The Individual
Communities and Organizations
Glossary
Sources
An Environmental Citizen's Action Guide
Table of Figures
Figure 1 - Solar Energy
Figure 2 - Geological Time Scale
Figure 3 - The Water Cycle
Figure 4 - The Carbon Cycle
Figure 5 - The Greenhouse Effect
Figure 6 - Population Growth
Figure 7 - Population and Energy Consumption
Figure 8 - The Ozone Layer
Figure 9 - Atmospheric Variations during the Last
160,000
Years over Antarctica
Figure 10 - Acid Rain
Figure 11 - Tapwater Treatment
Figure 12 - Bioaccumulation and Biomagnification
Figure 13 - Primary Land Cover in Canada
Figure 14 - Canadian World Heritage Sites
Figure 15 - Composition of Residential Waste in Ontario, 1989
Preface
The challenge we face in the late twentieth century is that of
reorienting the development of human society along a path that does not
threaten the ecological health of the planet. In the 1980s, this came to
be known as the challenge of achieving 'sustainable development'.
This task will not be accomplished once and for all. Each community and
each generation will have to address the question of what sustainability
means, and how it will be achieved, in its own particular circumstances.
Without an active and informed citizenry this will not be possible.
Finding a new balance between the welfare of our species and the health of
the planet will require a high degree of environmental understanding and
commitment on the part of all members of society. In short, it will
require environmental citizenship.
At its simplest, the idea of environmental citizenship is that the
responsibilities of citizenship include responsibilities for the
environment. More broadly, it suggests that we are not just citizens of a
particular country, but also members of a larger community of living
things, whose home is the biosphere. Environmental citizenship means being
well prepared for membership in this community. It means being informed
about one's place in the biosphere, and acting responsibly on this basis.
The purpose of this primer is to provide an outline of some of the
basic knowledge, skills, and values that an environmental citizen might
need in Canada. It includes material on fundamental ecological processes,
on the relationship of human society with its environment, and on key
environmental issues that Canadians face today. Other primers are now
being developed that treat specific environmental themes in more depth.
Those now available deal with global warming, ozone depletion, spaces and
species, waste management, and fresh water.
Progress toward a more informed and more involved citizenry will not
occur unless there is a far-reaching and intensive national effort by
educators, environmental groups, businesses, community organizations, and
others all working together in mutually supportive ways. The environmental
citizenship primers are intended to support such a collective effort.
Comments are welcome. They should be provided to:
Environmental Citizenship Learning Program 25 Eddy St. Edifice Jules
L‚ger, 3rd floor Hull, Qu‚bec K7A 0H3
Getting Started
Environmental citizenship
means becoming informed and getting involved. It means acquiring a better
understanding of the environment and environmental issues. It also means
using this knowledge as the basis for responsible environmental action.
This section provides some suggestions on how to get started.
Where is a good place to begin?
Environment Canada has
identified four areas where it would be easy to make a start:
- protecting the atmosphere
- using water wisely
- protecting our natural and historical heritage
- reducing waste.
Why is it important to protect the atmosphere?
The atmosphere
performs a number of important functions. For example, it keeps the earth
warm by trapping the sun's heat near the Earth's surface. Without this
'greenhouse effect' the Earth's average surface temperature would be minus
18oC. Human activities such as fossil fuel burning and the destruction of
forests threaten to enhance this natural process, resulting in global
warming. Global warming could have serious ecological and economic impacts
in all regions of the country.
What can one do to protect the atmosphere?
Wise energy use
will help prevent global warming, as well as reduce smog and acid rain.
- Ask your utility for advice about energy efficiency.
- Consider compact fluorescent bulbs instead of high wattage
incandescent bulbs.
- Make sure your home, water heater, and hot water pipes are properly
insulated.
- Buy a programmable thermostat, which can automatically turn the heat
down at night and when you are away during the day.
- Don't use the car if you don't have to. Walk, bicycle, or use public
transit. Have you tried carpooling?
- Check your car's tire pressure every two weeks.
- When replacing an appliance, look for an energy efficient model.
Why is wise water use important?
Canadians use a lot of
water. The average Canadian family of four uses more than 1,500 litres of
water per day; about 75% of it is used in the bathroom. Clean water is not
free. Canada's water delivery and treatment systems are valued at over
$100 billion. And while a great majority of Canadians live in the south,
about 60% of Canada's water drains to the north.
What can one do to use water wisely?
- Install a toilet dam in your toilet tank.
