction from the colonies Also had commercial activities Ex: Hong Kong Chicago’s problem is because minorities are clustered into apartments World Cities the centre for financial and banking control (Ex: New York, Central Manhattan, Washington, Toronto, London) House the headquarters for multinational corporations Mega Citieslarge population sizes (can’t control it) Ex: Mexico city, Mumbai, Jakata, Tokyo, Sao Paolo Sprawl the spread of low-density urban or suburban development outward from an urban centre Physical spread of development is greater than the rate of population growth The rate of housing development outpaces population growth Urban sprawl total number of people moving to the suburb times the amount of land that the average person occupies Wasteful because we lose all the wilderness , inefficient use of resources Types of sprawl: Uncentered commercial strip development (shopping malls located at great distances from each other) – No effort to centralize commercial development Can’t walk between stores but need to use the car, which increases pollution Low-density single-use development (clean environment, less noise pollution, peace, tranquility) Scatter or leapfrog development (great distance from shopping mall, need to commute to get to grocery store and school) Sparse street network (great distance from cities) Causes of Sprawl: human population growth per capita land consumption highways, automobiles, technologies, telecommunications Net migration= number of ppl leaving a country-number of ppl entering a country Immigration-Emigration=Net Migration Decentralizaed back offices Price of labour is lower What factors influence the Geography of Urban areas? 1) Population growth 2) Technological development 3) Migration Problems of Urban Sprawl: Transportation (requires high express road networks that links cores cities to surrounding areas which increases the volume of traffic flow – problem: creates pollution form CO2 emissions, Nitrogen Oxide, Lead emissions, Carbon monoxide which is due to incomplete combustion of fuel) Pollution from sprawl’s Health: promotes physical inactivity Land use Economics: drains tax dollars from communities Problems of Post-Industrial cities: -Municipal government aren’t available to renovate enough tax revenue to deal with repairing expenditure Fiscal squeeze (ex: repaving roadways, repairing old sewers) - Cities and Regional Planning Planningtool to determine the growth of a particular area or region Planners often determine the efficiency of cities, the beauty, and the functionality of a location Zoningdetermine what gets built at a particular location Advantage: preserves the cleanliness and tranquility of residential areas Zoning by-laws determine the type of land use that should be carried out Mixed land usescommercial & residential Urban growth boundary began in 1970s and required that counties and cities should have land use plans which are in conformity with the city-wide plan (concentrate development within a particular area in order to prevent sprawl) Greenbelt concept Smart growth control the placement, style of growth within a particular area by growing upward not outward New Urbanism (Jane Jacobs) need to develop liveable cities where you can go anywhere by walking “functional cities” Lecture 5 Principles and Practices of Environmental Impact Assessment 3 systematic factors: -effect on environment -economic systems -social wellbeing on society Impact assessment began in 1973 in Canada became known as Environmental Assessment Review Project Old mining towns have left a legacy of waste, which is now becoming a problem (because it wasn’t required by law)… In some cases state funds are being used to help the communities that are affected 3 Key developments that were subjected to Impact Assessment: Rafferty Alameda (Saskatchewan) Oldman river Dam (Alberta) Point Lepreau (Nuclear Energy project in New Brunswick) you cannot compel compliance to existing regulations In 1992 the conservative Government introduced Bill 78 in which they established a systematic and regrossed process for carrying out environmental assessment in Canada In 1994, Canada established the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency (and the website) Impact assessment is an environmental tool that can help with making informed decisions And deal with Consequences of development, Immediate or Long-term “Tipping point- age of the oil sands” Impact assesement: Business people: expensive hurdle for them to overcome to get approval Public: public relation tool that government and companies use to justify development Non-profit: see impact assessment as a means for stake holder to ensure various inputs are considered in the decision making process Principles of EIA: Written down in law: purpose and assessment are clearly written, and the responsibilities of stakeholders are clearly outlined Suitable procedures: systematic methods for data collection and analysis are in place. Quality and consistency. Outcome should reflect environmental, political, and social aspect in which it is designed Public Involvement: mechanisms in place for public consultation. People who are affected by the development have input in the decision making process There should be practical and applied means to solve particular problems at hand ( should be relevant to issues of the day) Means