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Climate change has been a growing problem for a very long time now. We humans have been affected by this greatly and it’s starting to show. Lately, natural disasters have been getting more intense and it’s not being talked about enough.

Firstly, we must understand the effect of climate change. Since 1969, the ocean has warmed up of over 0.33 degrees celsius. This is terrible, because it means our glaciers are retreating and our ice sheets are shrinking. For example, Greenland has lost an average of 279 billion tons of ice per year between 1993 and 2019. Not only is it a huge problem for wildlife, but the melting causes our sea levels to rise, thus creating more floods. Contrarily, in more southern areas, droughts are more common. As well as this, we find more forest fires in many countries and cities, such as California. In 2021, over 2.5 million acres in the golden state have burned down, plus 3,629 structures. It is said that in 50 to 250 years, climate change will be irreversible. As you can see, this is a growing issue that needs to be solved immediately.

Secondly, it should be known to the public that there are many things we can do about climate change! Here are some good examples of solutions. Number one: we have to conserve forests and coral reefs. Number two: we need to throw away less food and consume more vegetables than meat. Number three: we should use more public transport and travel in ways that don’t emit carbon dioxide. Number four: we can switch our cars from fossil fuels to electricity. Number five: we can invest in climate change companies and such. However, many of us do not have the money for any of this. Instead, a good start is to raise awareness and share this information.

Finally, as you can see, climate change is causing many issues, such as natural disasters, and it’s our job to stop it. This situation is definitely getting out of hand for everybody, including me. Are you ready to give up on our planet or save it?

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 Harmful Plastics  (Kate Brooks & Mia Palkhivala)

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 Harmful Plastics  (Kate Brooks & Mia Palkhivala)

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Plastic takes years to decompose and has become one of the most crucial environmental issues. Since plastic is made from fossil fuels, it is highly implicated in climate change. In this blog we will explain the harmful nature of these plastics, how it’s related to climate change, the effects it has on our environment and five solutions that people can do to help this issue.

Firstly, there are many types of plastics, the most commonly used is polyethylene (PE). It is mainly produced for trash and grocery bags, toys, housewares and much more. Fabricating PE releases toxic gasses like ethylbenzene or ethylene oxide into the air. These fumes can gravely influence the nervous system or even cause cancer, leukemia and some developmental problems. The sea is also impacted by these plastics, in fact, there are currently 5.25 trillion macro and micro pieces of plastic in our oceans. The quantity of plastic present in the sea will soon exceed the amount of fish, yet the oil industry plans to increase plastic production up to 40% over the next decade. As a matter of fact, there is only about 9% of plastic that actually gets recycled, the rest is found in landfills, bodies of water or is incinerated. Moreover, plastic can take up to 450 years to decompose in an environment like a landfill.

Secondly, plastic is very heavily implicated in climate change and has major effects on the environment. Indeed, plastic is created by fossil fuel, meaning a huge amount of greenhouse gasses, like carbon dioxide is released from it. This gas along with many others create a greenhouse effect, which consists of trapping and slowing heat loss to space, and consequently contributing to climate change. Most of all, plastic has a devastating effect on the environment, especially on our biodiversity. Studies show that fish ingest about 12,000 to 24,000 tons of plastic each year, not only is it killing them, it’s affecting the whole food chain.

Thirdly, here are five solutions that people can do to help with plastic pollution. The first solution is to use reusable shopping bags. Plastic bags take between 15 and 1,000 years to break down in landfills. Using reusable bags will improve the quality of our planet, and even protect wildlife, because animals often mistake plastic bags as food. Secondly, avoiding the use of plastic water bottles. Almost 93% of bottled water contains microplastics, so not only is buying reusable water bottles helping the environment, it is also better for your health. Thirdly, buying in bulk means there is less packaging needed, so this helps reduce plastic consumption. It also costs less, so you would be helping the environment as well as saving money. Fourthly, using mason jars, instead of plastic containers, Mason jars are made of glass, which is not a threat to the environment, unlike plastic, glass is not made with any harmful chemicals. The final solution is avoiding synthetic clothes. Clothes made from synthetic fibers (plastic) are non-biodegradable. About 70% of clothes nowadays are made with synthetic fibers. Buying clothes made from recycled materials is healthier for the environment.

In conclusion, harmful plastics are made with notorious substances that play a part in climate change and have enormous impacts on our environment. There are also many ways to avoid plastic that will help reduce global plastic consumption. We hope that people will take action and be more conscious of the ways that plastic harms our planet.

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What we eat matters. The food choices we make every day have a big effect on the environment. The good news is that even small changes in what we buy and eat can add up to real environmental benefits, including fewer toxic chemicals, reduced global warming emissions, and preservation of our ocean resources. Eating “green” can also mean eating fresher, healthier foods while reducing your grocery bill and supporting our farmers. Here are a few ways you can help reduce your carbon foot print in terms of food choices.

1.  Choose Climate-Friendly Food
2.  Buy Organic and Other Sustainable Foods
3. Eat Locally

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Harmful Plastics - Grace Ion ＆  Shirin Moini-M.

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Harmful Plastics - Grace Ion ＆  Shirin Moini-M.

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Did you know that one million plastic bottles are bought in just one minute? Well, this might sound like a fun fact, but it affects us and our planet in many negative ways. In this text, we will be explaining in detail what harmful plastics are, informing you of the relation it has with climate change, and finally we will give you five solutions to help solve this issue.

Firstly, we will be breaking down what are the harmful plastics. There are exactly seven types of plastic, each type is identified by a number from one to seven, only 3 of these are recyclable, which are 1, 2 and 5. You can locate these numbers on the bottom of your plastic containers. The rest of them are made from harsh chemicals that can affect you and the earth. Bisphenol A is a substance that is used in the industrial manufacture of polycarbonate plastic products. BPA is commonly used for a wide range of household products, and the frequent use of them augments the amount of plastics we dump in landfills . The frequent use of them can cause severe damage to your own body and to our own ecosystem. Their production is way cheaper than other materials, and so this causes it to be manufactured a lot more. Already, making plastic emits 13.5 millions tons of carbon gas emission to our atmosphere. On top of that, the decomposition of BPA causes a lot of greenhouse gas emissions. To add on, in order for plastic to completely disintegrate, it takes roughly 500 to 1,000 years. This will all add up to creating massive piles of plastic in different important areas of the earth and creating huge amounts of detrimental gasses. To summarize, the existence of different plastics does not cover the fact that the majority of those plastics are very harmful, and their effects can lead to worse things.

Secondly, we will be informing you of the relation of harmful plastics and climate change. As we have stated before, the existence of dangerous plastics causes different types of gas emissions. One of the main types of greenhouse gasses is carbon dioxide. It is mainly produced by extracting fossil fuels, which goes into the production of all types of plastic. Since 3.4% of global emissions are caused by production, 90% of it is caused by fossil fuels. Hydrofluorocarbons, Perfluorocarbons and Sulfur hexafluoride are industrial gasses which are caused by manufacturing buildings of plastic. In general, greenhouse gasses contribute to trap radiation from the sun, which causes our planet to warm up by almost 60% every year. Since this leads to global warming, this affects the sea levels to rise, our Arctic lands to melt and many more catastrophic natural effects. To cut it short, the whole existence of plastic causes many problems for us. This means we will need to find simple and easy solutions to help our planet.