- Switch to low-flow shower heads.
- Install a low-flow faucet aerator.
- Promptly repair leaks from faucets, taps, and pipes.
- When you wash or shave, use a partially filled sink instead of
letting the water run.
- Turn off the water when you brush your teeth.
- When replacing your toilet, consider installing the low-flush kind.
Why is protecting our natural and historical heritage
important?
Canada is home to a great diversity of spaces and
species. Canada's forests, for example, are home to more than 70 species
of mammals and 300 species of birds. Yet there are more than 200 plant and
animal species in Canada at risk of vanishing forever. We are not even
sure how many of our national historic sites are threatened, because some
have not even been identified.
What can one do to protect our natural and historical
heritage?
- Discover Canada's natural and historical heritage. Visit a park,
historic site, museum, or interpretation centre.
- Plant wildflowers and shrubs in your yard to attract birds and
butterflies. Put up a birdfeeder and birdbath.
- Get involved in preserving your community's heritage through your
local historical society or other cultural institution.
- Help wildlife in your community; plant a tree, clean up a stream, or
join a naturalist's club.
Why is reducing waste important?
Canada produces over 30
million tonnes of garbage annually, or about twice as much per capita as
the average European country.
Garbage collection is expensive. Waste collection and disposal cost
Canadians $1.5 billion annually. What's more, most of Canada's garbage
goes to landfill sites, which are rapidly filling up.
What can one do to reduce waste?
- Don't buy more than you really need.
- Avoid disposable or overpackaged products.
- Look for items made out of recycled materials, and for things that
you can re-use.
- Think twice before throwing something away. Can it be used again?
Can it be used by others?
- Learn about composting.
- Participate in your community recycling program.
1. Environmental Citizenship
This chapter explains the concept of citizenship, environmental
citizenship, and sustainability.
Citizenship
This section gives a brief outline of the concept of citizenship and
some of its implications for life in Canada today.
Q1.1
What does citizenship mean?
In a very limited
sense, having citizenship in a country means owning a passport from that
country and having the right to work and vote there. Yet there is far more
to citizenship than just early this. Being a citizen means having both
responsibilities and rights. The primary right and responsibility of the
citizen is to participate actively in the life of the community.
Q1.2
Where did the idea of citizenship come from? The term
'citizen' was first used to describe an equal member of a self-governing
community a member of a democracy. The phrase 'self-governing' indicates
that citizens took an active part in running public affairs. These were
two key notions involved in the concept of citizenship: equality and
participation.
Q1.3
How has the concept of citizen participation in the
affairs of the community changed over time? Participation originally meant
actual law and policy making by citizens. This was possible since early
citizen-communities were small city-states (smaller than most of Canada's
cities), and large portions of the population were not eligible for
citizenship. Today, our national community is quite large, and there are
no racial, financial, or gender restrictions on citizenship. In addition,
public-policy making has become increasingly complex. For these reasons,
the primary form of political participation today is voting in elections.
What hasn't changed in the practice of citizenship is the fundamental
notion that democracy consists of self-government government by the
people. More than ever this requires an active and informed citizenry one
that participates fully in the task of governance.
Q1.4
Is civic participation limited to voting in elections?
No. Active citizenship can take many forms. Many people are members of
organizations (charities, community organizations, or advocacy groups),
which aim to improve society in a variety of ways. As well, in newspapers
and other media citizens discuss, debate, and inform themselves about the
affairs of the community. Participation in the life of the community can
take many forms, each of which is important for the well-being of the
country.
Q1.5
What sort of responsibilities do we as citizens have?
Among others, Canadians all have a responsibility to vote, to obey laws,
to respect the rights of others, to care for the well-being of the
community, and to protect the environment.
Q1.6
What are the preconditions for effective citizenship?
For citizens to be able to take part in the management of public affairs
they must have certain basic skills literacy, for example.
They must also have some knowledge of the workings of the Canadian
political system. Finally, they must have some familiarity with the major
issues facing the country today. There is thus a close link between
citizenship and learning; active and effective citizenship requires an
informed citizenry.
Q1.7
Is the idea of citizenship limited to membership in one
political community? No. Legally, we are, of course, Canadian citizens.
Yet we are also members of a broader community the human species. As such,
we recognize responsibilities toward people outside of our own country. We
are, in an important sense, global citizens. More broadly still, we are
part of the community of life itself. Although we sometimes forget this
fact, membership in this community also gives rise to responsibilities.
