One really is fooling himself if he thinks that because we live in a modern and developed nation such as Canada, it is an exception from hazards. Wrong! Canada definitely isn't exempted from any environmental problem, or from having to help clean up it up, either. In fact, Canada bares a large part of one of the biggest worldwide problems existing (that also affects the rest of the world); the holes being caused in the ozone layer. Since Canada has such a wide demand and use of air conditioners, refrigerators, freezers and fire extinguishers, we are a major contributor to this problem, even though we, along with many other nations, no longer use aerosol spray cans.
The reason usage of all of the above is a threat to the environment is that they all contain chloro-flourocarbons (CFC's) which cause depletion of the ozone layer. The ozone layer is a layer of gas that protects the earth from the potentially harmful rays of the sun. An abundance of these that come through cause great damage to crops, living cells, and cause skin cancer, of which over 100 000 people die from each year, especially in the Southern Hemisphere. Over the past twenty years alone, levels above Antarctica have decreased 40% each springtime. It certainly does little good for our environment if one billion people in the North are advanced and using ozone friendly products and four billion people in the South aren't. Possible solutions include getting technologies transferred to those poorer countries; improving substitutes for CFC's and other ozone depleting substances, promote energy efficiency standard; and tax countries in ways that encourage use of clean, safe technologies.
Unfortunately, global problems don't start and end with Canada, or the ozone layer. Yet another another problem that can be taken note of is the poor health care systems in third world countries (such as India). The systems are very poor-even the most minimal of health care is beyond the reach of several million of the poor. Each year, over three million children die from preventable diseases, and the people of those nations suffer from chronic illness caused by over-crowded cities/general urban population.
Another major worldwide environmental problem is the pollution of our oceans , which need to be respected more and not simply seen as a constant refillable source. In fact, by the year 2020, 3/4 of us will be living 60km (40 miles) from a coastline. There appears to be no change-extra people just keep on dumping sewage in. 600 000 tons of oil junked is junked into the seas by ships as course matter! There is also the problem of over-fishing. It upsets the very delicate ocean life ecosystem, which we know even less about than we do about the life cycles of land. Over-fishing also means a worldwide fish catch drop. In Hong Kong, all of the untreated sewage in the seas has resulted in local residents and tourists having to swim in local pools. The water quality in the rambler channel is worse-there is no oxygen in the water, and it contains contaminated mud and poisonous metals. Red tides off East Coast of Hong Kong are killing 100's of fish. Tides are plums of algae, substance that turns ponds and rivers green. It is not poisonous, but it takes the oxygen out of the water, and kills off the fish and seals. The end result is that Hong Kong, intentionally or not is killing off all of their ocean life-not good for business.
It is realised that there are so many more problems with the environment than those that have been briefly covered. No one person has all the answers, or enough paper to list all of today's existing global concerns. But if everyone in the world got together, and helped each other, we could make our Mother Earth the beautiful, clean place that it once was long ago. As young people in Canada, there are some things that can be done-little things that add up and make big differences. Such as for the ozone layer. We can start by not using aerosols, and buying only ozone friendly products or ones that have CFC substitutes. As for helping the earth in general, we can simply recycle, not litter, try to conserve and not waste too much energy...in the end, the choice is truly yours. The world is what we make of it.