Thirdly, most of us know that plastic is a big issue that only has negative aspects for our planet. However, there are some solutions that can help our planet from becoming a world invaded with plastic. The first solution is to stop buying items that are wrapped with an unnecessary amount of plastic around them. Most of the time, people have a tendency of buying the items they need or want and end up recycling them, thinking they have done something good for the environment just for it to end up in landfill. The second solution is to start using reusable bags. Five trillion plastic bags are produced annually, and Americans alone throw away 100 million plastic bags annually. Reminding you that a single  plastic bag takes 1000 years to disintegrate. Thirdly, using glass Tupperware is an amazing substitute to plastic Tupperware. In fact, glass is a fully recyclable material that is way more eco-friendly than plastic will ever be. The fourth solution is to actually take the time to check the number on the back of any recyclable container. If it says the number 1, 2 or 5, that means it is the easiest one to compact in a small shape to make it more convenient to recycle or meltdown. The final solution is to avoid using tea bags. Surprisingly, a single tea bag contains 11.6 billion microplastics and every day, 3 billion cups of tea are drunk all around the world. This goes to show how harmful tea bags can be to our planet. To summarize, if we all collectively decide to start doing at least one of the many solutions brought up by experts to stop using so much plastic, the world would be a much healthier place.

To conclude, knowing what harmful plastic is, knowing what connection it has with climate change and finding some solutions are an amazing way to start culturizing ourselves about the actual problems in the world. However, it all comes down to us to start making a difference by applying some solutions to make our world a better place.

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The world population keeps increasing every year. We are now 8 billion people on earth and this number will keep growing. But having more people in the world isn't necessarily a good thing. Overpopulation is a major problem in our society and is one of the main causes of climate change. In this blog, I will explain the issue, I’ll talk about how it's related to climate change and discuss some solutions.

First of all, how is overpopulation an issue? Because of the excessive amount of people in the world, we need to produce more to sustain everyone’s needs. We overproduce a lot of things like food or waste, but some countries are getting more than what they need and some are not getting enough. About one third of the total amount of food produced in the world is wasted every year. We also produce 2.12 billion tons of waste every year. Since there are more people, we need more land for agriculture and habitation which forces us to cut down trees and creates deforestation in the long run.

Secondly, how is it related to climate change? Overproduction, excessive waste and deforestation are all very harmful to our planet. When we overproduce, we strip out natural resources such as forests, animals, water, soil and minerals which creates an imbalance in the ecosystem, ruins habitats and endangers a lot of species including humans. Excessive waste creates a lot of greenhouse gasses and majorly increases the amount of carbon emissions. On top of having excessive waste, it’s very poorly managed and ends up in landfills or even in nature like the ocean. Deforestation can completely break ecosystems for countless species. Also if there’s not enough trees in some areas, the air will not get filtered properly which will increase air pollution.

Lastly, what can we do to stop this? There are a few things we can change to reduce or stop these issues. Industries can start by only producing what they need instead or making those excessive amounts of things we don't necessarily need. Same goes for the buyer; we can all only buy what we need instead of buying too much and end up throwing a lot of it away or not using it. We can also try to use recyclable things or reuse old scraps instead of throwing them out. If we absolutely need to throw out some items, we can try to at least not put it in nature. As for deforestation, we can buy more recycled things so that we need to cut less trees down.

In conclusion, overproduction, excessive waste and deforestation are definitely major issues for our planet but there are still ways we can fix those problems. Either by only buying what we need or by trying not to waste too many things, we can all collectively make small changes in our daily habits to make a big difference in the long run. We now just have to hope that everyone will do their part to help our planet in need.

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Effects of Climate Change on Ocean Life

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The Effects of Climate Change on Ocean Life

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Effects of climate change on ocean life (Mila Tonev & Nadia Oussayar-Francoeur)

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Effects of climate change on ocean life (Mila Tonev & Nadia Oussayar-Francoeur)

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Florianne and Marina - The effects of climate change on the ocean

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Florianne and Marina - The effects of climate change on the ocean

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Food and climate change            (Théo Cournoyer & Robin Prévault) 

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Food and climate change            (Théo Cournoyer & Robin Prévault) 

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Amongst all the causes that contributes to climate change, the environmental impact stemmed from food waste and food production is definitely not negligible. In this blog, we will explain the link between food and climate change, and then explore solutions to the problems it generates.

Firstly, let’s explore the issue that is food waste. According to a recent study conducted by the Canadian Broadcasting Company, the average Canadian wastes over 170 kilograms of food per year. Even if we pretend that everyone eats well, the environmental impact that this makes is very problematic. Indeed, not only the energy and the water used to grow, harvest, transport, and package food is wasted, but also methane, a greenhouse gas more potent than carbon dioxide, is produced if food goes to landfill and roots. Globally, a third of all food production and the natural resources involved in are wasted.

Food waste is not the only problem with the human diet. Food production is responsible for one quarter of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs), and most of it is due to animal agriculture. On top of this, over 40% of deforestation each year is due to expansion of the grazing areas for farm animals, and already over 50% of the vegetated land is used for agriculture. If we were to reduce our consumption of meat, we would have a greater environmental impact than switching all our transportation systems to electric power.

Even though a lot of statistics might seem depressive, there are solutions to directly reduce greenhouse gas emission stemmed from food. Addressing food waste, there is firstly the use of leftovers to make new meals, which also reduces the need for more food importation. Another solution to food waste is making a meal plan for the week and buying accordingly to avoid getting surplus. However, if you do end up with surplus, you can donate foods that are still sealed or refrigerated to people that need it. Also, to answer the question of food production, and more precisely meat consumption, aside from being vegan, there are other solutions, notably for food producers like eco-friendly packaging and regenerative agriculture, which can make farming more efficient.

In conclusion, food is one of the most important factors of climate change. The producers and consumers need to alter their habits to reduce their environmental impact. If humans are causing such problems because of their diet, it leaves to question: what if we were less, how much would our impact be reduced?

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There is no doubt that the climate of the planet is changing, we are constantly faced with extinctions or crises that harm our planet's well-being as well as ours. One of the biggest contributing factors is the obsessive use of harmful plastics. Look around, everywhere you look there is some kind of plastic. Although this material is widely used across the globe, the effects that it has on our planet are undeniably atrocious. The following text will be mentioning the myth of recycling, biodegradation as well as touching on some solutions on how to help.

One of the best sold lies of our century is recycling, we have been told and manipulated into thinking that this is an effective way of preventing or decreasing the harm that our plastic consumption has on the earth. There are 7 categories that plastics are placed in, however it is a fact that most recycling centres don't process more than 2 kinds, leaving the other 5 of them unprocessed and not reused. It's also known that these recycling centres are mostly based in underdeveloped countries. When thinking of recycling, we also have to account the plane or ship trips to deliver this waste as well as acknowledge that many of these organizations are done in an unethical way, causing even more harm to the earth. According to a 2022 statistics, out of the 40 million tons of plastic waste produced in the US, only around 5 to 6% was transformed and reused.

