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Unit 3 Conclusion, water pollution

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Throughout our last unit of geography, we learned about the natural resources and how humans should manage them. We had class discussions and watched videos about drilling oil, marine pollution, agricultural practises, and many more. In this blog, I'll be talking about marine pollution. Since, this topic interested me the most throughout this unit. Firstly, marine pollution is occurring all around the world to different extents. With some places such as India and China facing the most severe pollution out of most other countries in the world. Marine pollution can occur from waste such as sewage, plastic, and others being dumped into the water. It can also be caused by oil spills. A prevalent issue arising from oceans being contaminated is the marine life facing existential threats and some marine species even dying off. There have been countless ocean creatures which have consumed plastics and have died off after consumption. Another problem is coral bleaching. Sedimentation, t...
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Unit 3, Entry 2: Should Canada Export its Water?

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Last week, we raised some important questions in class related to water stress and Canada's water issue. We were asked to stand up and move to different parts of the room based on our belief of whether Canada should or should not export its water. Due to this activity, I got inspired to write a blog about this topic. Now, you might think, Canada is a water rich country, so what's the problem? Well, though Canada may have more than enough water, exporting it, will leave barely enough water for the Canadian population. As, global warming occurs more and more rapidly, and more countries face severe water issues and drought, the question occurs if Canada should export its water or not. Now, it's important to recognize that Canada has the right to its own water and how that water is managed. Currently, if global warming continues at the same rapid rate, threats such as water shortages are possible for Canada in the future. One of the main issues with exporting water is the c...
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Unit 3: Entry 1, Canada's Oil Drilling Practises

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When we began this unit, we started talking about Canada and its oil drilling practises. These habits often prove to be more harmful than benefiting. While drilling oil can bring in new corporations, money, and job opportunities to Canada and Canadians, it also poses a lot of environmental issues. Such as oil spills which kill marine life, pollute the waters, and are very difficult and costly to clean up. In just 2011, there was a disastrous oil spill of 28 000 barrels of oil. There have also been many reports of humans facing health issues due to oil spills. For instance, when one area of Alberta experienced an oil rupture, reports of seizures and other health issues increased. There is also now a rising conflict between First Nation people, the Canadian government and the oil corporations. Since, the First Nations want to preserve the environment and advocate for animal rights, they also don't want their homes to be ruined or impacted from the oil drilling. However, the governmen...
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Unit 2 Conclusion:

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Over the course of this unit, we learned about human geography. We discussed important topics such as demographic patterns, refugees and immigration, and lastly, population growth. Today, we had a different geography class. Mainly because we had a guest speaker that came and talk to us about the Syrian Conflict and how it impacted their life. The guest speaker was a young man who's job was to help refugees flee from war. But before he talked, we watched a video about a young girl that was kidnapped by ISIS and escaped. We found out that she is now living in Canada and was in the same room as us! This was such a cool experience to have a young hero attend our school and even be in the presence with you while you are discussing important topics about global conflict. I wanted to talk about this experience because in my previous blog I explained how war can negatively impact people's lives. This relates directly to my message for this unit: war doesn't solve anything. I believ...
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Unit 2, Entry 2: Syrian Conflict and how it impacts lives:

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Over the past few weeks, we have been learning about human geography. We also discussed global conflict and how it impacts lives; specifically, the Syrian War. Firstly, the Syrian War affects people's lives by making them displaced. Over the course of the past few years, over 11 million Syrians became refugees and over 6 million Syrians are internally displaced; meaning that they are still inside Syria but still had to leave their home for another safer city. People who still remain inside Syria are facing other threats such as uncertain futures with lack of job and educational opportunities. Now, when I think about the Syrian conflict, I mainly think of the children and their families. Families sometimes have to witness the loss of their loved ones due to bombings/harsh living conditions. They have to walk in the blistering heat on foot for days. They may even die on their way to seek refuge in neighbouring countries. There have been many cases of death due to fatigue and lack of ...
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Unit 2: Entry 1 Geography Excursion

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On Thursday, October 18th, we went on a geography excursion to Downtown Toronto in Cabbagetown and Regent Park. We learned about the gentrification and revitalization of Toronto.  I saw many interesting things. For example, there were buildings that were being rebuilt and there was a lot of construction work happening. I noticed that the neighborhoods both had features that increased people's well beings. As well, these factors lead to higher life expectancy and many more benefits. For example, Regent Park had a community center with a pool; a lot of people were enjoying their time at the pool; most of the people there, were moms with their toddlers. So, it's clear that the planners of the Regent Park community, wanted some activities for families. Seeing the community center was important to me because these small things increase people's mental and physical well being. Regent Park had a park filled with different types of playground "equipment". There were swing...
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Unit 1 Conclusion:

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Throughout our first geography unit, we learned about climate change, natural disasters (earthquakes, volcanoes, hurricanes tornadoes, etc..,), protecting Canada's biodiversity, and many more. This week, we watched a documentary by star actor, Leonardo DiCaprio. The documentary was titled "Before the Flood"; it discussed (in my opinion), important factors/causes of climate change and how to stop the issue. For instance, how burning fossil fuels negatively impacts the environment and leads to rising sea levels and pollution. The interesting part of the documentary was about the pollution; many countries around the world have air pollution. In some places, the air pollution is so severe that people have to wear face masks to go outside. Additionally, the residents are at a risk of developing cancer and other health related issues. When I heard about this, I thought about how lucky Canada is to have something as simple as clean air. My favourite part about this unit was...
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