to monitor and review performance of company inform decision making and effect changes should be rigorous downside of development: interdisciplinary: combined scientific method with social measured method Stages in EIA: Stage1: The purpose? It is believed that the decision has already been made- nothing you can do for alternatives. Specify who is carrying out the assessment. The location? Nature of the project? Stage 2: (aka Screening stage) Not all projects will have significant/irreversible damage on the environment. Project that will have major impact will not fall through the cracks, not overlooped Case by case screening: criterion based screening: discretionary screening project that will have significant pollution/lots of waster as well as irreversible damage should be subjected to impact assessment projects that will be dealing w/ significant water waste resources it should be subjected to impact assessment If development will create huge public outcry Threshold screening: put project into different classes/groups/types … and set a benchmark or threshold for projects that require impact assessment ex: production capacity of 200 mw or more should be assessed -Stage 3: Scoping given that we have time, resource restraint, it is important to narrow the impact assessment to a manageable form - significant parameters of the environement that will be affected -open scoping: public hearing, panel review, or small skill agency meetings What should be included in the IA? Also determine frame of analysis baseline information -closed scoping: defined by law … little public input due to technical details involved… done by specialized agency of government - Only way that limited public input can be involved is when they’re changing the law “alternative means” – finding other options … doesn’t exist for private companies Stage 4: Assessment of the Proposal already have baseline information (easy to determine what activity causes change in environment) - for good impact assessment: close match between predicted and actual outcome mechanistic tools= require you to look at cause and effect relationship Tools of Impact predictions: a) Modelling tools (ex: Gaussian dispersion: model for predicting the rates in extent of pollution fallout; can also be used to determine traffic noise or noise from generators) Another effect of cause-and-effect relationship is the population growth model Stochastic method= probability method include variability in the model parameters as a function of special and temporal aggregates or random variables b) Extrapolation= look at trends of past events and conditions, analyze present situations based on certain assumptions and project into the future c) experimental tools laboratory setting mimics real life situation: test effect of chemicals in environment d) Analogue tools are more comparative… cannot always transfer situations to perfectly fit another (can be perfect if conditions are similar) e) Judgemental tools are based on surveys (Delphi technique interview a group of __ based on set questions and once they respond, you summarize the responses and forward it back to the experts to review) scenario tool: sequence of events constructed for the purpose of focusing attention on causer processes and decision point where scenario is plausible but unverivable account of change and set of additions Barn Noble (EIA) Scoping the Biophysical Environment (picture) Scoping the human Environment (picture) Mitigation should always address the problems Correction Refinement -Stage 5: Preparation, submission and review put in form that is required by the Ministry of Environment company writes Impact Statement (or you can hire consultant to do it) -Stage 6: Decision making stage done by the Ministor of Environment Impact Statement is good or it can be rejected (short of scientific standard and project shouldn’t go on not common) -Stage 7: Monitoring and compliance a) compliance monitoring: want to determine if the project complies with regulations, mitigation, commitments, agreements, or legislation -in this sense, follow up past a control function b) inspection monitoring: site specific -checking to ensure operation and procedures have been followed and environmental degradation is not occurring c) Regularlatory permit monitoring: site specific monitoring that requires regular documentation of __ required for maintenance and renewable of a permit such as permit of waste disposal or waster treatment systems d) Progress monitoring: purpose confirm anticipated outcomes and alert managers ____ type of follow up: watch dog function –allows managers to watch environmental performance over time advantage of public participation : provide different perspective of the issue … broadens potential solutions prevents regulatory capture (non experts offer suggestions) daily and weekly circulation Intervena fund: independent data collection effective decision * Weakness of EIA Act: if government doesn’t have a regular monitoring team they will always get away with it Some developments that are subjected to cumulative IA “death by thousands of causes” multiple activities with different pathways that accumulate over time “bioaccumulation” Lack of intervenor funding Lecture 6 Risks of Offshore oil drilling article: causes and consequences of British petroleum oil rig explosion --- Aquatic science