Ottawa Wellbeing Report – Environment This is part of a series of reports that provide a snapshot of community wellbeing for Ottawa. Following the Canadian Index of Wellbeing framework, each report presents data from the eight domains of wellbeing. These domains are: Community Vitality, Democratic Engagement, Education, Environment, Healthy Populations, Leisure and Culture, Living Standards, and Time Use. This report presents data for the Environment domain. Due to gaps in available data at the local level, data are presented on selected indicators within the eight domains of wellbeing. Furthermore, some of the indicators found in Ottawa reports differ from those in the Canadian Index of Wellbeing. In this report, the data are presented for the City of Ottawa or the Ottawa-Gatineau region, where specified. Where possible, data for Ottawa are compared to those for Ontario and/or Canada.
Key Messages •
The Ottawa-Gatineau region produces about 7.5 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per capita, fewer compared to the national estimate of 23 tonnes.
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While an increase was observed in the total amount of residential in Ottawa being recycled and composted during the period 2001 to 2010, the percentage of residential waste diverted to landfills increased from 33% in 2009 to 40% in 2010.
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The quality of the Ottawa River water is classified as good to excellent when it enters Ottawa. However, it is classified only as good when it leaves the region.
The environment provides the resources that fuel our economy and lays the foundation upon which human societies are built (Morgan, 2011). The Canadian Index of Wellbeing measures the use of our natural environment from the aspects of: quality and sustainability of our resources, and waste and damage prevention (Morgan, 2011). The indicators found in this domain include usage, production, and/or quality of the air, energy, non-renewable resources, and biotic resources. This report presents selected indicators from the Environment domain of the Canadian Index of Wellbeing for Ottawa (refer to Table A1 of the Appendix for a list of indicators). What is the current data telling us? Greenhouse Gas emissions A small group of greenhouse gasses (GHGs) that includes carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and water vapour, trap solar energy that radiates from the Earth’s surface as heat, helping to regulate the Earth’s climate (Morgan, 2011). The emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs) was selected due partly to the significant contribution that human-made GHS emissions make to climate change (Morgan, 2011). The atmospheric concentrations of GHGs have reached record high levels where such levels can have 1
significant impacts on wellbeing in a multitude of ways (Morgan, 2011). The impacts of climate change can affect wellbeing by altering leisure activities, decreasing democratic engagement, increasing adverse health outcomes including respiratory disorders to infectious diseases, and changing the economy through droughts and floods (Morgan, 2011). In 2008, the Ottawa-Gatineau region produced about 7.5 tonnes of GHG per capita. Of this amount 27% was produced to heat and light homes, 26% to operate commercial, industrial and institutional buildings, and 40% to drive our cars and transport goods (City of Ottawa, 2011). These findings indicate that motor vehicles are the major contributor to GHG emissions in the Ottawa region (City of Ottawa, 2011). The greenhouse gas (GHG) emission per capita for OttawaGatineau of 7.5 tonnes is much lower than the national per capita estimate of 23 tonnes, which is close to the top worldwide (City of Ottawa, 2011). It is important to note, though, that GHG emission measures are skewed to regions with activities that produce more emissions, like energy production and industry (City of Ottawa, 2011). With limited energy production activities, Ottawa produces fewer emissions compared to regions with more of these activities (City of Ottawa, 2011). Non-renewable resources Unlike renewable materials that tend to break down into organic nutrients, non-renewable materials tend to be transformed and accumulate (Morgan, 2011). The high consumption rate in current society, coupled with a one-way flow of materials to landfills, can lead to detrimental environmental damages (Morgan, 2011). The per capita waste disposal and diversion rate in an indicator of how much of what humans consume are being diverted to landfills to accumulate and how much gets repurposed (Morgan, 2011). In Ottawa, the amount of residential waste produced has increased over the period 2001 to 2010 along with population growth (City of Ottawa, 2011). Despite an increase in the total amount of waste being recycled and composed during this same period, the percentage of residential waste diverted to landfills increased from 33% in 2009 to 40% in 2010 (City of Ottawa, 2011). Freshwater Agriculture, industrial activities and household activities affect the quality of both surface water and groundwater in Canada (Morgan, 2011). Poor water quality can produce a range of effects on aquatic life, human uses of water (e.g., for drinking, recreation, industry, and agriculture), forests, and wetlands (Morgan, 2011; City of Ottawa, 2011). The quality of the Ottawa River water entering the OttawaGatineau region is classified as good to excellent based on the Water Quality Index developed by the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment. However, this rating drops when it leaves the region. As a result of human activities occurring in the Ottawa-Gatineau region, the quality of water in the Ottawa River changes as it passes through the region. It stays within the ‘good quality’ range but loses quality as it flows from west to east.
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References City of Ottawa. (2011). 2011 Sustainability Baseline – Choosing our Future: 2011 Report on Sustainability. Retrieved from http://ottawa.ca/calendar/ottawa/citycouncil/occ/2012/0222/ec/03-Document%202%20-%20FINAL%20BASELINE%20EN_Feb14.pdf. Morgan, A. (2011). Environment – A report of the Canadian Index of Wellbeing (CIW). Waterloo: Canadian Index of Wellbeing.
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Appendix Table A1. A comparison between deadline indicators from the Environment domain of the Canadian Index of Wellbeing and the indicators presented in this report. Domain
Canadian Index of Wellbeing Headline Indicators Environment Absolute Greenhouse Gas emissions – megatons of carbon dioxide per year Viable Non-Renewable Energy Reserves Index Freshwater indicator – Water yield in southern Canada (cubic kilometres) Primary energy production (petajoules) Ground-level ozone – population weighted in parts per billion Viable Metal Reserves Index Canadian Living Planet Index Marine Trophic Index
Indicators presented in this report Greenhouse Gas emissions – tons of carbon dioxide per capita Total tonnes of residential waste recycled and total tonnes sent to landfill per quarter; Percentage of residential waste diverted Water quality rating of the Ottawa River
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