EnergyBy: Aline B, Sarah M, and Jashley T

Canadians are one of the largest energy users in the world. The 2 main energy sources that Canada uses are:

1) Conventional energy sources such as coal, oil, hydroelectricity, natural gas, and nuclear

electricity that are non renewable. 2) Alternative energy sources such as wind, solar, and biomass energy that are renewable. A good supply of energy is essential to Canada’s economy and development.

TYPES OF INDUSTRY1) Coal

How does coal form?- From remains of trees and plants from the swampy areas in the carboniferous period. - The remains didn’t decay due to low oxygen levels.- The many layers of the decayed material formed deep deposits of organic materials that were covered by sediments.- After millions of years, the organic material had Undergone certain chemical changes and coal formed.

THE COAL INDUSTRY: - Most coal is mined in British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan.- Coal is mainly used for fuel in generation of electricity. - In 2004, 93% of coal was used in electrical power generation and 7% was used for steel plants. - Half of the coal mined today is exported by ship to steel producers.- The price of coal rises and falls in a cycle, because of this, sometimes mines close and sometimes new ones open.- For example, in 2001, a coal mine in Nova Scotia closed.- Then, in 2004, there was a rapid economic growth of coal in

China which caused Alberta and British Columbia to open up more mines; even a new mine opened in Nova Scotia!

- Usually found together- Formed billions of years ago in shallow seas; heat

and pressure converted layers of organic animal remains into coal and gas.

- Canada’s gas production mainly comes from western parts of the boreal plains and prairie ecozones mainly in Alberta and adjoining parts of Saskatchewan, British Columbia, and North West Territories.

- Oil production includes: 1) Oil that’s pumped from the ground. 2) Synthetic crude oil created from oil sand.

2)OIL AND GAS

- Produced by generators.- Generators convert mechanical

energy into electrical energy.- Companies try to produce as

much electricity as possible for as cheap as possible to try to help the economy.

3) ELECTRICITY

- Hydroelectric stations can be built anywhere with a steady water flow like a river or a stream.

- Hydroelectric power is generated from water moving from high elevation to low elevation, like demonstrated in this picture:

4) HYDROELECTRICITY

• Produced by steam turning turbines.• Steam produced by burning coal, oil, natural

gas, wood, or even garbage.

5) THERMOELECTRICITY

Nuclear6) NUCLEAR

Nuclear energy is similar to thermal electricity, however, instead of burning

resources to produce heat, nuclear energy uses the breakdown of

radioactive uranium atoms.

ECONOMIC BENEFITS

Canada’s energy resources create many jobs, and bring in lots of money to the Canadian economy.

For example in 2003….

• 6% of the GDP was created by energy industries.• Energy industries provided over 230 000 jobs. And…

• Canada has been a net exporter since 1969,Meaning that the amount of energy related exports, are larger than the amount of energy related imports.

Above you can see that Canada is a net exporter in energy resources/ products.

ECONOMIC BENEFITS

Coal• Due to Canada's coal industry, over 55 000 jobs were

created.

• It adds around $4.5 billion annually (GDP).

• Coal export was worth $1.9 billion in 2004.

ECONOMIC BENEFITS

Oil sands• Currently Provides over 75 000 jobs.Expected to provide around 905 000 jobs 2035.

• Oil sands is expected to add $2.1 trillion to Canada’s economy (over the next 25 years).

ECONOMIC BENEFITS

Natural gas• This industry is expected to provide over

317 000 jobs by 2035. • Trade: Canada is the 3rd largest natural

gas exporter in the world. Provided $1.5 billion in export revenues.

Human Resources

• Energy industry includes jobs that are of production in fuel extraction and manufacture.

• The workforce includes people that are willing to work in an area where toxins and harmful surroundings are exposed.

• The multiplier effect energy has in other sectors are when we ship coal that has been mined in the energy industries.

Even though there are many advantages to energy usage, there

are also many disadvantages.

PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED

• Burning coal emits dangerous waste such as: carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, sulphuric acids, arsenic and ash.

• Coal mining can scar the landscape and the equipment is noisy, which harms the local wildlife.

• There are only limited stocks of coal left, since it is non-renewable, so it will run out in the future.

COAL

- Difficult to find oil and gas: have to look for certain geological structure and they are located hundreds of meters underground.

- Oil and gas are both non renewable energy sources, which means they will eventually run out and take millions of years to form again.

- Oil is usually transported by “supertanker” and it is not very common, however if it does leak, it can be extremely hazardous to the environment.

- Many products obtained from oil usage are useful and beneficial; however some are extremely toxic.

- Gas is extremely flammable, so it needs to be handled very carefully.

- Creating the pipes that are used to transport gas can be extremely expensive.

OIL AND GAS

A super tanker carries coal from one destination to another, and can be very

dangerous if it leaks.Mining for coal.

• Plants expensive to build.• Sites often far away from where electricity is needed

and this often causes costly transmission lines to be built.

• Since there is a lot of flooding, dangerous chemicals, such as mercury, can be released into the environment from rocks under the reservoir.

• The change in the water patterns of the rivers may negatively affect the ecology and habitats of the animals living in the area; this causes them to rebuild plants at extremely expensive costs.

HYDROELECTRICITY

A hydroelectric dam broke which caused the water to flood and

chemicals to be released into the environment.

• Nuclear energy is quite dangerous because if the radioactive fuel is not handled with care, then it may harm, or even kill thousands of people.

• The waste products from nuclear power plants remain dangerous for 100,000 years, and there has been no permanent solution to get rid of these wastes.

• The plants used to create thermal electricity cause a ton of air pollution and contributes to global warming.

• Oil, and sometimes coal, produce the gases that are responsible for acid rain.

NUCLEAR AND THERMAL

Conclusion

There are many types of sources of energy that are essential for today’s modern resources.Each type of energy industry is beneficial to our economy which makes Canada a developed country.The energy industry could expand more in the future making Canada even more developed and have more employment opportunities which result in more wealthy Canadians.

BibliographyMaking Connections- Canada’s Geography

http://www.capp.ca/energySupply/nationalEconomicContribution/Pages/default.aspx

http://www.imperialoil.ca/Canada-English/operations_ngas_benefits.aspx

http://oilsands.alberta.ca/economicinvestment.html