Citizenship in this broader sense is not about voting or carrying a
passport, it is about recognizing one's membership in the community of all
living things, and acknowledging responsibilities toward this community.
Environmental Citizenship
The term 'environmental
citizenship' is a convenient way of describing the ethical obligations
that link us with other members of the biosphere. This section discusses
the concept of environmental citizenship and some of the issues related to
it.
Q1.8
What is 'environmental citizenship'? Environmental
citizenship is an idea the idea that we have responsibilities for the
environment.
Q1.9
What is the source of these responsibilities? Our
responsibilities are rooted in the communities to which we belong. The
most immediate of these is the family. On a larger scale, we are also part
of local and national communities. In fact, on a global scale, we are
members of the community of all human beings the human species. Each of
these communities can generate responsibilities. Environmental citizenship
is about recognizing that we are part of these communities, and
acknowledging the environmental responsibilities that membership in these
communities brings.
Specifically, we have an obligation to care for the Earth, our common
home.
It is possible, however, to consider environmental citizenship in a
larger perspective. We are, in fact, part of a still broader community the
community of all living things. In the broadest sense of the term, being
an environmental citizen means acknowledging membership in this community.
It means recognizing that it is up to each of us to make decisions that
reflect our responsibilities toward other members of the biosphere,
present and future.
Q1.10
Why does environmental citizenship include learning as
well as action? Being an active citizen means becoming involved. Being an
effective citizen, however, requires becoming informed as well.
Responsible environmental action requires understanding, not just
awareness and concern. Of course, we can't all be experts. But we can
learn enough to understand the issues and choices that experts put before
us.
Q1.11
Shouldn't we leave knowledge to the experts? Experts
have an important role to play in environmental questions, but they cannot
make all of our decisions. The choices we face frequently involve
decisions about who we want to be and how we want to live, individually
and collectively. These are decisions about what ends we want to pursue,
not about the technical means for pursuing them. There are no experts on
these sorts of questions; in a self-governing country, it is up to
citizens to decide. Making good decisions requires that we be able to
understand the options that experts put before us. Only an informed
citizenry can be an effective citizenry.
Q1.12
Why is environmental citizenship necessary today? One
of our most pressing tasks is that of balancing the overall development of
human society with the ecological health of the planet. Determining the
precise nature of this balance is a challenge that each human community
will face in the years to come.
Without an active and informed citizenry this will not be possible.
Defining a new social and ecological balance will require that people
understand their place in the community of life, that they recognize
responsibilities toward this community, and that they be prepared to take
action on this basis. It will require environmental citizenship.
Environmental citizenship will also be essential to achieving this new
balance. Although governments have an important role to play, our
environmental and developmental goals cannot be realized by government
action alone. Action by an informed and responsible citizenry is
necessary.
Q1.13
How can environmental citizenship contribute to the
achievement of environmental and developmental goals? Environmental
citizenship contributes in a number of ways. By encouraging learning and
independent action, for instance, environmental citizenship contributes to
preventing problems that would otherwise require difficult, costly
solutions.
Environmental citizenship also improves the quality of public policy. A
high level of knowledge able participation in the public debate
surrounding issues of environment and development stimulates the creation
and implementation of good policies. It also ensures that policies are in
the broad public interest, not just in the interest of a persuasive
minority.
Finally, environmental citizenship encourages the recognition of common
goals and values. While conflict is a natural feature of all social life,
the mark of a successful society is that it deals with conflict in a
constructive manner. It is crucial that the energy expended championing
one side or another of issues of environment and development be channelled
into finding workable solutions. Environmental citizenship encourages
Canadians to recognize the common ground that exists between them; it
promotes the recognition of shared objectives, and it involves action on
that basis.
Q1.14
Who can be an environmental citizen? Environmental
citizenship involves more than just 'buying green' and recycling at the
office; it involves environmentally responsible decision making in
everything we do. This means caring for the environment when we are acting
as members of communities or organizations, as well as when we are acting
just as individuals. In other words, we can think of individuals,
communities, and organizations as all being potential environmental
citizens.
Q1.15
Does environmental citizenship's emphasis upon
voluntary action mean that governments have no responsibility for the
environment? No. Independent action by citizens and organizations
complements collective action taken through elected governments, but does
not replace it. Both are essential.
Q1.16
Can voluntary action by citizens be legislated? No. It
is up to Canadians themselves to recognize the environmental
responsibilities that flow from citizenship. Only the free and conscious
acknowledgment of environmental responsibility will mobilize the energy
and creativity of society as a whole.
