Visualizing Metals/Mining for Metals/Metals and Health
Diamond Mining
Sodium Fluoride
What is the Cost of our Products?
Taking a Stand on Plastic Bags/plastics
Solubility and Plant Fertilizers
Road Salt
solution:
-When manure or commercial fertilizers enter surface water, the nutrients they release stimulate microorganism growth. The growth and reproduction of microorganisms reduce the dissolved oxygen content of the water body.
Positive effects:
-removes the ice from the roads and sidewalks to prevent sliding or slipping hazards that might cause accidents. -It reduced 85% of car crashes.
Positive effects:
-Sodium Fluoride is in toothpaste to strengthen the enamel and reduce cavities.
Positive effects:
-Canada's first commercial oil wells were near Sarnia. They had easy transportation methods to central Canada and the United States, especially given Sarnia's deep water ports. By the 1970s, the average income of people in the Sarnia area was 35 percent higher than the national average mainly because of industrial development.
Positive effects:
-DDT is a synthetic pesticide that was used extensively in the 1940s and 1950s to get rid of diseases carried by insects and increase the amount of crops that can be eaten.
Positive effects:
-Mines disrupt the land and potentially harm ecosystems around. There is also a significant risk of the cyanide solution used to extract gold can get into the soil and groundwater and contaminate the surrounding areas. Cyanide is an extremely toxic substance for humans and wildlife. Over 85 percent of the gold that is now mined is used for non-essential items, such as jewelry.
Positive effects:
-Canada has the world's 3rd largest Diamond mining industry with an annual worth of 1.5 million dollars.
Negative effects:
-Scientists have learned that DDT does not break down easily. It gets stored inside animals' fatty tissues. DDT gets in the animal food chains and builds up the further you go through the food chain. For example it gets in the phytoplankton, then snails phytoplankton, then fish eat snails, then seals eat fish, and finally the polar bear eats the seal.
Negative effects:
-metals can be used for many good things for example aluminum is good for reflecting heat or lead being used as an apron while dentists are doing x-rays to block radiation. -Metals part of needed processes in plants and animals. For example, iron is present in blood and is essential for oxygen to move throughout the human body. Iron is in every body cell. Other metals that are essential for plants and animals are copper, zinc, magnesium, and calcium.
Negative effects:
-They do their diamond mining in ecologically sensitive environments near local aborigional people that provide needed plants and wildlife.
Negative effects:
-Some scientists suggest that too much fluoride can have negative effects, such as cancer, fragile bones, and improper brain development in children.
Negative effects:
-It can get into the nearby waters and kill fish because of the high salt levels. -It also causes car parts to rust quicker. -The road salt can attract animals towards roads which can be dangerous for both animals and people.
Negative effects:
-Plastic bags are not biodegradable. The plastic simply changes into smaller pieces over time. The small, broken-down particles contain toxic materials that can leach into water and soil. The toxic materials are found not only in landfill sites, but also anywhere that plastic ends up as litter.
Negative effects:
If plants do not take up all the dissolved fertilizers, it can be carried by water into nearby streams or lakes. When fertilizers are overused it can add extra nutrients into ecosystems. For example, additional nutrients can increase the growth of algae also known as algae blooms. After the algae die, microscopic organisms use the oxygen in the water to decompose their remains. After that, there's little or no oxygen left in the water and fish and other living organisms may die from lack of oxygen.
Positive effects:
-In May 2006, the Leaf Rapids town helped people stop using plastic bags by giving each household five reusable cloth bags. Leaf Rapids became the first community in Canada to ban most plastic bags in retail stores in April 2007. They made a law that stores are not allowed to sell/ give away plastic bags that will be single time use.
Positive effects:
Fertilizers provide many benefits, which include faster plant growth and the ability to grow more plants in less space. As a result, farms can produce more crops with less spoilage and lower labor costs. This helps to reduce the cost of the food that is produced from the crops, making the food more affordable for consumers.
solution:
-This can be reduced by using less road salt. If you shovel most of the snow or ice off the road you won’t need as much salt
solution:
-Decline the bag. Often store employees are instructed to separate different types of products in different bags or use a bag for only one or two items. Bring your reusable bags instead. Re-use the plastic bags yourself.
solution:
-Finding more eco friendly and efficient ways to make money instead of finding ways to make more efficient ways but no care to the environment
solution:
-reduce the amounts of sodium fluoride content in things so if people swallow it they won't get sick.
solution:
- landscapes altered by diamond mining can be rehabilitated. Local communities are now working with international partners to fill in the mining pits, bring back native species, and replace lost topsoil.
solution:
-Acidic drainage can cause significant impacts on water quality and aquatic ecosystems. Chemicals that are used to process metal-bearing ores can also be found in mine waste water.
solution:
-DDT was banned over 40 years ago to help reduce DDT polluting the environment.
Negative effects:
-The health of many Sarnia area residents may have been harmed by exposure to toxic chemicals from Chemical Valley. In addition to high rates of heart disease and breathing-related illnesses, cancer rates are higher than the provincial average.
