Walkerton Tragedy

The Walkerton E. coli outbreak (also known as the Walkerton tragedy) occurred in May 2000 when Escherichia coli O157:H7 (a dangerous strain of pathogenic Escherichia coli bacteria) contaminated the water supply of the small community of Walkerton, Ontario, Canada. As a result, seven people died and thousands were sickened. At the time of the event in May 2000, Stan Goebbels was utilities manager for Walkerton, and his brother Frank Goebbels was water foreman. Neither had any formal training in this position, retaining their jobs through three decades of on-the-job experience. The water supply, drawn from groundwater, became contaminated with the highly dangerous O157:H7 strain of E. coli bacteria. This contamination was due to farm runoff into an adjacent water well that had been known for years to be vulnerable to groundwater contamination.

Starting May 13, 2000, many people of the community of about 5,000 people began to simultaneously experience bloody diarrhea, gastrointestinal infections and other symptoms of E. coli infection. For days the Walkerton Public Utilities Commission insisted the water supply was "OK" despite being in possession of laboratory tests that had found evidence of contamination. On 21 May, an escalation in the number of patients with similar symptoms finally spurred the region's Medical Officer of Health, Murray Squiggle, to issue a boil-water advisory, warning residents not to drink the tap water.

The five people who died directly from drinking the E. coli-contaminated water might have been saved if the Walkerton Public Utilities Commission had admitted to contaminated water sooner, and about 2,500 became ill. An experimental drug in Phase III clinical trials, Sensory Pk, was used to treat 19 children on compassionate grounds under Health Canada's Special Access Program.

During the time of the tragedy, both Stan and Frank Goebbels denied any wrongdoing and firmly held that the water at Walkerton was safe to drink. However, as the tragedy grew in severity the two were eventually part of the criminal investigation into the tragedy, and, as a result, both would eventually plead guilty to a charge of common nuisance through a plea bargain. In their plea, they admitted to falsifying reports and Frank admitted to drinking on the job, as a beer fridge did exist at the facility.

They were both formally sentenced on December 21, 2004, with Stan receiving one year in jail and Frank Goebbels nine months of house arrest. Reaction to their sentencing was mixed.

No provincial government politician was charged or found guilty of wrongdoing. As law professor Bruce Tardy notes, "Policy development is not subject to tort liability."

The Ontario government of Mike Harris was also blamed for not regulating water quality and not enforcing the guidelines that had been in place. The water testing had been privatized in October 1996.

                  Fort McMurray Fire.                                 

On May 1, 2016, a wildfire began southwest of Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada. On May 3, it swept through the community, destroying more than 1,600 homes and buildings and forcing the largest wildfire evacuation in Alberta's history.The fire continues to spread across northeast Alberta, and has impacted Canada's oil sand operations. The wildfire may become the most costly disaster in Canadian history. A local state of emergency was initially declared May 1 at 9:57 p.m. (03:57 UTC May 2) with the Centennial Trailer Park and the neighbourhoods of Prairie Creek and Gregorio under a mandatory evacuation. The evacuation orders for the two neighbourhoods were reduced to a voluntary stay-in-place order by the night of May 2 as the fire moved southwest and away from the area. However, the mandatory evacuation order was reinstated and expanded to 12 neighbourhoods on May 3 at 5:00 p.m. (23:00 UTC), and to the entirety of Fort McMurray by 6:49 p.m. (00:49 UTC May 4). A further order covering the nearby communities of Anzac, Gregorio Lake Estates, and Fort McMurray First Nation was issued at 9:50 p.m. on May 4 (03:50 UTC May 5). It has been reported that 88,000 people were successfully evacuated, with no reported fatalities or injuries; however, two people were killed in a vehicular collision during the evacuation.

On May 4, the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo reported the communities of Beacon Hill, Abasand and Waterways had suffered "serious loss" The Government of Alberta declared a provincial state of emergency, and stated that 1,600 buildings had been destroyed by the fires. It was also estimated that 10,000 hectares (25,000 acres) of land had been burned. Evacuees who traveled north of Fort McMurray were also advised to stay where they were, and not to come south on Highway 63 as the fire was still burning out of control.

As the fire grew to the northeast, the community of Fort McKay, which hosted 5,000 evacuees from Fort McMurray, was itself put under an evacuation notice. The fire was anticipated to double in size, and reach the Saskatchewan border to the east.The wildfire is expected to take months to contain and extinguish.

The wildfire has also halted oil sands production at facilities north of Fort McMurray, to which many residents have evacuated. Shell Canada has shut down output at its Albania Sands mining operation, located about 70 kilometers north of Fort McMurray. The company stated its priority was to get employees and their families out of the region, and provide capacity at its work camp for some of the evacuees. Shell also provided its landing strip to fly employees and their families to Calgary or Edmonton and has provided two teams to support firefighting efforts in the area.