Another factor to consider when thinking of harmful plastics is its process of biodegradation. Biodegradation is known as the breakdown of organic matter by microorganisms, unfortunately, plastics aren't biodegradable this process is only possible in an artificial environment. So whenever plastic is thrown into the environment, it gets cut down into smaller bits until it has reached the size of a microplastic, these microplastics then have a horrible effect on the fauna which then leads humans to consume these microplastics.

So what can we do to help? One of the solutions is to overall cut down on the use of plastic, many everyday objects are easily replaceable with other materials, less harmful than plastic. Another way to help reduce the impact of harmful plastics is to spread legit and researched information to family and friends. The use of social media is a great platform to raise awareness for such matters as well. Many big fast fashion corporations like SHEIN or H&M are huge contributors to the world of plastic waste, a way to help prevent this waste would be to shop second hand, vintage, small businesses or just practising mindful shopping and avoiding overconsuming. Instead of shopping online, try shopping in person to limit unnecessary plastic packaging.

In conclusion, in the world we live in today, it would be impossible to cut out plastic completely. By learning truthful and accurate information, and making small changes in our everyday life, it is possible to make a difference. The information offered in this text is just a small step towards spreading awareness and making an impact in this world.

Maria Peysotchenko

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Infectious Disease and Climate Change (Rania and Disha)

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Infectious Disease and Climate Change (Rania and Disha)

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https://sites.google.com/ggl.csmb.qc.ca/infectiousdiseaseclimatechange/

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https://sites.google.com/ggl.csmb.qc.ca/foodandclimatechange/accueil

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Harmful plastics, made by Robert Littlejohn

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Harmful plastics, made by Robert Littlejohn

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https://sites.google.com/ggl.csmb.qc.ca/plasticisbad/accueil

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Greatness Goodness

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Alheri and Rahila - Final Project - Micropastics

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That’s too much! by Mahta Alibabaie & Krishna Verma

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That’s too much! by Mahta Alibabaie & Krishna Verma

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Did you really just buy seven pounds of chicken just because they were on sale? Your excuse would naturally be “But we’ll have enough chicken to last us days!”; What will happen to all that poultry? In a few days, it'll all end up in the trash. That is how certain circumstances like these lead to climate change. It is our unconscious overconsumption that is progressively deteriorating the environment in many different ways. Now, what can we do to help reduce these habits? Can we ever rotate our point of views and change for the better? Find out what consumerism does to the environment and 5 solutions that you can implement to your lifestyle from now on!

Starting off, what is overconsumption? Overconsumption is the practice of buying and consuming excessively without it being necessarily important for one’s well being or survival needs. Overconsumption and overproduction, which are closely tied together, set their roots into the base ideology of capitalism, selling and producing the most amount of goods to make profits. For example, fast fashion is a widespread business model set to analyze and to replicate the current catwalk and fashion trends, largely producing low quality clothing that fall out of style really quickly. Fast fashion implements the toxic trend of hoarding clothing and  throwing it away after they go out of style. Moreover, approximately 30% of produced clothes , every season, are never sold. This ideology, and the competition it provokes usually results in not just overproduction of goods but also excessive waste. Around 92 million tons of textile is put into landfill. Furthermore, it was revealed in 2017, that H&M has burned over 12 tons of unsold garnements every year since 2013. The production and the disposal of textile goods not only pollute, but also generate an important amount of greenhouse gas emissions detrimental to the earth’s environment.

Overconsumption and overproduction have a direct influence on the amount of resources we take. Overexploitation has been a menacing problem facing our society since the beginning of the industrial revolution. It refers to when we harvest a resource to the point of depleting it entirely. It overall diminishes most ressources, renewable or not, destroys entire ecosystems and pushes humans to use more invasive means to extract diminished resources. The food industry, among the most important industries (if not the most important), remains  as one of the most invasive and polluting practices, particularly, livestock production. According to national geographic, it is roughly estimated that a total surface similar to the size of South America is used for crop production whilst an additional 3.2 to 3.6 billion hectares is used to raise livestock. This need for area comes at the cost of mass deforestation. For example, the Amazon rainforest has lost 4.8 million acres of dense forest, due to fires caused by farmers from the cattle sector. Moreover the agricultural sector is by far the largest user of the world's reserve of freshwater, requiring roughly 70% of the world’s freshwater. On top of that, around 67% of crops grown in the United States are used to feed livestock.  Roughly, 14.5% of greenhouse gas emissions are produced by livestock. Overall, the tendency to excessively produce, consume and dispose is rapidly eating away our planet’s resources.

Many think that we’ve gone too far into industrialisation, and that it is too late to introduce changes while maintaining our own industrial needs. Though being partially true, there are some measures we can consider. For one, next time you buy something, focus on enjoyment, not ownership. You can go to a library instead of buying a book, for example. Getting joy from the thing itself instead of the purchase, will later on help you break that purchase-consume cycle. Paying more attention to the product’s sources can also help assess hoarding. Most retailers get products made from an unsustainable environment. You can start buying from companies who value quality over quantity, instead of supporting others who contribute to climate deterioration. Take a look at your daily or monthly purchases, how many of them are made out of habit or routine? Try missing your purchase for once, or instead of buying it impulsively, wait till you run out of it first. You might realize that you don’t actually need to buy steak every week and you’ve been getting it out of sheer habit. “But what about all the waste I already own?”. You can repurpose or upcycle it! Don't throw out your clothes next time, donate them. That old cabinet you have? Turn it into a unique bookshelf. Lastly, consider using reusable items, such as tote bags, reusable bottles, reusable containers, etc. Reusing renders you more conscious of what you’re buying, so that when you’re shopping, you only think of getting what is really necessary.

In conclusion, overconsumption has been the root of our activities that are ruining the environment. Factors like overexploitation are what make consumerism so prominent. There are many ways to reduce unnecessary consumption such as focusing on enjoyment, being mindful of product sources, reducing certain routined purchases, upcycling and reusing. All which you can start doing in your life as well. Don’t hesitate to take a public stand on promoting this type of lifestyle; show others that being eco-friendly is a good choice to make.