and technology website Sources of Energy: -developed countries which have about 20% of the world’s population consume 4/5s of energy Developing countries with over 80% of the worlds population use only about 1/5 Coal is another source of energy for developing countries 4 categories for reserves: proven reserves: deposits that have been discovered and can be extracted economically. we have technology that can extract it and it is less costly . It is economically efficient because after taking out the cost of production there is a larger margin of profit conditional reserves: deposits that have been discovered but they are not economically feasible to extract. Cost to much money to invest in technology and they will be lying too deep it sedimentary layer which doesn’t result in profit hypothetical resources: are not currently known for certain but they are likely to be found in the future speculative resources: are even more uncertain. These are resources that are considered likely because of favourable geological conditions currently the US and China are the leading producers for coal Kyoto protocol: socialist organization that is designed to suck money from organizations Methods of coal extraction Coal formation initially starts from pit (zoo-planting materials) and organisms got buried . Antricite coal is the most well-formed coal which burns at a high amount of energy and is less polluting than ligmite coal Coal forms from the compaction of ancient plant matter underground. Scientists categorize coal into several types depending on the amount of heat, pressure, and moisture Supposed to do mining and reclamation simultaneously by law 60% of the land that is mined is graded dragline mining “big loo” oil: mixture of hydrocarbon compounds; most is found in sedimentary rock deep below the surface and ocean floor Changes from organic matter to petrochemical product Formed in wells underground or in shallow waters Canada consumes 1.6 mill barrels of oil per day Heavy oil- shale and oil sand found close to the Earth’s surface Oil shale: rock that contains a solid mixture of hydrocarbon compounds and kerogen Oil sand: combination of clay water and bitumen (eg: northern Alberta) Sharp increase in oil prices from Yom Kilpur war Organization for petroleum exporting countries OPEC: Kuwait, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Venezuela 2 major methods of oil extraction: primary extraction of oil: drill a well primary oil use hydrocarbons fracking: -secondary method. still use either hot water or other solvent and with high pressure system you liquefy the sedimentary layers in which the oil material is embedded and then you pump it out -problem with fracking anytime you create high pressure there is void created in the sedimentary basin secondary extraction of oil (take out oil and liquefy it) This method involves the injection of gas or water, which will displace the oil, force it to move from its resting place and bring it to the surface. This is typically successful in targeting an additional 30% of the oil’s reserves, though the figure could be more or less depending on the oil and of the rock surrounding it. - See more at: http://www.petro-online.com/news/fuel-for-thought/13/breaking_news/what_is_the_difference_between_primary_secondary_enhanced_recovery_for_oil_extraction/31405/#sthash.ncx2VAKu.dpuf offshore oil drilling based on primary method (wells under the ocean bottom) Alberta’s Oil Sands Bitumenous deposits near Fort McMurray, Alberta 2 tonnes of oil sands must be extracted, transported, an processed to produce one barrel of oil surface mining: requires a large strip of land that needs to be processed and scrapated in order to get the oil 1 galloon of gasoline= 2 tons of oil sand to process it tipping point age of the oil sands 1.7 trillion $$$ - the amount oil contributes to economy oil sand contributes to Canadian GDP= $$ link between oil sanding mining and help of first nation people? increasing rate of cancer and brain tumour look at health problems of oils sand mining ** Given the Natural Gas: Biogenic gas: produced from shallow waters from anaerobic decomposition (absence of air) of organic matter Thermogenic gas: produced from deep layers in the earth’s crust Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) Ken Saro Wiwa- the government at the time was different and 9 ogoniland were killed. No environmental justice and no equity with sharing oil extraction with local people Flaring: disposal of unwanted, unprocessed natural gas; burned to release hydrogen sulphide (sour gas) and avoid buildup of explosive levels of gas at worksites Sources of VOCs carbon monoxide, heavy metals (health concerns). Polluter pay principle. Clear skies Initiative Impact of natural gas: -habitat destruction –pipelines Clear skies initiative:sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, mercury – contribute less to the greenhouse effect Why have we become over dependant on fossil fuels? Why we are over reliant on fossil fuels? Government has not been able to switch the subsidies that are given to fossil fuel industry to renewable industries Fossils fuels are abandoned in so many locations and it is easy to find them and extract them from layers of the earth Fossil fuels are also cheaper (coal-fired plants) and have high utility The amount of combustion that is produced is