Unit 11

1.

a. The cultural ties provided by being a part of communites like the British
Commonwealth promote unity between the nations and link the nations
together in some way. Any way is beneficial. But being a part of such a
community means you are indebted to be a part of it. Some things may arise
that a country may not want to deal with, but they end up having to share
the burden of it. I think Canada definitely should continue its participation in
the British Commonwealth since they have been a British colony for
centuries.

b. It would be excellent for the Canadian economy if we developed closer

economic and trading ties with other nations, to create greater economic
stability and balance. By only having close trading relations with one country,
if that country goes down into a recession, your economy does as well, since
you lose countless revenues that would have been generated if you still
exported goods to them (likely a country in recession would not be importing
goods as wealthily as a prosperous one).

c. I think we should increase our contributions. We are known as a country of

peace-keeping, and generally peaceful and philanthropic activities, so why
not be one of the world's elite in this?

d. We can give it in the form of tied aid, but this has its own controversies,
for some think it is too restrictive for the nation receiving the aid. But another
way would be to hand it into the right hands, not any political party. Many
international organizations distribute it properly and by giving it to these for
their use they can use it to sponsor relief efforts.

e. I think the top five environmental concerns are acid precipitation, the
disposable of unrenewable toxic wastes(such as those created in nuclear
generators), air/atmospheric pollution(contributing to ozone depletion),
deforestation, and soil erosion. I don't classify global warming in here
because it is simply a cycle of climate change, albeit accelerated because of
the atmospheric pollution. I think that we can focus our attentions on these
areas of concern, and if these are dealt with we will have reached a
considerable level of self-sustainability that will definitely benefit the earth.

2.

a. In fact, the Bible actually supports and instructs people in valuing women
for who they are. The reason people think it causes discrimination is because
of the place it puts women, which is primarily as homemakers and not
employees in the workforce. Feminists think this place is a lower place in
society than men generally have, when in truth it is the most important place
anyone could hold. As the saying goes, 'the hand that rocks the cradle rules
the world'.

b. The most visible difficulty that comes with a shrinking population is the
fact that the older generations are going to retire with age, and the younger
generations, being smaller, mean that the workforce will shrink. This could
cause untold problems. It means there will be more elderly people than
young people... can someone please tell me how that sustains a country?

The only options to fix this are to have more children, or bring in more
immigrants. I think the second is probably the one most desirable by most
Canadian women these days (now that the feminist movement has taken
such a toll, and abortion is legal), so we should focus our attention on that.

c. Quite simply, I would take the statistics and put them together. I would
take the average life expectancy of the country, the percentage of children
enrolled in school, and to grasp the finances of it all, I would take the average
incomes of Canadians, the distribution of wealth, the buying capacities of the
country, and other financial aspects.

d. There aren't many advantages to urbanization other than those of the

individual, who has a better chance of finding work in the cities. The
disadvantages are numerous. Urbanization means packed, densely populated
cities, and thus disposal of waste takes a toll on the environment.
Urbanization meant there was more homelessness as people lost jobs, lost
money, and homes could not be found for a low price. Natural resources are
being depleted as consumerism skyrockets, and urbanization also means
deforestation and other environmental destruction as urban centres expand.

3.

a. Global warming is simply a part of the regular climate change cycle that
has come and gone throughout the history of time. There is a warming, and a
cooling, in a constant cycle. The amount of fossil fuel emissions has, though,
very slightly altered this and as emissions build up in the atmosphere they
hold the heat in more efficiently. As the average heat is slightly higher in
some parts of the world, one can expect some environmental changes; any
that would change because of higher temperatures.

b. Ozone depletion means that more of the sun's ultraviolet rays pass
through to the earth, which can be harmful. The most ozone depletion came
when CFC's were used regularly in products, and now the harm has mostly
gone, and only time with reverse the damage.

c. Perhaps loggers could clear the forests in cycles. As some parts of the
forest grow into mature forest systems, clear other parts. Re-plant them with
saplings, and move on. It wouldn't be quite as productive but it would sustain
the forests. Selective cutting would be more ecologically sound as well.

d. We use water for countless things. For drinking, for cleaning, for cooking,
for gardening, for sports (water sports, and others such as ice hockey), but
mostly it is for our own self-preservation, and ecological sustenance. We
could cut back on consumption by conserving the water, and not using it in
such quantities, and certainly not wasting it. We need to keep it as fresh and
free of chemicals as possible, since that would reduce the amount of truly
'fresh' water even further.

4.

a. International date line: the imaginary line separating the eastern and
western hemispheres.

Grid: reference lines on a map, set equally apart horizontally and vertically.

Multispectral scanners: scanners that use different parts of the

electromagnetic spectrum.

Remote sensing: an instrument such as a radar that gathers information

about earth (or any other object, for that matter) from space.

b. What I see Canada becoming is a greater world force in peacekeeping and

foreign aid operations, and a greater military force as well. We may lose
some identity due to the influence of the U.S., but not enough to seriously
change our culture (that is what I'm hoping, at least). I think that when most
of the world turns against Israel, as the Bible prophecies, Canada will stand
with them, as Stephen Harper said they would (of course, that could change
as new governments come and go). As environmental concerns relax and
become less of a worry, and more of a lifestyle (as they move from an 'idea'
to an 'action'), we can focus on other things as well, and Canada will advance
technologically with the other developed nations. Of course, if war breaks out
between the U.S. and Russia, we might have that to worry about, since we're
right between the two countries.