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Sewage pollution - Monica Hashemi and Sophie Markose

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Sewage pollution - Monica Hashemi and Sophie Markose

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CO2 and Ocean? - Jiakai Zou and Yuxiang Yuan

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CO2 and Ocean? - Jiakai Zou and Yuxiang Yuan

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https://sites.google.com/ggl.csmb.qc.ca/climate-change-final-project/intro

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Shahed Alhussein, 422

https://sites.google.com/d/1Zf-Tj86UEhmZMrrn2S4W3TZb6yzp0yOO/p/1IsOCSpRlJV_jNvsWtYoYZ9ElRR9F0Cxw/edit

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Infectious diseases and climate change ( Xiao Meng Zhu and Miriam Al-Kazzaz)

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Infectious diseases and climate change ( Xiao Meng Zhu and Miriam Al-Kazzaz)

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https://sites.google.com/u/0/d/1SU-B2v2M6b8_QI5lZVsJqj4MKap9IYJn/preview

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Liliana Poirier and Andrea Valisno, 422

https://sites.google.com/ggl.csmb.qc.ca/food-and-climate-change/accueil?authuser=3

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Chloe and Ania

Everyday, our oceans are facing major issues due to pollution.  Because of the lack of proper recycling, harmful plastics and none plastics are often being found in recycling bins. In fact, 79% of these materials are sent to landfills or end up in the ocean, and only 9% of plastic is being recycled. Also, 80% of global marine pollution comes from agriculture runoff, untreated sewage, discharge of nutrients and pesticides. This recurring cycle is so common, that there are 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic waste estimated to be in our oceans. To put this in perspective, the largest trash site on the planet is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, twice the surface area of Texas. But not only do chemicals and trash take up a lot of ocean surface, it also affects and harms the marine life; 100 million marine animals die each year from plastic waste alone, and 100,000 of them die from getting entangled in plastic yearly.

Like said previously, due to all the plastic accumulated in the oceans, a lot of marine animals die every year. Since a concerning amount of  animals is dying, the human cycle is also being affected. In fact, oceans are the life support system of all living beings. Without a healthy ocean, we can’t live. This situation is not only affecting animals and humans, it’s also affecting the environment. Since there is a concentration of chemicals such as nitrogen or phosphorus in the oceans, bacteria and diseases can be created… Those can be sometimes harmful in so many ways all around the globe.

Now that we’ve discussed the harmful results of ocean polluting and the effects climate change has on ocean life, here are five solutions to prevent plastic waste and the consequences that come with it. Firstly, replace disposable plastic with reusable ones. 90% of the plastic items in our daily lives are used once and then thrown away. The best way to do this is to reject all unnecessary single-use plastics (straws, plastic bags, take-out cutlery, take-out containers) and purchase reusable versions of these products. It is important to make a habit out of long-term-use plastic, because the more you reuse these products, the less plastic waste will end up in the ocean. Secondly, we must recycle properly and be able to differentiate whenever a material is meant to be thrown in the garbage bin or trash bin. Many materials can be recycled, such as paper, plastic, metal and glass. Other items such as furniture, electronic equipment, building material and vehicles can also be recycled, but many people don’t often think to do so. You can tell if a product is eco-friendly by looking at the label on the packaging. Plastics that have #1 (PETE) or #2 (HDPE) are the most commonly recycled plastics. Recycling properly helps keep plastics and any kind of other materials out of the ocean and reduces the amount of new plastic in circulation.

Small things can really make a difference. Simply changing your plastic water bottles to use a reusable one can already have an impact on the ocean’s pollution. A solution that is considerable but, at the same time, almost impossible to realize would be to organize a huge cleanup. Like mentioned at the beginning, ocean contains multiple gigantic garbage patches. Those are the main cause of the death of the majority of marine species. If we could get rid of a part of it, we might be able to save the remaining marine population. The last solution may seem rather obvious, but the key to actually make a change in the situation would simply be to speak up. If we are all aware of what’s happening on our planet, we will all collectively be more apt to make a difference.

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Chloe and Ania

Everyday, our oceans are facing major issues due to pollution.  Because of the lack of proper recycling, harmful plastics and none plastics are often being found in recycling bins. In fact, 79% of these materials are sent to landfills or end up in the ocean, and only 9% of plastic is being recycled. Also, 80% of global marine pollution comes from agriculture runoff, untreated sewage, discharge of nutrients and pesticides. This recurring cycle is so common, that there are 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic waste estimated to be in our oceans. To put this in perspective, the largest trash site on the planet is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, twice the surface area of Texas. But not only do chemicals and trash take up a lot of ocean surface, it also affects and harms the marine life; 100 million marine animals die each year from plastic waste alone, and 100,000 of them die from getting entangled in plastic yearly.

Like said previously, due to all the plastic accumulated in the oceans, a lot of marine animals die every year. Since a concerning amount of  animals is dying, the human cycle is also being affected. In fact, oceans are the life support system of all living beings. Without a healthy ocean, we can’t live. This situation is not only affecting animals and humans, it’s also affecting the environment. Since there is a concentration of chemicals such as nitrogen or phosphorus in the oceans, bacteria and diseases can be created… Those can be sometimes harmful in so many ways all around the globe.

Now that we’ve discussed the harmful results of ocean polluting and the effects climate change has on ocean life, here are five solutions to prevent plastic waste and the consequences that come with it. Firstly, replace disposable plastic with reusable ones. 90% of the plastic items in our daily lives are used once and then thrown away. The best way to do this is to reject all unnecessary single-use plastics (straws, plastic bags, take-out cutlery, take-out containers) and purchase reusable versions of these products. It is important to make a habit out of long-term-use plastic, because the more you reuse these products, the less plastic waste will end up in the ocean. Secondly, we must recycle properly and be able to differentiate whenever a material is meant to be thrown in the garbage bin or trash bin. Many materials can be recycled, such as paper, plastic, metal and glass. Other items such as furniture, electronic equipment, building material and vehicles can also be recycled, but many people don’t often think to do so. You can tell if a product is eco-friendly by looking at the label on the packaging. Plastics that have #1 (PETE) or #2 (HDPE) are the most commonly recycled plastics. Recycling properly helps keep plastics and any kind of other materials out of the ocean and reduces the amount of new plastic in circulation.

Small things can really make a difference. Simply changing your plastic water bottles to use a reusable one can already have an impact on the ocean’s pollution. A solution that is considerable but, at the same time, almost impossible to realize would be to organize a huge cleanup. Like mentioned at the beginning, ocean contains multiple gigantic garbage patches. Those are the main cause of the death of the majority of marine species. If we could get rid of a part of it, we might be able to save the remaining marine population. The last solution may seem rather obvious, but the key to actually make a change in the situation would simply be to speak up. If we are all aware of what’s happening on our planet, we will all collectively be more apt to make a difference.

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CO2 Emissions and Cattle (Antonella Homsi Gagnacci)

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CO2 Emissions and Cattle (Antonella Homsi Gagnacci)

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The food we eat has a bigger impact than we might expect. Especially livestock production, which plays an important role in climate change. This blog will be explaining cattle farming, how it relates to climate change and five solutions to this problem.

Firstly, in the United States, so far, in 2022, over 36 million cattle have been killed. What most don’t realize, however, is that cattle farming is the main cause of CO2 emissions all over the world. That includes providing food, land and water for them. According to studies, the farming of cows and pigs contribute to 57% of all food pollution. In fact, beef and dairy milk production are the top two contributors of gas emissions made by food.

Secondly, how does cattle contribute to climate change? This is because of the gases they emit. Carbon dioxide and methane both trap heat in the atmosphere. Because of their unique digestive systems, while cows digest food, lots of methane is released through burping. Since there is a demand for these products, the gases released will increase as well, hence polluting the earth more.  Another reason that cattle production is harmful to the earth is because of how much land is necessary. For instance, 80 percent of deforestation in the Amazon rain forest is due to cattle farming. Since the trees filter the air and produce oxygen, cutting them down leads to more harmful gases remaining and helping trap heat in the Earth.

