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diff --git a/docs/tex/introduzione.tex b/docs/tex/introduzione.tex deleted file mode 100644 index 871dc1e..0000000 --- a/docs/tex/introduzione.tex +++ /dev/null @@ -1,180 +0,0 @@ -\chapter{Introduction} - -\section{History and culture of Canada} - -% [nao] -\subsection{Foundation} \label{foundation} -Canada is one of the largest countries on the planet, in fact, it is the fourth -largest country by land area with approximately 9 million square kilometers -\cite{statscan:statarea}. Located in the northern hemisphere of the American -continent, was first discovered by Europeans in 1497 with the expedition of -John Cabot. The name ``Canada'' seems to have appeared first in the 16th century -when Jacques Cartier, during his 3 voyages to the new world, heard a groups of -natives speaking the Iroquoian language referring to a village as -``Kanata''\cite{history}. During the following centuries both French and British -colonies were established which led to numerous conflicts the two between -empires and the natives. The government of Canada was created with the -proclamation of the Constitution Act in 1867, but the present the nationals -were established only in 1999 because after since its first foundation the -dominion had expanded multiple times. - -\subsection{The Flag of Canada} -\begin{figure}[h] - \centering - \begin{subfigure}[h]{.3\textwidth} - \includegraphics[width=6cm]{res/images/flag_of_canada.pdf} - \caption{Current flag of Canada} - \end{subfigure} - \qquad\qquad - \begin{subfigure}[h]{.3\textwidth} - \includegraphics[width=6cm]{res/images/canadian_red_ensign.pdf} - \caption{Canadian Red Ensign} - \end{subfigure} - \caption{Canadian Flags} -\end{figure} -The current flag of Canada was created in 1964, when the government had an -all-party parliamentary committee that prepare multiple designs. Before then -Canada didn't have its own official flag but instead used either the English -Union Jack or the Canadian Red Ensign, a red flag with a smaller Union Jack on -the top left and an ensign on the right side. -The simplest design was chosen by the parliament and the current flag was -adopted the 15 December 1964, just in time for the centennial celebration of -the confederation 3 years later. - -\subsection{Canadian Natives} \nocite{firstnations} -Before the arrival of the Europeans the northern American continent was -populated by various groups of indigenous peoples which today are referred as -First Nations (Premières Nations in French) or sometime incorrectly a -`Indians'.Within what today are Canadian borders there were 6 major tribes and -each one of them lived in a particular area of the continent. -\begin{wrapfigure}{r}{.4\textwidth} - \centering - \includegraphics[height=6cm]{res/photos/first_nations.jpg} - \caption{A group of First Nations People from the area known as Qu'Appelle - Lakes} -\end{wrapfigure} - -Each tribe had developed a particular culture based on the environment in which -they lived, for example on the west coast the Pacific Coast First Nation gave -thank to the sea because they lived mostly off fishing whereas the Iroquian -First Nation on the south organized many ceremonies during spring as they -gathered most of their food from agriculture. But there were some things that -all populations had in common, with the most important being their deep cult of -respect for resources offered by nature; everything from hunting to farming had -a ritual to honor the harmony between them, the world and the Creator. Another -cultural aspect that common among all First Nations was a complex social -organization system built around hunting developed over thousands of years. -Every tribe lived and hunted in a well defined territory in order to not -interfere with other clans and communal hunts took place on every summer. These -routines were especially practiced by northern populations that lived in -semi-desert cold environments, a few examples are the Mackenzie and Yukon River -Basins First Nations that lived where today is Alaska. - -\subsection{Colonization} -The colonization of the `new world' began shortly after its discovery, -Europeans started to build settlements in the new continent to explore the new -land and get its resources. The beginning of the economic growth of Canada -started with the birth of the `New France'. In the early 17th century King Henry -IV of France ordered to a group of colonists to build the first French -settlement on the continent, so the village of `Port Royal' was created. -Shortly after in 1608 a new settlement called Quebec Fortress was also built. -With these new colonies the French dominion had planned to colonize the -continent, but the harsh environment prevented any expansion. -\begin{wrapfigure}{l}{.5\textwidth} - \centering - \fbox{\includegraphics[width=8.5cm]{res/images/canada_settlements.png}} - \caption{Map of European settlements in 1702. Territories under the French - dominion are in blue while territories under the British Empire are in red.