Pollution
The pollution in the Boreal Forest of Banff, Alberta, Canada is the increasing release of carbon into the atmosphere, which comes from industrial development. The high levels of stored carbon in the soil of boreal forests are impacted by the industrial development as it releases large sums of that stored carbon into the atmosphere. A sum of 186 billion tons of carbon was estimated to be stored in the boreal forest and peat ecosystems of Canada. With these large sums of carbon, mass amounts are released, causing a form of pollution to the atmosphere, global warming. Industrial projects such as logging and conversion of natural forests to managed forests release 28% of the stored carbon. In addition, oil and gas activities and peat extraction release stored carbon into the atmosphere. sdTherefore, the mass extraction of stored carbon from the boreal forests creating global warming is caused by the industrial development.
Effects of Pollution
The effects of industrial projects, such as extracting tar sands, will result in the destruction of three-fourths of a million acres of boreal forest and leave a complicated system of roads, pipelines, and wells over the rest of the area. In addition, the projects will disturb nearby ecosystems, deforest land, and result in three times as much greenhouse gas per barrel. These results damage the atmosphere as they contribute to global warming. Global warming in turn breaks down the boreal forests, as insect outbreaks will increase, causing acceleration in decomposition. The increase of decomposition will lead to a greater release of stored carbon into the atmosphere. Global warming also causes an influx of damaging forest fires, thus increasing greenhouse gases. Furthermore, global warming poses risks for the aboriginal communities that live near and off of boreal forests. These communities rely upon the plants and animals to survive. With the mass forest fires, the habitats of various wildlife are destroyed, leading to less food for the aboriginal communities, as well as the threat of the homes of those in the community being destroyed.