JUST THE FACTS
Sustainable Development
• Percentage of non-traumatic death in Canadian cities that is attributable to air pollution
caused by burning fossil fuels: 8%
• Current percentage of carbon dioxide produced by burning fossil fuels compared
to pre-industrial carbon dioxide levels: 31% greater
• Amount of national Greenhouse gas emissions levels caused by actions of individual
Canadians: six tonnes per person
• Percentage of nitrogen oxides produced by burning fossil fuels in vehicles, homes
and industries: 95%
• Amount of carbon dioxide reduced by one million telecommuters working from home
one day a week: 250 million kilograms
• Amount of water required to manufacture one litre of gasoline: 10 litres
• Amount of oil that can contaminate two million litres of water: one litre
Urban and suburban smog
• Canadian population living in areas where ground-level ozone reaches unacceptable
levels during the summer: more than half of all Canadians
• Effects of ground-level ozone, even at low levels:
· In humans — acute respiratory problems, inflammation
of lung tissue, impair immune system defenses
· Reduces productivity of agricultural crops with significant
effects on forests
• Two air pollutants that produce ground-level ozone: nitrogen oxides and volatile
organic compounds
• Ozone concentrations in Ontario and Quebec areas: over twice the air quality objective
of 82 parts per billion
• Regions in Canada that are most prone to urban smog: Windsor-Quebec City Corridor
in Eastern Canada, British Columbia’s Lower Fraser Valley and Southern Atlantic Region
Green Space
• First North American city to enforce legislation implementing green roof technologies:
Toronto
• Planning concept that seeks to recreate the pedestrian-friendly cities of the
19th and 20th centuries: New Urbanism
• Number of National Parks in Canada: 43
• Percentage of the total area of Canada that the 43 parks cover: 2.2%
Governments and urban planning methods
• Largest intergovernmental gathering in history: United Nations Earth Summit
in 1996
• Number of Canadian cities that are members of the ICLEI — Local Governments
for Sustainability, which developed the Melbourne Principles: total of 20 cities from Ontario,
British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Quebec and Alberta
• Canadian city that has become the envy of urban planners who are imitating similar
models worldwide: Vancouver
Transit
• Public transit use by an average Canadian urban resident versus an average
U.S. urban resident: 2.7 times more
• The average trip distance travelled by automobile in Toronto versus an average
U.S. city: half the distance
• Four cities using biodiesel in their transit systems: Brampton, Saskatoon, Montréal
and Tofino
• By 2010, amount of biodiesel the Canadian government aims to use annually: 500
million litres
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