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Economic Performance:
Economy
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Environment
Quality
of Life
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Economic
Performance: Calgary's Balanced Approach
Environment
The Calgary region
enjoys a high quality environment due primarily to its location. The environment
has historically been a draw for migrants. As Calgary's growth continues,
pressure on the environment is building. Per capita energy use has continued
to rise, as have greenhouse gas emissions. The region has yet to become
active recyclers compared to other regions, such as Edmonton, Toronto
and Ottawa.
Water quality is high
and air quality is not a major concern. However, the result of growth,
investment, sprawl, and consumption patterns is the increasingly large
'ecological footprint' for the average Calgarian-9.2 hectares. Ecological
footprint refers to the amount of productive land and water required to
produce all the resources a person consumes and to take in all the waste
generated. If every individual in the world needed this much land to sustain
his standard of living, we would need several more worlds to support the
global population.
There are many efforts
underway to address emerging environmental and sustainability issues.
Sustainable Calgary has been a leader in bringing environmental issues
into the public forum. These and other efforts need to be strengthened
and co- ordinated to ensure a balanced approach to managing growth and
resources.
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