Thirdly, though there is no way this problem could be fixed immediately, there are some things people can do to help. For example, not wasting meat. That means not buying more red meat than necessary and saving your leftovers in the fridge instead of throwing them away. The next solution is to consume less red meat. If everybody consumed overall less cattle, then the industry would pollute less. Also, avoiding dairy products will help because the cows used for dairy also produce methane. Next, you can replace dairy and red meat with plant based alternatives that have a lesser environmental impact. Finally, if somebody wanted their diet to produce the least CO2 possible, going plant based would be the answer.

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Climate change: Global Warming and Plastic

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Climate change: Global Warming and Plastic

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As we know, global warming is a major problem, that is harming the planet we live on. Starting at the beginning of 1980s, the global average climate has increased for over one degree. In the text, we will see some facts about the harmful plastics and some solutions that people can do to help in the situation.

To start, we should know the importance of plastics since they are around us everywhere, for example, the single-time use bottles in the stores are plastic, most of the books are covered with plastic, our electronic devices contain plastic… Why are we using plastics even though they are pollutants? The reason can be elaborated in one word: Money. Because the specialties of plastic are the perfect fit to business. They are cheap, so the capitalists can produce more but in a low price and better quality, since these pollutants are also very durables.

On the other hand, the plastics are closely related to global warming. Foremost, they are made to last, often for 400 years or more. And at every step in their lifecycle, even a longtime after they have been discarded, plastics create greenhouse gas emissions that are contributing to the warming of our planet. According to the Centre for International Environmental Law, released in May 2019, they have concluded that the impact of plastic production on the world's climate this year (2019) will be equal to the output of 189 coal-fired power stations.

However, there’s always solutions to any problem. The main factor of the issue is that people are over-using plastic-made products, such as the straws, plastic bags, takeout utensils, takeout containers. First, in that case, all we need to do is reduce the usage of daily plastics, for example, when you are buying a coffee from McDonald’s or Starbucks, don’t take the plastic straw that they offered you. Second, we should do the recycling properly. As we know, there are 7 types of plastic existing on Earth, but only the numbers one and two are recyclable, so we need to look carefully the container to see if they are numbers one and two. If not, it’s suggested to not purchase those products. Third, buy secondhand items, they are almost the same quality as the new ones, but they are usually half of the price compare to the brand new. Fourth, buy the ingredients and cook more at home. Most of our containers bought from the market are always plastic-made, so we can reduce our frequency of plastic usage by cooking our own food with the natural materials. Fifth, avoid products containing microbeads. Microbeads are those tiny plastic particles that have become a growing source of ocean plastic pollution in recent years. Microbeads are found in some face scrubs, toothpastes, and body washes, and they entered our oceans and waterways through our sewer systems, and affect hundreds of marine species. We can avoid products containing plastic microbeads by looking for “polyethylene” and “polypropylene” on the ingredient labels of your products.

In conclusion, after knowing the importance of plastic to our life, the relation of global warming and plastics as well as some solutions to reduce our daily plastic usage. To make the reduction happen, we need to first focus on our daily life, like doing the recycling properly and cook more at home. I think the issue will be solved slowly if the whole world is concerned about the situation.

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https://sites.google.com/ggl.csmb.qc.ca/savingourplanet/home

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Food and Climate change - How is food affecting climate change and our lives (Rachel Lafortune & Juan Carlos Ruiz-Perez)

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Food and Climate change - How is food affecting climate change and our lives (Rachel Lafortune & Juan Carlos Ruiz-Perez)

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From farm animals to food in our plates, this perpetual process is a danger to our health and environment. In this blog post, you will read about how the food industry is affecting our lives and our planet and how you can help to diminish this problem.

Firstly, how is the food industry contributing to climate change? Before even production of food starts, land is needed to host cattle, and how do we find said land. By deforestation, which means the loss of ecosystems and habitats. On top of that, if we’re losing trees, therefore producing more Co2 in the process, which means less carbon absorption and oxygen production. Further on, the food industry produces greenhouse gas emissions by live stock production. For instance, when cows eat dry matter (nutrients), their digestive systems generate methane gas, which is released as manure or burps.

Secondly, there are some solutions to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions relating to food. Eating more plant-based meats can help. Such as, try eating no meat at least once or twice a week. There are lots of vegetarian and vegan recipes, cookbooks, and websites to search for in helping you with ideas for what your next meatless meal you will be having this week. If you don’t feel like cooking at home, there are some vegetarian and vegan restaurants. Or maybe, you can always ask one of your favourite restaurants if they have a meatless alternative. There is also the option of eating organic and local foods. Transporting food causes lots of greenhouse gas emissions. So, eating locally will help with reducing our carbon footprint. Wasting food is also a huge problem that we can avoid. Buying what you only need and putting your food waste to use, such as composting, can help with this issue.

To summarize, the food industry is contributing to one third of all human-caused greenhouse gas emissions, which aids to climate change. However, there are some simple solutions to this huge issue we are facing. For instance, eating more plant-based meats, organic and local foods or not wasting any food can help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Yet, no one is willing to speak up about this grave dilemma that will affect all of us.

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MohammadParsa Asghari and Stefan Ekiridzo

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MohammadParsa Asghari and Stefan Ekiridzo

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The effects of climate change on the ocean life

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The effects of climate change on the ocean life

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The ocean is one of the most important ecosystems on Earth. It regulates our climate, provides food and water, and supports a diverse range of plant and animal life. Unfortunately, the ocean is under threat from climate change. In this blog, I will be talking about how ocean life is affecting the environment and how to solve this problem.

Oceans play a vital role in regulating the Earth’s climate. They help mitigate climate change by absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. They also share the heat with the atmosphere, helping to moderate global temperatures. As the Earth heats up, the oceans absorb more and more heat, which causes them to warm and expand.

Climate change is having an impact on many aspects of ocean life, including coral bleaching. As the ocean temperatures rise, the corals are bleaching at an unprecedented rate. Because of stress brought on by the warmer water, the corals have begun to expel the algae that have been living in their tissue. The algae are what give the coral its colour and nutrients. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, 75% of the world's tropical coral reefs experienced heat stress severe enough to cause coral bleaching between 2014 and 2017. Coral bleaching affects both wildlife and people. Coral reefs serve as natural barriers, absorbing the force of waves and storm surges and protecting coastal communities. Without them, we have to rely on man made seawalls, which are expensive, less effective and hurt the environment when they are made. Each year, reef tourism brings in billions of dollars and supports thousands of jobs. It is all at risk because of bleached coral reefs.