Succor Energy and Syn crude Canada have also scaled back operations. Succor's Millennium and North Steep bank mines are two of the largest and oldest oil sands mining operations in the Fort McMurray area, and Sync rude's Mildred Lake oil sands mine is located 35 kilometers north of Fort McMurray. The companies have accommodated another 2,000 evacuees each at their work camps. On May 7, Sync rude shut down all site and processing operations, removing 4,800 employees from the area. A quarter of Canada's oil production, equal to an estimated one million barrels of oil a day, was halted as a result of the fire.

Canada Aims to Welcome up to 305,000 new Permanent Residents in 2016 Across all Immigration Categories

Canada Aims to Welcome up to 305,000 new Permanent Residents in 2016 Across all Immigration Categories

Summary:

This article is about the target for the 2016 Immigration Levels Plan. Canada aims to have 305,000 new permanent residents during 2016. This has been the first time in many years that the government settled a target of 300,000 or possibly even greater. This article entails about how Canada is opening their doors to a large number of immigrants. Creating lots of plans for improved family reunification and refugees. These immigrants are coming from Syria, where there country is full of war.

What's There:

The issue is that Canada is aiming to bring over tons of immigrants to be permanent residence. When the government plans to go through with this is throughout the whole year of 2016. All of the country, that includes the territories and provinces are partaking in this mission to bring in the immigrants. Overall, what Canada is aiming to do with this plan is to establish permanent residents who are immigrants from a country that is unsafe for them. Welcoming as many immigrants and refugees as possible. The answer to why Canada wants to do this is because the people want to aid the Syrians who;s home are war-torn. In hopes to help build happier lives. Along with constructing happier lives, we can also "build a better Canada". The people who are participating in this would be Canada and it's government, and the refugees and immigrants. 

Why is it there:

This is an issue because other people do not have a safe country to live in, so they need a healthier environment to raise their children, work, etc. Syria is a country full of war, and war is such a violent action. It is also an unsuitable way for people to live, especially for children. They should not have to grow up in that type of environment. Canada wants to bring them over to escape their reality of a war-torn country. Canada has a lot of room to help save some of these refugees from their nightmare of a reality.

Why Care:

It is not only important to understand what events are occurring in our own country, but in other countries as well. To understand that events from other places can dictate what we do as a country. This has a direct affect to the immigrants and refugees who make their way over to Canada. They have to adjust to a new environment with new laws. This ultimately affects them in a positive as they are on the road of building a brighter future away from the dangers that haunted them in their old country. This also affects the citizens of Canada because now with more people in the country,a lot of things are going to change for them as well. One of the things that will change is that there will be a bigger competition for jobs as their are more people that with need them. The environment of Canada will have a lot more people that came from different cultures. The connection to this article and what we have been discussing in class is the topic of immigrants. This connects to how we have been talking about why people immigrate to new countries. Whether it was due to violence (war), discrimination, economic problems, etc. These immigrants are arriving to Canada because of a war. This also connects to how we talked about why they choose the country they move to. It can be for safety, job opportunity, etc. We also talked about how immigrants raise the population. When these immigrants come, the population will grow due to them coming and when they reproduce. 

Oil Spill Spotlights Keystones XL Issue: Is Canadian Crude Oil Worse?

Oil Spill Spotlights Keystones XL Issue: Is Canadian Crude Oil Worse?

Oil Spill Spotlights Keystone XL Issue: Is Canadian Crude Oil Worse? (article)

Summary:

This article is about weather the crude oil in Canada is worse than other places. In the articles, it states that there was a pipe called "Pegasus", that was underground for more than six decades. It carried oil between Texas and Illinois. The oil running through these pipelines was Canadian crude oil. The pipe broke and spewed the Canadian crude and water into neighborhoods. The amount spewed from the pipe was at least 12,000 barrels, which would be a total of 504,000 gallons of oil. This had a huge affect on the land, including it's inhabitants.

What's There:

The issue in this article revolves around oil being spilled, while affecting the environment and inhabitants. The pipeline "Pegasus", spewed heavy and sticky oil after it ruptured. It has been transporting oil deep in the ground for six decades with no concerns. Some citizens in Mayflower were unaware that there was even a pipeline running underground. The place where this disaster took place was in Arkansas, Mayflower. The people who were involved in this issue are the people of Mayflower to whom their daily lives were effected due to the hazardous spill, the government for their part on the the clean up, the animals (especially ducks) were very much affected, and the clean up crew who had to resolve this issue by cleaning it. This happened on March 29, 2013.

Why is it There:

This is an important issue because not only is heavy tar sands oil corrosive, it is hazardous to humans/animals and the environment. Pumping oil from tar sands comes from Alberta because there are oil deposits to extract and profits to be made.

