lect 2 Flashcards
what are the signature research areas?
-water security
-agriculture
-energy and mineral resources
what is the water security research area?
stewardship of the world’s freshwater resources
-one in six people (1.4 billion) live in water-stressed areas.
-climate change, pollution and overuse are putting severe strain on quality and quantity of fresh water for drinking, sanitation and food protection
-we are developing new interdisciplinary science, technology and policy to address these urgent issues
-global institute for water security (GIWS)
-global water futures
what is the agriculture research area?
food and bioproducts for a sustainable future
-projections show that food production must double by 2050 to feed the world’s growing population
-we are working to strengthen saskatchewan’s agricultural leadership with new science, technology and policies to help feed a hungry world adequately, safely and sustainably
-global institute for foo security (GIFS)
what is the energy and mineral resources research area?
technology and public policy for sustainably environment
-demand for energy and natural resources is starting to outpace supply
-clean energy solutions, sustainably resource development and sound policy development are vital to meet future demand while conserving ecosystems and sharing the benefits with all
what is the demand on world’s water vs. population?
what is the connection to sewer vs house connection for water?
which environmental issues are important issues linked to water resources?
all include water
what were the 10 most pressing environmental concerns facing our planet in 2018?
climate change projected to have an overall negative effect on global crop yields as soon as the 2030’s and reduction in protein content of grains due to rising CO2 levels
-note: the planet’s food supply has tripled over the last 60 years, increasing even faster than the rate of the population
who is he and why is he important?
Steven Chu, physicist (USA)
-1997 co-winner of the nobel prize in physics
-he was the 12th secretary of energy in the united states (obama administration)
-areas for advancement: solar power, electric batteries, new crops for fuel
what is environmental chemistry?
-provides a chemical basis for understanding our surroundings, the global environment, with some emphasis on the composition of the natural environment, the processes that take place within it and the kinds of changes that come about as a result of human activities
what does environmental chemistry include?
-global history of the earth; early history, beginnings of life, and the recent earth
-systems and surroundings
-environmental composition; physical and chemical changes (atmosphere change for example)
-chemical species distribution, chemical processes and anthropogenic effects
what is the graph of the systems and surroundings?
what is the species distribution of CO2 in water?
what are the mercury-chloro species in oceans where conc of Cl- is 0.56M?
what is the global water cycle (1987)?
what is the water resource flux in india?
note: 1st number is for 1974. 2nd number is projected 2025 values given are for hectare meters 1 ha=10,000^2m to a depth of 1 m
what biogeochemical reactions can cadmium participate in?
what are the 5 top environmental concerns (1997-2008 survey)?
- contamination of drinking water
- water pollution
- soil contamination
- wildlife conservation
- air pollution
what are some canadian issues?
-oil spills: the government needs to explore its options about how to extract the oil from the oil carrier, which sank in Notre Dame Bay in 1985 and still contains roughly 500 tonnes of fuel (Lumsden, Newfoundland)
-1L of oil can contaminate 1000L of water
-pipelines, climate change, world oil prices, oil sands development, fracking, nuclear safety, human rights…
what did paul (prime minister) say about the key issues facing our nation?
issue 1:
-economic management and financial protection
-according to Paul, climate change (air pollution and drought)
-changes to biodiversity
-assigning a proper value to carbon
according to neil, what are the key issues facing out nation?
singer
-songs banned in alberta for a while due to talking bad about oil
