Western Water Battle Lines Being Drawn

Canadians should pay attention to what is happening in Alberta. There are now limitations to water resources and competition is being forged between industry, people and ecology.

The Oil and Gas Industry in Alberta uses 7% of all water allocations in the province. It also uses 37% of the groundwater. Water is primarily used in tar sand development to separate out the bitumen (tar oil). It takes 2 to 4.5 barrels of water to produce one barrel of oil. The result is massively polluted water that cannot be returned to ecosystems, but which must be kept in tailing ponds and effectively removed from the local hydro-geologic cycle.

Consider this: Canadians consume more water per capita than any other country, with the exception of the US. According to the Government of Canada, each Canadian uses 335 L of water each day. Alberta is no exception and ranks just below the national average in water use. Water use in Canada has increased by over 25% per capita since the mid 1980’s.

There are other factors in this equation: geography and ecology. Alberta is located in the rain shadow of the Rocky Mountains system. This means that as air masses are uplifted over the Rockies precipitation falls on the west side of the mountains leaving the east side, Alberta, relatively arid. This is no surprise to most, but the aridity of Alberta has led to massive wild fires this summer. So we have our third player, the boreal forest ecosystem that requires water.

The competition continues to grow. The Tar Sands Industry plans to increase its production threefold by 2025. They will require twice the amount of water now annually consumed by Calgary. This will lead to a massive diversion of water from the Athabasca and, potentially, the Mackenzie River. Yet, in order to meet these production targets, they will require more people, who will also consume more water. The boreal ecosystem is the loser in this equation. But the forest ecosystem is the only player that reduces evaporation rates, cleans the water and can prevent erosion or other side effects. But forests without development are not worth much money compared to the tar sands.

Are we still prepared to destroy our children’s and grandchildren’s lives? Has our greed and desire for all the creature comforts brought us to this?

China’s Challenge to the Environment

“The Rise of China” is a phrase most have become familiar with in recent times. In the early 1990’s China took advantage of a sluggish world economy by increasing its manufacturing 15% each year, becoming a world leader. In the last two decades, China’s population has aspired to consume products at levels on par with rich capitalist countries. Economists may view this rise with trepidation, but for environmentalists the viewpoint is different, but no less alarming. Instead of supposing what role Canada will play in the new world order, the question becomes, will China dominate economically before its ecology collapses?

In 2005, the US National Intelligence Council predicted that by 2020, China would be vying for economic supremacy with the US. However the size of the population alone -1.3 billion- impedes the ability of China to reach levels of affluence that are comparable with western capitalist countries. For instance, were every person in China to own an automobile, the world supply of steel and aluminium would be exhausted. Much more immediate needs, such as food production for such a large population are quickly approaching ecological thresholds.

In 2001, it was determined that the water table under the North China Plain was rapidly dropping due to the depletion of the aquifer in order to meet irrigation needs. The region is responsible for producing half of China’s wheat and a third of its corn. In addition to this potential collapse of agricultural capacity, the Three Gorges Dam project will displace 1.6 million and flood 30,000 hectares of prime agricultural land. To compensate for the threatened areas, China’s forests are being rapidly depleted to replace lost farmland.

As population pressures ecosystems, so do energy needs. 80% of China’s energy is derived from coal-fired generation and plans are in place for another 544 plants. The massive release of carbon dioxide will most likely accelerate the rate of global warming, which will in turn put pressures on agricultural production in China. In order to maximize production while under pressure, China will presumably become increasingly dependent upon chemical fertilizers as well as pesticides.

All factors combined point to where economists rarely tread, an ecological crisis. In the future a more realistic question posed about China will be not about its might, but rather about it’s ability to feed itself.