} -\end{wrapfigure} \nocite{canadasettlements} - -As a result, they -started to trade with locals, many goods were traded with First Nations in -exchange for fur and food to protect the settlers from the cold winters. -Later on the trade grew on a bigger scale and many resources were exported to -France, which helped the development of the existing and new settlements. -At the same time British colonies were also built. Because of the strong power -of the British Colonial Empire British settlements grew faster than the other -French colonies which caused a shift in power. As the 18th century began -Great Britain was the leading power in the trading market. As a consequence of -this in many treaties that came next France lost most of its territories while -the British expanded theirs. \\ - -In the 1800s timber became the most important product for exportation. Timber -exportation had already started in the preceding years but it was only in -smaller quantities. But with the war of Napoleon (1799 - 1815) timber became -essential for the french army to build ships and to expand the railways across -France. The blooming of this industry endured until the conclusion of the -Canadian Commonwealth\footnote{The Commonwealth of Nations is made up of 53 -countries, including Canada, that were for the most part once part of the -British Empire. They worked together on international policies to cooperate in -furthering economic development.} in 1987. At the time logging depended on -waterways for transportation, for that reason the main timber base were in Saint -Lawrence and Ottawa. - -\subsection{Industrialization} -In 1867 with the establishment of the North American Act the first Canadian -confederation was born. The newly founded Canadian Confederation moved the -original economy to a radically different institutional environment. Previously -under the control of the United Kingdom the development of the economy was -focused to export cities near the Atlantic Ocean such as Nova Scotia and New -Brunswick. But after the federal formation the center of the development was -moved into Quebec and Ontario in the mainland. In the following 50 years the -Canadian economy shifted more toward agriculture and livestock production and -the industry evolved to a strong economy thanks to the introduction of a new -railway system. In the 20th century Canada enjoyed a great era of prosperity and -industrial development during the post-war period. The economical alliance with -the United Stated contributed the most to the development of a modernized -Canada. - -\subsection{Modern Canada} -Today Canada has become a powerful country with a stable social and economic -system and it is a great contributor to various international projects. -The Canadian society today is known to be open and flexible to other cultures, -because of this the Canadian population is composed of many ethnic groups. -In Canada the official languages are English and French since the original -colonial powers that brought them there were France and the United Kingdom. -As official currency Canada uses the Canadian Dollar (CAD), As 2016 one Canadian -Dollar equals -\href{http://www.xe.com/currencyconverter/convert/?Amount=1&From=CAD&To=CHF}{ -0.76 Swiss Francs}. Canada's GDP (as Q2 2015) is more than twice ours -(Switzerland's)\cite{swisseconomy} with a market price at 1'996'804 millions of -Canadian dollars \cite{statscan:ecoimpexps} which roughly equals to 1.54 -millions of millions of Swiss francs. - -\section{Natural resources} -Canada's huge land area makes it one of richest countries from a natural -resources standpoint. Indeed Canada has the third largest reserve of crude oil -in the world and it is the second production of Uranium -\cite{nrcan:energyfactsbook}. But Canada is also a leader in renewable energy -production with a 18.9\% of total energy supply coming just from renewables -\cite{nrcan:renewables}. Even if most of the energy produced can be considered -eco-friendly Canada still relies heavily on non-renewable energy source as we -will see in the next paragraphs. - -\subsection{Crude Oil} -Oil has become has been increasingly become a valuable resource, since the -discovery of oil sands extraction technology. The desire for oil -independence from the USA and many other NATO states has given a lot of funds -for the development of this technology. -But for the environment this is not a good, according to a study conducted in -2014 \cite{statscan:ghgemissions}, GHGs (Greenhouse Gases) emissions caused by -oil extraction industries have increased by 63.5 millions of tonnes in the last -20 years. - -\subsection{Natural Gas} -Natural gas is the biggest energy source in Canada, mostly produced in Alta is -also a major cause of Nitrogen and VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) pollution. -Even though its extractions and refinement technologies are getting better, the -level of pollution has not gone down since 2010. In 2014 56.6 mega tonnes of GHGs -were released on the atmosphere. Combined with the oil extraction this economic -sector accounts for 26\% of total nation emissions \cite{statscan:ghgemissions}. - -\subsection{Coal} -Despite it makes up half of the world's energy source (mostly in China) and -there's an abundance of it, coal represents a minor element in the national -energy production, and almost half of the final product gets exported to Japan, -China and South Korea. Currently scientists are discouraging its usage because -of its high level of pollution and CO\textsubscript{2} emissions. Nonetheless -the research in the field of coal refinement, to produce what is called ``Clean -Coal'', is still being supported by the government in order to use the enormous -quantity lying beneath the Canadian surface. |