Q1.17
What is governments' role with respect to environmental
citizenship? Governments provide resources to help Canadians exercise
environmental citizenship. For example, many federal, provincial and
municipal government departments produce learning materials designed to
help Canadians improve their understanding of the environment. The primary
role of government, in this domain, is to act as facilitator or enabler,
helping Canadians help themselves.
Q1.18
What is the connection between environmental
citizenship and the ecosystem concept? The concept of environmental
citizenship is closely related to that of an ecosystem. An understanding
of the ecosystem perspective is essential for environmental citizenship,
while active environmental citizenship reinforces the holistic approach
required by the ecosystem concept.
Contained in the term 'ecosystem' is the term 'system'. A system
consists of a variety of different elements that function together as a
unit, each affecting, and in turn affected by, all of the other elements.
In a system, it is impossible to modify one element without affecting the
others. Everything is connected to everything else this is the major
lesson that the science of ecology has taught us.
This way of looking at things runs counter to our everyday perception
of reality. We normally see the world as composed of many different
distinct units rocks, trees, water, buildings. We deal with things like
this every day without seeing all of the processes that connect them. Yet
they are all parts of larger systems that relate them to each other, and
without which they would not exist. One of these systems (the largest and
most complex of them, in fact), is the ecological system in which we live
the biosphere.
Our tendency to view the world as composed of distinct units
atomistically, rather than holistically is aggravated in the case of the
environment by the fact that there has been a tendency in our society to
think of humanity apart from nature, not as a part of nature. Despite the
technological and economic changes of the past 200 years, we remain
enmeshed in ecological systems of great complexity. We are but one part of
a broader community of life.
An understanding of this fact is essential for environmental
citizenship. People cannot feel an ethical or moral obligation for
something to which they have no connection. If people do not see how
they as individuals interact with and affect the ecological community of
which they are part, they cannot feel any sense of obligation or
responsibility toward it. Without some degree of ecological consciousness,
people are unlikely to engage in responsible environmental action. In
other words, active environmental citizenship is rooted in an ecosystem
perspective.
In turn, environmental citizenship reinforces the ecosystem approach.
Being a citizen an equal, participating member of a community involves
responsibilities as well as rights. The ethical message of environmental
citizenship is simply that we all have a responsibility to care for the
environment. This responsibility derives from the fact that we are not
isolated units, but members of a broader community. At one level, this
community is the political community of Canadian citizens. At a broader
level, it includes the community of all humanity. At its broadest level,
it is the community of life itself. Acknowledging the responsibilities
that flow from this membership reinforces our awareness of
interconnectedness, which is the key to the ecosystem concept.
Toward a Sustainable Future
Over the last 30 years there has
been a growing realization that the health of the planet and the welfare
of our species are interdependent. A convenient label for this new
awareness is the idea of sustainability. Although it originally applied
only to the exploitation of renewable resources, the term 'sustainability'
has since developed a much broader significance. It has become the banner
under which a search for a new consensus on the future of our species is
being carried out a search for a new balance between the ecological health
of the planet and the development of human society in the broadest sense.
Q1.19
Where did the term 'sustainability' come from? This
term was first applied to the harvesting of renewable resources.
Literally, an activity is sustainable if it can last indefinitely. If a
renewable resource is harvested no faster than it can regenerate itself,
the resource can, in principle, be harvested indefinitely. This is often
referred to as 'sustainable use'. Any faster rate of harvest is
unsustainable, as the resource will eventually be depleted.
In the 1970s and 1980s there was a growing realization that the
environment and the economy are intricately linked. Increasingly, economic
prosperity and the ecological health of the planet were seen to be
interdependent, not inherently incompatible. During this period the notion
of sustainability expanded to cover economic activities in general, and
eventually human development as a whole, not just the harvesting of
renewable resources. Transcending the old division between supporters of
economic growth and supporters of environmental protection, the term
'sustainable development' held out the prospect of a new balance between
the health of the planet and the present and future needs of humans.
Q1.20
What is 'development'? At least since the Second World
War, 'development' has been seen as one of the goals that societies across
the world strive for. Initially it was conceived of in purely economic
terms as increased production through industrialization. Today, the term
is defined more broadly; development is simply considered to be a process
leading to the improvement of human well-being. Economic activity and
material living standards are still important, but it is understood that
development means more than just growth in Gross Domestic Product;
education, health, cultural integrity, a safe environment, and various
other goals are also important.