So, what can we do to help? There are many ways to reduce the effects of climate change on the ocean. Here are five ways to help. Reducing your carbon footprint is one way to help reduce the effects of climate change on the ocean. You can reduce your carbon footprint by driving less, flying less, and eating less meat. Investing in renewable energy or planting trees can offset your carbon footprint. Conserving energy can also reduce the effects of climate change. Reducing your energy usage reduces the demand for fossil fuels and lowers the levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Helping environmental organizations is a great way to help. Donating to organizations such as Oceana or Ocean Conservancy supports ocean life and marine life. Little things like using as little fertilizer as possible are also helpful. When it rains, the water that goes down your drain or off of your yard can end up in the ocean. Fertilizers can cause harmful algae blooms that disrupt the ocean’s natural balance. Trash can accumulate in the ocean and be avoided by trimming down on it. Simple things such as never littering and using reusable items help prevent the huge amount of trash found in the ocean.

In conclusion, the ocean is a very important ecosystem that is under threat from climate change. Coral bleaching is one way that climate change is affecting the ocean. We can help reduce the effects of climate change on the ocean by reducing our carbon footprint, conserving energy, supporting environmental protection initiatives, safe water usage, and trimming trash.

-Nila Khayer

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-Darine & Mariam

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Less than 800 million people populated the Earth in the mid 18th century and now today almost 250 years later the Earth counts at least 7.7 billion people. Given that humans first appeared on Earth more than four million years ago, what transpired in more recent times that caused the population of the planet to begin expanding exponentially? The Industrial Revolution was widely believed to be the tipping point, but numerous smaller revolutions—including those of a medical, technological, agricultural, financial, transport, and demographical nature—also played a role in the population explosion that led to the planet's current dangerous overpopulation.

You may ask yourself. What is overpopulation? and the answer is pretty simple. The concept of overpopulation refers to when a human population exceeds what the environment or available resources can sustain for an extended length of time. The human population has grown in recent ages as a result of medical advancements and greater agricultural output. Resources are used more quickly as a result of our increasing resource consumption as our population increases.

Now that you know what the main concept of overpopulation and what it means is, you must be wondering, how does overpopulation contribute to climate change? Because of overpopulation, climatic change is impacted. We consume more as we get bigger. Therefore, we produce more greenhouse gases. We expose ourselves to increased climatic threats and consume our planet's resources more quickly. According to studies, if we reach a population of 15 billion people by the year 2100, our annual carbon emissions will increase to 25 GtC. (gigatons of carbon per year). 25 gigatons of carbon, in contrast, are equal to driving 575 000 miles in an average car.

Now there are some solutions to overpopulation such as

1. Family planning programs: By reducing the number of unwanted children and implementing family planning programmes that provide access to contraception, good sex education programmes and family planning initiatives improve the lives of family members by enabling them to make the most of their resources and stay out of situations where they face poverty, hunger, or diseases.

2. Controlling migration flows: Programs that prevent indigenous peoples from being forced to leave their homes for employment, survival, or because of armed conflict allow for a more sustainable use of resources, reduce resource degradation, and improve community life by preventing family separation, alienation, and depopulation.

3. Contraceptives: Provide universal access to safe and effective contraceptive options for both sexes.

4. Education: Guarantee education through secondary school for all, especially girls.

In conclusion, overpopulation is a major problem in our day and age because of the ways it contributes to climate change, such as the more we are, the more greenhouse gases we produce and that is not good at all. It isn’t too late to fix things, there all still solutions to combat overpopulation like educating the youth about contraceptive methods and also offering family planning programs. With all those resources, we can fight back against overpopulation.

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Cattle: humanity's biggest threat (Nicolas Lewandowski & Philippe Dornoy)

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Cattle: humanity's biggest threat (Nicolas Lewandowski & Philippe Dornoy)

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https://sites.google.com/ggl.csmb.qc.ca/cattle-humanity-biggest-threat/

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Food and climate change (David McNabb and Franco Latorre)

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Food and climate change (David McNabb and Franco Latorre)

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-CLIMATE CHANGE-

CO2 emissions and Cattle

Climate change has become a major worldwide problem over the last few years. While there are many causes to climate change, cattle play a big role in it.

First of all, cattle requires a considerable amount of land. At least one acre of land is needed per cow. A cow-calf pair will need two acres of land minimally. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization published a 212 page report showing that 26% of the earth's terrestrial surface is used for livestock grazing. In order to feed all of the cattle, 33% of croplands are used for livestock feed. That is a lot of land used for livestock. These lands can no longer be used for trees. It is also important to note that these animals are responsible for 14.5% of global greenhouse emissions. As the world’s population and demand for meat products rise, more greenhouse gas is emitted. Cattle also requires a remarkable amount of water. Around 10 to 12 US gallons of water is used for a beef cow every day. Worldwide consumption of meat and animal products makes up 27 percent of humanity's total water footprint.

Secondly, although it seems like a big deal, there are ways to reduce these co2 emissions and our cattle footprint on earth. The biggest and most effective solution would be to change our diet. Moving from meat to a more vegan lifestyle will drastically reduce demand for cattle. You can gain the same nutritional values from a plant based diet as you would get from meat by consuming various legumes such as lentils and beans. A plant based diet is also proven to be healthier as there is a lower calorie consumption and reduced heart disease risk. Other solutions to reduce cattle greenhouse emissions are rational grazing to sequester carbon in the soil and good manure management to reduce methane released from enteric fermentation. Manure management includes better nutrient management that will enhance nitrogen control. Bringing down our tillage in numbers could also help but it’s pretty difficult considering our consumption rates.

Finally, a big part of climate change is caused by cattle. The resources needed for meat production are simply too much. There still are solutions such as changing our diet that could help. It now depends on us to choose.

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Émile Atallah and Ysabelle Cacatian

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83 % of all agricultural land use, take up of the planet's land surface and are responsible for of greenhouse gases. Growing animals for food is also inefficient. 18 %

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The natural balance of the Earth is being disrupted by changes currently happening to the environment. The decisions we make daily have more of an impact on those changes than we first thought. One of the biggest threats menacing our environment is climate change, and the food we choose to eat can destroy our planet. In the following blog, you will discover how it causes climate and what you can do to help the Earth and all of its inhabitants.

What is food?

As we all know, food is a necessity for all living beings, no matter what species they are. Without it, earth will be devoid of life. We also know that the way we get our food differs between species. Some feast on other living beings or the produces of those beings, others use the nutriments they can find in the ground and use the sun to turn it into energy. As for us, we feast on other beings and it’s produces. Through the centuries of human history, we have invented agriculture, and since then we have managed to improve that activity. As of today, our practice of agriculture has taken around 6.3% of Canada’s land which is around 62 200 square kilometers. If we talk about worldwide, 50% of the land is used for agriculture, which in that is around 61 000 000 square kilometers. We can conclude that it’s an activity that uses a lot of land, but as or population grows, our need for food grows as well. Because of this, we burn trees to create pasture lands for our cattle, and cut down trees to create more land to grow fruits and vegetables.

What is climate change?

Climate change is a constant change in the usual weather that has affected Earth's global, regional and local climates. Across the years, we’ve seen how it has disastrous effects on us and our environment. For example, Hurricanes have become stronger and more intense to the point that they reach areas that they aren't supposed to reach. Due to climate change, dry season have become more common. This means that there will be less food available, as well that forest fires will spread more and more easily, therefore becoming more and more dangerous. The forest fire that happened in Australia 2019-2020 is a great example to show us the effects of climate change.

