Canada-wide Standards Canada-wide Standards are inter-governmental agreements developed under the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment to address environmental protection and health risk issues. For our purposes the standards for fine particulate matter and ozone are used. The standards represent a commitment to reducing the concentrations of fine particulate matter and ozone in ambient air.
Continuous Monitoring Continuous monitoring involves monitoring the quality of the ambient air on a continuous basis. This can provide the greatest resolution but may be costly due to capital and operating expenses. Data from continuous monitoring can be stored in different time blocks, such as one-hour averages or five-minute averages. Typically, fine particulate matter and gases such as O3 and SO2 are continuously monitored. Continuous monitoring can be carried out on a long-term or temporary basis.
Cumulative Effects Cumulative effects are the combined effects of past, present and foreseeable human activities over time on the environment, economy and society in a particular place. The combination of activities can produce effects that are different in scale, nature or extent from the effects of individual activities alone. (www.environment.alberta.ca/0890.html)
Land-use Framework In December 2008, the Government of Alberta released its Land-use Framework. Its purpose is to manage growth, not stop it, and to sustain Alberta’s growing economy, but balance this with Albertans’ social and environmental goals. The Land-use Framework will leave local decision-making authority with the same officials who currently exercise it. However, in the future, these decisions will have to be consistent with regional plans. Accordingly, the Land-use Framework consists of seven basic strategies to improve land-use decision-making in Alberta. (www.landuse.alberta.ca/AboutLanduseFramework/Default.aspx)
Management The process of addressing, dealing or controlling emission sources through the planning, monitoring, regulating of emissions or emission reduction programs.
Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) Toxic pungent reddish-brown gas formed by the reaction of atmospheric ozone with the nitric oxide produced from combustion.
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