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Importance of ARB

The Athabasca River Basin (ARB) is important to all human and non-human residents of the basin/watershed. It occupies a large percentage of ..."

2011-05-26T17:52:35Z

Created page with "<nowiki><h1>Importance of ARB</h1> <p>The Athabasca River Basin (ARB) is important to all human and non-human residents of the basin/watershed. It occupies a large percentage of ..."

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<nowiki><h1>Importance of ARB</h1> <p>The Athabasca River Basin (ARB) is important to all human and non-human residents of the basin/watershed. It occupies a large percentage of the province of Alberta and a portion of Saskatchewan. Eventually its waters affect portions of Yukon and Northwest Territories via the Mackenzie River.</p> <p>The importance of the ARB is summarized in the following table. The examples are not an exhaustive list.</p>

<table border="0" width="100%">
<tbody>
<tr class="odd">
<td><strong>Importance of ARB</strong></td><td><strong>Examples</strong></td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<td>Human Survival</td>
<td>
<ul>
<li>oxygen production and carbon dioxide removal by plant photosynthesis</li>
<li>water for drinking and washing</li>
<li>food - both wild and farmed</li>
<li>fibers (especially wood)</li>
</ul>
</td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<td>Resources – renewable</td>
<td>
<ul>
<li>air, water and soil as raw materials for agriculture, forestry and industry</li>
<li>air and water for waste dilution</li>
<li>microorganisms for waste treatment, decomposition and soil production</li>
<li>wood for >12 lumber or plywood mills</li>
<li>wood fiber for 5 pulp mills</li>
<li>potential of hydroelectricity</li>
</ul>
</td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<td>Resources – non-renewable</td>
<td>
<ul>
<li>>25 pit, CSS and SAGD mines extracting oil from oil sands </li>
<li>100s of natural gas wells and processing plants</li>
<li>several coal mines (e.g. Cheviot Coal Mine)</li>
<li>a few peat extraction plants</li>
<li>100s of gravel pits</li>
</ul>
</td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<td>Recreation</td>
<td>
<ul>
<li>hiking, swimming, canoeing, fishing, hunting</li>
<li>skiing, snowmobiling</li>
<li>2 national and 30 provincial parks</li>
</ul>
</td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<td>Ecological problems</td>
<td>
<ul>
<li>water quality, especially toxic compounds and disease-causing organisms</li>
<li>natural toxins (e.g. mercury, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), cyanobacteria )</li>
<li>industrial wastes e.g. chlorinated organics</li>
<li>soil erosion from logging</li>
<li>agricultural chemical run-off and wastes</li>
<li>municipal wastes</li>
<li>water quantity – too little or too much as well as timing </li>
<li>toxic waste disposal (e.g. Swan Hills Special Waste Treatment Centre </li>
<li>global warming (e.g. melting of the Athabasca Glacier)</li>
<li>forest fires (e.g. Slave Lake, Chisholm, Virginia Hills, House River)</li>
</ul>
</td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<td>Political</td>
<td>
<ul>
<li>Treaty 8 used Athabasca River as a boundary </li>
<li>export of rural resources to urban areas</li>
<lidistribution of government taxes and benefits ></li>
</ul>
</td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<td>Intellectual interest</td>
<td>
<ul>
<li>Archeology and pre-history</li>
<li>History: early explorers, fur trade, river transportation</li>
<li>Biology: many unknown or poorly understood organisms </li>
<li>Geology (e.g. Athabasca flowed south via the Tawatinaw Valley)</li>
<li>Social and economic implications of the massive growth of oil sand development</li>
</ul>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table></nowiki>

Tables - Revision history

Coline: Created page with "Importance of ARB The Athabasca River Basin (ARB) is important to all human and non-human residents of the basin/watershed. It occupies a large percentage of ..."

Importance of ARB

Coline: Created page with "
Importance of ARB

The Athabasca River Basin (ARB) is important to all human and non-human residents of the basin/watershed. It occupies a large percentage of ..."