How are food and climate change related to one another?

The food we eat has a negative impact on our environment because of everything that needs to be done for food to be grown, shipped, packed and finally bought by us consumers. For example, fertilizers are added to the soil to increase the fertility, but that same fertilizer degrades the soil and contaminates the water. Transporting the food is also detrimental to the Earth, since the average food from a Canadian meal travels upwards of 3000 km to reach our plate. Transportation leads to air and water pollution, which will in turn lead to an increased quantity of greenhouse gases. Consuming meat is even more harmful to the environment, since 18% of greenhouse gases come from cattle farming. That’s why the way we produce and ship the food we eat is linked with climate change.

How can you help save our home?

In conclusion, the production of food has a pretty big influence on climate change. The longer we continue with our daily unhealthy habits for the environment, the longer we will continue to poison our earth to the point that it will eventually die. Of course, we don't want that to happen, so here are five things you can do to help your environment and maybe even improve your health:

1- To combat climate change, people should choose to consume less animal based products. Research has shown that products such as beef, lamb, cheese, or pork have a higher carbon footprint than plant-based foods. For instance, 70 kg of greenhouse gases are released per kilogram of beef, well only 0.7 kg are released per kilogram of vegetables.

2- Eating locally sourced and seasonal produce is also a good idea to be environmentally friendly. The transportation used to ship food from one country to another leads to a lot of carbon emissions in the air or the water, depending on where it comes from.

3- Choosing to buy organic food is benefiting our planet. Indeed, organic meat or veggies don't contain antibiotics, which causes less damage to the soil and wildlife. Synthetic pesticides are also not contained in organic products, making them more environment-friendly.

4- Only buying what you truly need is another way to stop climate change. Food that doesn’t end up being eaten ends up in landfill, which cause a fifth of methane emission, a gas linked with global warming and climate change. Find a creative way to use leftovers instead of wasting it.

5- Planting your own fruits and vegetables is also a good solution. This will reduce food miles and add some greenery to your backyard. Opting to not use pesticides and other chemicals to what you grow will make it all the more beneficial to combat climate change.

- Kenisha Patel and Ruxandra Duta

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Save Our Seas - The Effects of Climate Change on Ocean Life

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Save Our Seas - The Effects of Climate Change on Ocean Life

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Anastasia Skorobogatiy & Emma Rose Theriault

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The Ocean is Drowning - Climate Change & Ocean Life

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The Ocean is Drowning - Climate Change & Ocean Life

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Rabbiah Aslam

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Stefan Shinder
Omar Tadimi

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Kendrick Fisher and Chloe Halawji

CO2 emissions are a worldwide problem caused by human activities. There are many activities that cause these emissions, but one of the worst is farming. Farming has many sub categories like agriculture or animal farming. In this text we will talk about how cattle are one of the worst producers of CO2 emissions.

Firstly, over 30% of the world's dry land is used as an animal farming ground to feed each and every person on this planet, which is good, but it is also damaging the lands and the atmosphere, which is not so good. Some farms are also completely dedicated to making food for these animals. Take a cow into consideration; we want to feed them so they become healthy, so we can exploit their meat or drink their milk, but for this animal to grow healthy it needs around 27 lb of food per day all the while an average human eats from 2 to 4 lb a day. This food does not come out of thin air, we need to grow it, and to grow it we need to plow and take out all the trees in that area, but unluckily for our Earth, that requires heavy machines that produce even more co2 emissions.

Secondly, these methods we use to keep our livestock production healthy are slowly drying out necessities us humans need to survive, like CO2. Livestock itself is responsible for 14.5% of the world's greenhouse emissions, which mainly include carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide due to all the machines used to keep these animals healthy. One of the reasons cattle are a big factor in CO2 emissions is because soils used on these farms trap energy-rich carbon materials in itself, which it will not release for thousands or even millions of years. Many scientists have come up with solutions to reduce the emissions of CO2 such as increasing production by improving the health of the herd and breeding practises, feeding cattle according to their nutrient requirements, composting, adding additives to the manure to stop unwanted biological activity, and implementing manure storage covers anaerobic digesters, which are usually used as a method of waste disposal.

So in conclusion, if we keep abusing what this Earth provided to us and don't make changes for the better, it is safe to assume that CO2 emissions and cattle will not be our biggest problem, but mostly climate change at its peak.

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Effects of Climate Change on Ocean Life                   ( By Lucas Raffo and Camille Nguyen) 

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Effects of Climate Change on Ocean Life                   ( By Lucas Raffo and Camille Nguyen) 

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https://sites.google.com/ggl.csmb.qc.ca/consequencesoverpopulation/home

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Harmful plastics                                               

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Harmful plastics                                               

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Plastic is bad. We’ve all heard it, haven't we?

When a wrapper accidentally slips from the edge of your pocket, or when you decide to opt for single use utensils during lunch. It feels as if this phrase has simply lost meaning. Sure, plastic is bad, but just how bad could it be? Well, you’d be surprised to know exactly how harmful this cheap and convenient material can be. This blog will be discussing just that. In the following paragraphs, I will further elaborate the topic of plastic and its relation to climate change, as well as some simple gestures you can do to help in this environmental crisis.

First and foremost, the use of plastic has been proven by scientists around the world to have devastating long-term effects on the planet, being one of the main causes of its rapid deterioration during the past century. For instance, this material does not biodegrade and most types of plastics cannot be recycled. These plastics end up either in other countries, piling up and disturbing its surroundings, or in the ocean where they slowly break apart, turning into microplastics which are usually eaten by small fish. These fish are then eaten by larger fish, which in the end are eaten by humans. Research has shown that we consume about a credit card’s worth of microplastics every week.

Another concerning matter surrounding plastics is that a large amount gets burned. In 2015 alone, an estimated 25% of global plastic waste was incinerated. The burning of plastic releases toxic gas into the atmosphere.

Despite this, large corporations don't want to let go of plastic just yet.  When it comes to single use items such as tools used in hospitals, plastic seems to be the least costly yet most efficient option. It’s also malleable, unlike glass, which breaks easily after a good fall. Nevertheless, plastic free alternative do exist, yet companies just simply find that producing those alternatives comes at a greater financial cost.

So, what can you possibly do to help? You might think that this is all just a lost cause, that it’s merely is an unsolvable problem. However, there are still actions you can take to reduce the impact of plastic on our planet.

Avoid plastic water bottles and other single use plastic items. Though they might seem convenient, they just aren't worth the damage. It only takes a few times of using your own bags, silverware, and mugs before it starts to become a habit. Speaking of single use, purchasing second-hand or recycled items helps reduce the amount of “hidden” plastic you buy. Most new products come with all sorts of plastic packaging. Finally, supporting an anti-plastic tax or ban helps encourage its reduction at a larger scale, since the root of the issue is the overproduction and consumption of plastic.

In conclusion, I'm not telling you to live a plastic free life.  In today’s era, it is near, if not completely impossible. Plastic is everywhere. Even things you might believe are glass or paper probably contain some variation of plastic, but playing your part as well as encouraging larger corporations to do the same can help influence the people around you into making these habits the norm in the struggle for a better, more ecological planet.

