It has invaded wetlands across all of Canada, with extensive infestations occurring in southern Quebec, Ontario and Manitoba. Release of imported insects that eat this plant is being tried to stem this invasion. Several other exotic plants, including Eurasion-water Milfoil, an escapee from a home fish tank, and exotic animals such as the Zebra Mussel, discharged with ballast water from a foreign vessel into the Great Lakes, are also severely degrading native wetlands and freshwater ecosystems. Since the mid-1800s, about 320 billion tonnes of carbon have been pumped into the atmosphere from the burning of fossil fuels and the destruction of the world's forests, increasing the concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere by about 25 percent. Plants, animals and ecosystems will experience major changes more rapidly than they are able to adapt.
Wetlands are likely to shrink due to warmer, drier climatic conditions.
Sea levels may rise by as much as half a metre over the next century, flooding coastal areas. Species not able to cope with the changes will become extinct. Toxic Pollution Since WW II there has been a proliferation of human-made chemicals for use in every aspect of modern life. Many are toxic to life. Some, like the now-banned DDT, do not easily degrade and persist in soils, waters and may be magnified up in the food chain.