1.0 Introduction
Grand Cache was previously known for its coal wealth between 1969 until 2014. Mass employment saw in the flux of migrants and hundreds of families settled in Grand Cache. By the end of 2011, the town had over 4,000 populations. The community grew as a result of economic development around Coal. Before 2014, Grand Cache was called the coal engine of Alberta. However, within the last three years, the story had changed. The majority of the working class, are migrating off the town. Development has started declining so fast. Today, the community is seeking provincial approval to be absorbed into a larger municipality. Was there a war in the city? No! The single-resource that brought the city together for over 35 years is now
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The city experienced a high influx of people and a speedy development. The once urban settlement soon became a beautiful town. People bought and built houses. Shopping malls were erected. Due to the large population, various social amenities were also in place.
In 2005, there was a collapse in the global market. This sudden event affected Up Energy Development Group Ltd (UEDGL) in 2015 the major provider of employment in Grand Cache. The company was in debt. 1,500 jobs were lost and the company suspended their surface mine operation. In September 2015, UEDGL eventually shut down its operation till date. Mass unemployment ravaged Grand Cache. In June 2016, business downtowns were shutting down; clothing stores changed hours. Nearly all the working population in Grand cache, sought jobs outside the town. The mass exodus out of Grand cache caused reduced property value up to 50% (Fourniel, 2016). Even though Grand Cache municipality reduced business tax by 6%, the town did not revive itself. Running cost for the redevelopment skyrocketed with low revenue. In 2016, Grand Cache asked the provincial government to merge them with the Municipal district of Greenview because they are no longer viable. The
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Tens of business closed up, which directly affected a large number of households. The coal mining operations companies also left environmental contaminants in the environment. Pollutions from coal mining have a direct effect on water, land air. Some of the pollutants contaminate ground water, surface water and impact on other land-uses. Besides the slope failure and explosion, environmental impact from coal mining causes erosion; leachates production, which seeping into ground water, and dust pollution. Heavy metals compound like lead, cadmium and arsenic dominates coal mining sites (Bhuiyan, Parvez, Islam, & Dampare, 2010). These metals are toxic to plant and animal. Some absorb some of these dissolved metals and introduce them into the food circle. When rainwater mixes with coal waste, the runoffs becomes acidic, which reduce PH of surface waters. (Komitas, 2001) Population inhaling coal dust suffers black lung disease and other complication like lung cancer, and heart failure (Finkelman & Orem, 2002). Coal mining in uranium mines is another source of radioactive exposure. Another environmental impact from coal mined lands includes emission of greenhouse gasses. Future land redevelopment in grand Cache, must deal with this issues before development could take
I would have to say that from the reading that it can be very harmful for the coal mining chemicals to seep into the ground into our drinking water.
Immigration was major factor to growth the city. There were other factors such as, manufacturing company, new infrastructure, technological gains, creating rail roads, steam boats, and canals also played important roles to
Urbanization quickly spread and advanced in the 1800’s. This was due to industrialization. If a factory was built in a town, that town’s population would grow exponentially.
The Alberta Oil Sands have affected many stakeholder groups such as government, residents, researchers and employees. However, we will focus on how it affects the Alberta Government; specifically, Ed Stlemech of the Conservative Government. As my stake holder, Ed Stlemech does not live within the Alberta Oil Sands area as well as have any direct relevance to it, I will instead examine how it has affects the citizens of Alberta and more importantly, those who live in and near the Fort Chipewyan area. In this way, the environmental, the economical as well as the societal impacts will impact Albertan voters and therefore impact the Conservative Government in way of the Alberta General Election.
They were designated, sizable centers for trade, which was such a significant part of the economy bettering. Not only were they a monumental center of trade, they were also a center of politics and a social center. Urban centers were one of the reasons of the Great Awakening for the significant impact they had on the economical, social, and political aspects of the 1700’s (Garrigus).