- Areesha Bokhari

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Plastic is practically unavoidable in this day and age: plastic packaging, plastic bottles, plastic bags, plastic containers, plastic cutlery… and the list goes on. It is so omnipresent nowadays that we don’t even notice how much we use it. Microplastics – which are contained in all the plastic we use – were first discovered in the 1970s, and scientists have since then been continuing their research on the topic. Are microplastics harmful? Do they affect our environment or our health? Here’s what we know about microplastics and their impact on Earth and living organisms.

First things first, let’s discuss what microplastics are exactly. On a scientific level, these are carbon and hydrogen atoms bound together by polymer chains. In other words, microplastics are minuscule plastic particles – less than 5 milimetres long – that have broken down from larger fragments of plastic, or have intentionally been made that size. More specifically, they sometimes originate from plastic objects, such as plastic water bottles, that have degraded into tiny particles. However, these microplastics, which are around the size of a sesame seed, are often purposely created; in this case, they are referred to as microbeads and are often found in commercial products, such as toothpaste, paint, medicine, detergents, beauty products, pesticides… even our clothes! It is estimated that more than 14 million tonnes of microplastics have accumulated in our oceans so far, and an additional 1.5 million tonnes adds on to that every year.

Let’s now move on to discussing how microplastics are associated with environmental issues. Microplastics are located practically everywhere on Earth : on mountains, in the oceans, in the air, in our food, in living organisms… Unfortunately, they are also incredibly difficult to get rid of due to their exceptional persistence. This signifies that they are detrimental to organisms that they come in contact with, as well as the environment. To dive more in detail, these microscopic fragments of plastic are consumed by animals, including fish, sea mammals, and even humans, because not only are they found in commercial products and natural environments like the ocean, but they are also present in human foods such as seafood, beer, sugar… etc. This results in a rise of inflammatory reactions and toxicity, and causes the spread of pathogens and microbes, which both lead to increased mortality and deteriorating health. In addition to this, when it is introduced in our environment, plastic can attract heavy metals, organic pollutants and pathogenic bacteria, which proceed to harm organisms when they are ingested. Furthermore, microplastics cause damage to different species, such as plankton, which are then unable to capture carbon dioxide and therefore contribute to the formation of green-house gases, which leads to climate change.

Moving on, here are some solutions to prevent further damage to our planet, or at least slow down the process. To begin, reducing our single-use plastic purchases would make a big difference - this includes plastic water bottles, plastic cutlery, plastic grocery bags… Secondly, increasing recycling and reuse of plastic items would help as well; for instance, while the United States, only recycle about 10% of packaging plastic, some countries go up to recycling 50% percent of theirs. As a third solution, an easy way to prevent some microplastics accumulating all around the globe is by buying plastic-free cosmetics and household products, which contain natural alternatives to microbeads. A fourth solution would be to prioritise public transportation, such as buses, trains and subways, given that car tyres make up 28% of the microplastics found in the ocean – in fact, tyres break down when driving, which sends tiny particles of rubber into the environment. Lastly, regularly hoovering and cleaning is a helpful solution, because these actions get rid of dust laying around the house, 39% of it being composed of microplastics.

In conclusion, although microplastics have been harming our precious planet for decades, there are still multiple solutions out there to improve the Earth’s current state and prevent it from deteriorating. The key is finding solutions to this environmental issue and applying them. Will we be able to save our planet from microplastics? That’s for us to find out…

- Evelyn Winters

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Omar Tadimi, Stefan Shinder

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The main cause of why the planet is threatened by climate change is overpopulation, which is defined by the fact that there are too much humans on planet Earth, because studies showed that the Earth’s environment as became more unstable and destructive when the humans are disrupting it, such as polluting, killing life forms that are vital to the planet’s ecosystem, like bees, and most importantly destroying a major part of the Earth due to their need of creating pastures of land to grow food due to the fact there are many people needing to eat so they need many big pastures to grow food for feeding everyone. The other issue which comes with overpopulation is it’s difficult to stop it and there are sea level rising so there are lands being consumed by floods including the previously mentioned pastures of land, the problem becomes there are too many people on an ever shrinking division of land, peoples are killed by flooding and storms because it is also destroying big cities and vulnerable places around the world and their are food shortages because the animals are too vulnerable and die because of climate change

Research has also shown that the thing that reduces the most the carbon footprint for someone, isn't if they reduce their travels around the world, go on a vegan diet or use electric cars but really if they have one fewer child, it would reduce the CO2 consumed by 58.6 tonnes each year, were with the other previously mentioned solutions it would just roughly reduce 2 tonnes of CO2 being consumed each year. It shows how overpopulation is the real problem of climate change.

The solutions to reduce overpopulation are varied and diverse some of them include restrictions such as promoting a family of one children, some can also help women to really have a choice in there life,for example the promotion and easy access of family planning, the empowering of women, making quality education for all and also alleviate poverty.

But the main issue is if even humanity changes all of its flaws and live in a world where we don’t need to destroy the Earth to meet our needs and even solve the problems of overpopulation, we will still need to deal with the repercussions of climate change decades after we decided to stop polluting, because mankind destroyed and disrupted so much of the Earth’s ecosystem, that our descendants will still need to survive in a harsh world constantly threatened by famine and destruction.

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The main cause of why the planet is threatened by climate change is overpopulation, which is defined by the fact that there are too much humans on planet Earth, because studies showed that the Earth’s environment as became more unstable and destructive when the humans are disrupting it, such as polluting, killing life forms that are vital to the planet’s ecosystem, like bees, and most importantly destroying a major part of the Earth due to their need of creating pastures of land to grow food due to the fact there are many people needing to eat so they need many big pastures to grow food for feeding everyone. The other issue which comes with overpopulation is it’s difficult to stop it and there are sea level rising so there are lands being consumed by floods including the previously mentioned pastures of land, the problem becomes there are too many people on an ever shrinking division of land, peoples are killed by flooding and storms because it is also destroying big cities and vulnerable places around the world and their are food shortages because the animals are too vulnerable and die because of climate change

Research has also shown that the thing that reduces the most the carbon footprint for someone, isn't if they reduce their travels around the world, go on a vegan diet or use electric cars but really if they have one fewer child, it would reduce the CO2 consumed by 58.6 tonnes each year, were with the other previously mentioned solutions it would just roughly reduce 2 tonnes of CO2 being consumed each year. It shows how overpopulation is the real problem of climate change.

The solutions to reduce overpopulation are varied and diverse some of them include restrictions such as promoting a family of one children, some can also help women to really have a choice in there life,for example the promotion and easy access of family planning, the empowering of women, making quality education for all and also alleviate poverty.

But the main issue is if even humanity changes all of its flaws and live in a world where we don’t need to destroy the Earth to meet our needs and even solve the problems of overpopulation, we will still need to deal with the repercussions of climate change decades after we decided to stop polluting, because mankind destroyed and disrupted so much of the Earth’s ecosystem, that our descendants will still need to survive in a harsh world constantly threatened by famine and destruction.

Mathieu Landry

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