Q1.21
What is 'sustainable development'? Development is
sustainable if it lasts. Development that makes people better off today by
impoverishing them in the future is unsustainable. In 1987, the World
Commission on Environment and Development defined the term as development
that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of
future generations to meet their own needs. The basic idea is that if
'development' comes at the expense of the quality of the air and water or
at the expense of depleting renewable resources like fish stocks or
forests, it is hurting the welfare of future generations.
Q1.22
Can growth be sustainable? Strictly speaking, no.
Nothing can grow indefinitely in a finite world. Given the needs of people
in the world's poorer countries, however, as well as the speed of
population growth in these areas, many argue that economic growth is
necessary over the short and medium term. It was in this spirit that the
1987 World Commission on Environment and Development report entitled Our
Common Future called for a revival of growth in the developing countries.
According to this perspective the challenge is to make this growth as
ecologically benign as possible.
Q1.23
Is sustainability just about the environment and the
economy? No. Although the term has its origins in a new awareness of the
interdependence of the environment and the economy, the search for
sustainability transcends economics and ecology. It is an attempt to
strike a balance between the ecological health of the planet and human
development in the broadest sense: physical, cultural, and spiritual.
Q1.24
Does everyone agree on the definition of sustainable
development and sustainability? No. Although the general objective is
widely accepted to achieve a new balance between the health of the planet
and the meeting of human needs there is disagreement over exactly what
this new balance should be. How much growth is necessary, for example, and
where? Is traditional economic growth necessary at all, or are there other
ways to meet human needs? Is it only the needs of humans that count? To
what extent are inequalities of wealth 'sustainable '?
In addition, the practical implications of sustainability in particular
areas have yet to be worked out. What does sustainability mean for
forestry in Canada, for example? This sort of question raises ethical,
economic, and scientific issues that cannot be dealt with simply by
applying a general formula. Similar questions could be raised in all areas
of the globe for all aspects of human activity. Although the broad outline
of the goal of sustainability is clear, there is as yet no consensus on
many of the details.
Finally, the future will bring with it new circumstances and new
realities which will require us to rethink our goals and our means for
achieving them. It is thus inevitable that debates over the meaning of
sustainability will continue. It is not possible to determine in advance
exactly how such debates will work themselves out. The important point is
that we have begun the process; the search for a sustainable future is
under way.
Sustainability is, in this sense, less an answer to a question than the
question itself: how are we to balance the Earth's ecology and human
development?
Q1.25
What form will the search for sustainability take? The
form of this search for a new social and ecological consensus will vary
over time and in different regions of the globe. The following two
principles, however, will be key:
Interdependence. One of the key lessons we have drawn from the
science of ecology is
that all the elements of our world are
interdependent. This runs against a tendency in our society to see reality
in pieces, or under one aspect only. Up until recently, for example,
economic decision- making has been carried out separately from
environmental protection, even though economic and ecological systems are
interdependent. Rather than reacting to the ecological consequences of
economic decisions after the fact, a more holistic approach would be to
integrate environmental considerations into planning processes right from
the beginning. The search for sustainability is one that must take account
of all relevant factors: economic, ecological, social, cultural and so on.
Participation. Fundamental to the debate on sustainability is the
principle that everyone
affected by a decision should have a say in
that decision. The idea is that the debate must be global in scope and
that all stakeholders must be represented.
Q1.26
Are there examples of organizations that embody these
two principles? Yes. Canada's round tables on the environment and the
economy are a good example. Unique to this country, the round table
movement reaches across institutional lines, bringing together people from
all parts of society government, industry, environmental groups, unions,
universities, native peoples in an attempt to define a new consensus on
development and environmental issues.
Q1.27
What is the connection between environmental
citizenship and the idea of a sustainable future? The task the human
community now faces is that of striking a new balance between the
ecological health of the planet and the well-being of all the members of
our species. This task will not be accomplished once and for all. Each
community, each nation, and each generation will have to address the
question of what sustainability means, and how it will be achieved, in
their own particular circumstances.
Answering these questions will require a citizenry that is informed
with respect to its place in the biosphere, and active in caring for it.
If we are to meet the challenge of defining and achieving sustainability
it is essential that the citizens of the world have the means to be
effectively involved in decision making concerning their future. A global
community of environmental citizens, accepting responsibility for the
biosphere as a whole, is necessary if a sustainable future is to be
achieved.