very high 1 gallon of gasoline=36,000 calories of energy easily transportable using trains, tankers, truckers, ships, etc. fossil fuels are also very versatile… can refine oil and get several components negative change: when you reverse the train—instead of high increases in temperature it becomes cooler Thermal structure of the earth: the troposphere is warm at the bottom next to the Earth’s surface and cools upward at a rate of -6.4^0 per 1000 metres it is very dynamic and it is the reason why aircraft fly away from this zone the mixing motion is essential for the Earth’s weather Above the troposphere lies the stratosphere where the temperature trend reverses, ie it warms with altitude At an altitude of 50 km the warming stops and reverses again as we enter the mesosphere Above the mesosphere is the thermosphere which is exceedingly light (air is made of ice crystals ) -Stratosphere has high accumulation of greenhouse gases -Thermosphere has a greater degree of ionization and electrical charges The atmosphere is a mixture of gases: nitrogen constituent of the air is 78% and oxygen is 21% carbon dioxide is an important heat-absorbing gas that plays a major raole in the earths greenhouse gas effect ex: infrastructure, factory, machines, automobiles, decaying vegetation Denitrfication or nitrogen unfixation(when bacteria activity which decomposes organic matter converts nitrogen to gaseous form nitrogen fixation is the opposite water vapour is minute liquid-and-solid masses of various compositions ozone absorbs ultraviolet radiation, which in large concentrations is lethal to humans sources of Co2: combustion, forest fires, burning of residue of crops from forest fires antropogenic sources: ones that humans cause primary greenhouse gas: carbon dioxide and the rest are secondary greenhouse gas cow farms, landfills, swamps, wells, mines are sources of methane gas coal-fired plants is a huge contributer to sulphur dioxide when sulphur dioxide combines with water in the air sulphuric acid acid rain Enhanced Greenhouse Gas Effect: Characterisitcs of changes in GHS Changes in carbon dioxide: 60% increase since 1958 Changes in methane: largest anthropogenic sourcesa re rice paddies, livestock enteric fermentation, biomass burning, fossil fuel production Changes in nitrous oxide: 30% of emissions related to human food production Lakes are shrinking Paradox: drought and flooding at the same time Changes in chloroflurocarbons and halons:Synthetic in their production -Changes in aerosols: small solid or liquid particles suspended in the air, contribute to photochemical smog, acid deposition, etc. (volcanic eruptions, aircraft emissions) solar panels: $4000/year smoke+fog=smog = unhealthy mixtures of air pollutants over urban areas industrial (gray air) smog is the most common, widespread air quality problem occurs in cooler, hilly areas government regulations in developed countries reduced smog coal-burning industrializing countries face significant health risks -4 conditions: photochemical (brown air) smog is produced by complex sries of reactions light-driven reactions of primary pollutants and normal atmospheric compounds morning traffic exhaust releases pollutants irritates eyes, noses, and throats. Asthma, bronchitis and emphysema Vehicle inspection programs have decreased smog Proxy evidence of global wamring and climate change: tree ring studies or dendrochronology core drills= isotopes of oxygena and carbon fossil remains in sedimentary deposits if you find isotopes of oxygen and carbon trapped in the ice—the trapped isotope increases over time when theres CO2 in the air Impacts of mining on the environment Habitat destruction --- Ravenscrag formation-> open-pit mining results in the destruction of vegetation and stripping of soil eg. Cornwall, England-Kaolin mines, oil/shale sand mining in Estonia coal mines in the Appalachian mountains north Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Estevan Sask Geological impacts: removal of soil and rocks Exmaples of impacts: crowholes and general subsidence Eg. Bingham canyon in the USA Lecture 7 Accident in Pennsylvania 1979 –combination of human error and technical failure… but they were able to detect it ahead of time therefore it was able to be maintained. due to underground mining Underground miners suffer from silicosis or black lung disease Nuclear energy: US is one of the leading sources for nuclear… heavily guarded site Many nuclear power stations in Darlington, Pickering, and many other locations Nuclear power production accounts for 70% of energy production in places like France 2 kids of nuclear energy production: Fission process: Isotopes are split and release energy used to heat water. Stream drives turbines of electric generators. Fusion: atoms of a form of hydrogen can be induced to fuse together at very high temperatures. Helium is produced as a result of fusion. -not done commercially… it is in the introductory stage -IAEA estimated that nuclear energy production is able to produce less than 150 times less pollution compared to conventional energy production systems -Sulfur dioxide contributes to the greenhouse effect Atomic Canon Test, 1953 Fission: Cociako mine in Chile… 33 miners were trapped and rescued from underground mine Sustainable development lessons: we don’t expect future generations to deal with our waste Chernobyl