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Background
"We
need to better understand the environmental challenges before us
if we are to achieve our vision of a country where governments and
citizens make responsible decisions about the environment for the
benefit of present and future generations." ~ Honourable
David Anderson, P.C., M.P. Minister of the Environment
"The
goal of environmental education is to develop a world population
that is aware of, and concerned about, the environment and its associated
problems, and which has the knowledge, skills, attitudes, motivations,
and commitment to work individually and collectively toward solutions
of current problems and the prevention of new ones." ~Belgrade
Charter, UN
Waste
is an inevitable byproduct of living. All living things produce organic
waste. When we and other animals produce waste and eventually die,
other, mostly microscopic, organisms may use the energy in our waste
and dead bodies. This matter is reduced by decomposers and returned
to the soil, where it may be used again by plants.
Inorganic
solid wastes are produced at each stage in the process of taking raw
materials out of the environment, using them to manufacture products,
and then selling those products to individuals, governments, or businesses
who then, at the end of their useful life, either throw them away
or recycle them. Whether we throw something away or recycle it depends
upon our access to recycling depots, a market demand for recyclables,
and our attitude and behaviour.
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