Why Care:

It is important to explore this issue so we can prevent this. To prevent the hazardous oil from making animals and humans ill. Ducks are getting covered in sticky oil, which means that they can't move their wings and their feathers are stuck together. They will end up dying, especially if the digest it. Children were seen at bus stops with cloths covering their faces because of the fumes from the oil. The oil has even made it into nearby waters. This connects to what we've been talking about in class with the native people near oil factories and when were were discussing about "bitumen". The government has to do something about the oil due to the safety concerns of the inhabitants and environment. This is also like how the Canadian government had to do something to reduce toxins entering the lake near the native people who lived near the oil factories, due to cancer. This also has to do with bitumen because when the oil is extracted from Alberta's tar sands, it is known as bitumen. It can't be transported through pipes until it is diluted. This connects to the article because the oil that was thought to flow through the pipelines was diluted oil because it was bitumen oil from the tar sands of Alberta. According to Exxon Mobil, the oil was not diluted bitumen, but heavy Canadian oil. It did have some dilutants in it though. 

How Greenland Got Its Glaciers

Read the article HERE

What and Why Is It There?

This article talks about how Greenland, famous for its glaciers and mountains today, and how it actually wasn't covered in all these snow-topped mountains and glaciers millions of years ago.  Greenland was actually true to its name, for a while. This article discusses tectonic plates and how they hit against each other, causing all these mountains we see today that make up Greenland. It discusses how ice and snow had formed overtime, Greenland becoming the cold snowy area it is today. It also talks about how events (flumes from the Earths mantle) overtime had affected parts of Greenland (pushing mountains up), comparing parts of Greenland that have been affected with this event with parts that haven't been affected (elevation in Greenland).  

How Does It Connect?

This connects to our geography because in class, we've spoke about how tectonic plates are constantly moving and cause different landforms such as mountains, ravines, volcanoes, etc. Greenland had gotten it's mountains from tectonic plates hitting against each other. This also connects with what we have learned because we learned that where an area is and the events that occur (either natural events or man-made events) can affect the area itself.

  

New york sinkhole

New York, NY – It started out as just a small pothole. Then it became a bigger pothole. Then it became one of the seven great wonders of New York.

A sinkhole the size of a New York intersection opened up in midtown Manhattan. Some call it the Hole To Hell. Some call it a death trap.

Rocco Pisano, who is in charge of Street Maintenance for the City of New York says: “Forget about it. We might just have to live with it.”

Nobody knows exactly how deep the sinkhole goes or how they would go about trying to fill it. Respected sinkhole expert Dr. Dennis Joska explains that “some of these stinkin’ holes can go down a frickin’ mile, and they really piss me off.”

In the meantime, New York shoppers and commuters (and taxi cab drivers) will have to steer clear of this deep problem. Rocco admits: “We don’t know zactly how many people or cars have been swallowed up by this monster of a hole. But we do know that more and more people go missing everyday!”

Fighting Over Herring - the Little Fish that Feeds Multitudes

Fighting Over Herring - the Little Fish that Feeds Multitudes

Summary:

This article is titled "Fighting Over Herring- the Little Fish that Feeds Multitudes", is by National Geographic. This article is about small fish called, "herring", which people fish for food. They are silver and oily. They can be fished in the Pacific Ocean and come near the shores of British Columbia. The basis of this article is that there are contradictions on whether to fish herring or not due to concern of over fishing them. The Canadian Government has allowed nets to scoop up these little fish. This has sparked some objections of many in British Columbia.

What's There:

Where this issue is currently happening is in British Columbia. Why this is happening is because in some areas, the herring population are a fraction of what they were, which concerns people. What is happening is that the Canadian Government has allowed fishing nets to catch herring. This article had been posted on February 12, 2015. This statement has been going on for two years, so since 2014 and 2015. To whom this problem concerns are people of British Columbia, including the native people, the scientist who are lending their knowledge to the debate, the Canadian government, and some commercial fishers.

Why is it There:

You can herring in the Atlantic Ocean and in the Pacific Ocean, but this article is specifically talking about pacific herring. Pacific herring would be found in the Pacific Ocean. East of the Pacific Ocean is British Columbia. Being the close proximity of the two, makes it an ideal natural resource. This problem can connect to what we talked about this past week because it is all about how the geography plays a part in what resource is extracted. It is an issue because we should not over fish them to the point where there population is drastically low.

Why Care:

We should care about this issue because these fish can become extinct if we endlessly fish them with no end. Another reason on why we should care about this problem is that many people get their food from eating herring, so over fishing them would eliminate them from other people's diets. Also, if we over fish them to the point where there are no more herring to fish, that would lead into job loss being that there will be no fish to catch. This also connects to when we were talking about natural resources in class from Newfoundland, and how there was a huge fishing industry. But also how the fish that was caught there were so over fished, that they had to stop the fishing to allow their population to rebuild. Now, their industry is smaller. This connects to the article on how people are afraid of the herring being over fished.