reactor exploded in 1986 1. ___________ 2. Human error 3. Technical failure jellyfish babies not shaped like human beings at all (risk due to radioactive wastes to future generations) Advantages of Nuclear Energy: -produces high megawatt of energy - air pollution is minimal - fissionable fuels may last indefinitely -they emit no smoke Disadvantages: 3 mile island 1979- forced evaculation Net energy gain from burning timber or sawdust is very low (downside of biomass energy) Fukushima Dai-ichi - tsunami wave Tsunamic (Tsu port Nami waves sea) Iodine 131 is not as toxic as high radioactive material Biomass energy accounts for 80% of energy production in most developing world countries It relies on a number of sources: -residue from hay, straw, sawdust, etc. Ouje bougoumou has a district eating system that is based on saw dust (waste from saw mill industry) In animal farms, chicken and cattle waste is an essential part of energy source We need to find alternate ways to harnest that energy Agricultural residues: -wood residues from forestry operations - temperat crop waste -animal wastes (pig slurry and chicken manure) -tropical crop wastes Energy crops: -woody crops -ethanol from sugar case -maize, sorghum, miscanthus, -vegetable oils Advantage and Disadvantages of Biomass - the amount of waste that comes from burning biomass= amount of carbon absorbed from atmosphere Main source of biomass energy formation is the sun Hydroelectric power: penstock (pipe) leads to a turbine and builds pressure on the way there The turbines turning, connected to the generator also turns multiple magnets located inside it These magnets rotate past copper coils as a result AC is mini hydro dams, run-of-river dam Ex: 3 gorges dam in china, james bay in Canada, Aswan High dam in Egypt 2nd is British Columbia (ones in BC collectively contribute 57 gigawatt of energy all together) Largest hydro dam in Canada is the Gardiner dam in the South Saskatchewan river Robert Waravaska in 1975 was the premier of Quebec and founded the James bay dam project Mini dams… run-off river dam do not require construction of a structure across the path Penstock (pipe) leads to a turbine and builds pressure on the way there Biggest hydro dam in the world is 3 gorges dam in China Advantages: advanced recreational activies, develop irrigation systems, flood control Downsides: declining fisheries, population is displaced, sediment capture (very fine silt which is rich in nutrients is trapped behind the dam which results in growth of algae and biomass in upstream side which causes eutrophication), habitat alteration James bay project… methyl mercury contamination that has also been found in food chain (fish) Nuclear energy: after reactor exploded they built giant concrete around it Sarcophogus (concrete improvement) Wind energy production design wind turbines to turn in direction of wind 15-30% of energy in Canada can be from wind turbines Germany is the leading producer of wind turbines Wind is a perpetual source of energy Cowley 3 types of solar energy: Passive solar systems: do not require any mechanical parts. Need to be oriented toward path of sunlight Active solar systems: usually used to circulate water, air and other fluids from solar collectors to a heat sink Photovoltaic: term used for the technology that converts sunlight directly into electricity using solid semi-conductor materials (california) Use silicon to absorb sunlight Balad energy systems… developed so many fuel cells Science that studies the chemical and substances that are harmful to humans and organisms in the environment May be transmitted through the systems that end up in the food chain Carcinogen cause rapid growth of cells in human tissues… growth cannot be controlled Mutagens: group of chemicals or substances that cause DNA mutations Atrazine: chemical that was used mostly as a pesticide and would run of into streams and rivers and changes the gender of frogs Can change the embryo of a fetus of a baby Teratogens: thalidomide – morning sickness Allergens: over activate the immune system Neurotoxins: cause attack on the nervous system (heavy metal) Endocrine disruptors: change the hormone levels of males and females Acid rain emissions from factories Transboundary air pollutant long range air pollutants (non point sources) Water under fire: documentary leisure Infectious agents: parasites, bacteria, viruses, and other organisms that are known to spread diseases Toxic metals cadmium: ecoli Salmonella, Tick boriosis makes your skin red because the bite transmits bacteria into your system DDT- Persistent Organic Pollutant- DDT is part of that problem Long repose time- do not break down Asbestos- long elongated fibre cryoslite is used as insulation material (prevents overheating) Mesothelioma cancer Spatial displacement when contaminants are driven by air, wind, ocean currents from one place to another Temporal displacement transferred over a long period of time from one place to another Displacement through different medium Doses and response (Alchemist Paracelsus) – everything is poisionous yet nothing is poisonous Threshold effect: maximum limit below which there is insignificant or minimal effect above which there is lethal or irreversible damage Ecological gradient Effect of pollution is greatest at the source but dissipates/reduces with distance from the source