(Shultz, 2012) Living in the city was the most fashionable place to live during the middle of the 19th century. Merchants, Lawyers and manufacturers built substantial townhouses on the main though fares within walking distance of the docks, warehouses, offices, courts and shops where they worked. (Urbanization)
For example people felt that traditions weren't there rural way of life. High birth rates were changing and education improved. The health care and education attracted people to move with a friendly society unemployment benefit, universal health care, homeless shelters, and sometimes subsidized services such as public transport. Younger people increased getting an education and getting a job. Labour groups also played an important role in the society. The government changed political patronage to improve better presentation for urban
Coal ash also contains selenium which is already needed in our body, but excess amounts can lead to impaired vision, paralysis, and even death. The ash contains a lot of lead, exposure to lead can cause numerous issues in your brain affecting your nervous system and can cause brain swelling. Arsenic which is found in the ash can be harmful, if ingested it can lead to nervous system damage and cardiovascular issues. If arsenic that is found in the ash is absorbed through the skin can cause skin cancer. Coal ash contain boron also can cause damage to the intestines and even death. The EPA is responsible for protecting the environment from these types of spills, but in the case of properly disposing the ash the EPA ruled that coal ash was classified as a non-hazardous material leaving it up to the companies to dispose of it as they want
The Alberta oil sands operations are the fastest growing source of heat-trapping greenhouse gas in Canada. Therefore, as environmental concerns increase with amplified pollution, governments must ensure policies are in place as to avoid further environmental damage. Currently the government does not enforce enough environmental policies to properly protect this beautiful country and its people. Moreover, the alternative components of the oil sands business contribute an enormous amount of environmental destruction. Pipelines to transport crude oil from the refineries to cities across North America cut across sacred land and pipelines and freighters have high possibility of spillage. Furthermore, the damage to human health from water contamination and air pollution is a major concern, the oil sands business causes massive detriment to human wellbeing. Lastly, the surrounding area of the oil sands are deeply affected. The deforestation of the boreal forest and the toxic tailings ponds that surround the operation endanger wildlife and the environment.
People immigrated and traveled to cities for the increase of money and job from what they were making from farming. The factory work had appeared and seemed to be less strenuous than the farming work, and they looked forward to a better income and money and most satisfying lifestyle.
The families that live near the mine also face being diagnosed with dangerous side effects. Since the ground becomes polluted with the chemicals, most homes in the surrounding area don’t have running water because the aquifers are polluted by said chemicals that originate from the mine. And the air becomes toxic also, toxic levels of arsenic, fluorine, mercury, and selenium is emitted by coal fires, entering the air and the food chain of those living nearby. These pollutants affect the water also, making it dangerous to any living life form. It causes deformities and creates birth defects if ingested into the body (Breitenender 2). And to an extent, causes death if the water is drunk regularly. It can go unnoticed also if people don’t check their water. And if a person is unfortunate enough to live near these areas, then he likely has no running water due to the pollution of his local aquifer. People are deprived of a vital source to live and they travel far to get water. And these areas are arid which means water is a necessary
Fossil Fuels are extremely harmful to the environment, especially in the ways the fuel is obtained, such as mining or hydraulic fracturing. Coal, a commonly used fossil fuel, can be obtained by strip mining, mountaintop mining, or underground mining (“Coal Explained”). Strip mining has disastrous effects on the environment because of the destructive nature of the process, which removes all soil, rock, trees, and plants above coal deposits. The runoff from this pollutes streams and rivers nearby, which can harm aquatic life and disfigure the body of water,
With that being said here are some environmental impacts of coal you may not know about. The air pollutants cause acid rain, smog ,respiratory illnesses, cancers and toxins in the environment. Coal miners can get respiratory illnesses from the coal dust while mining. If an abandoned coal mine catches fire it puts tons of mercury into the atmosphere, this happens every year and is responsible for three percent of carbon dioxide emissions globally. The second largest contributor to
Before starting an analysis of the metropolis, it is important to define the term “city”. Growing up I lived in a rural area but I used to take trips to the nearest city which was in Wichita, Ks. It was filled with thousands of people and it always seemed busy. It was full of people who always seemed to be going somewhere. A city, however can be understood in a few different ways, physical, cultural, and mental. George Simmel, a sociologist of the 18th century, was the first person to discover new aspect of what a city could be by stating, “a city is the form of psychic rather than physical life”. He believed that the essence of the city did not lie amongst the abundance of buildings and architectural construction. On the contrary, Simmel stressed Prima Facie. The invisible fact that a city forms human mentality, imagination and thinking. As a result, those who
In our days, mining for resources is inevitable. The resources we need are valuable in everyday life. Such resources mined up are coal, copper, gold, silver, and sand. However, mining poses environmental risks that can degrade the quality of soil and water, which can end up effecting us humans if not taken care of and many of the damages are irreversible once they have occurred.