Value-added wood products in Ontario
The province’s forest industry is supported mainly by the Northern Ontario boreal forest. These are the expansive and renewable resources that are drawn upon for the creation of value-added products. The geographical area covers 690,000 square kilometers which is roughly 17% of all Canadian forests as well as 2% of the world’s forests. It is estimated that the Ontario landscape is covered by roughly 85 billion trees. The forest industry in Ontario brings in about $10.8 billion in revenue per year. Sixty percent of Ontario’s forest industry is recognized as value-added wood products. In 2005, Ontario’s manufacturing of cabinets and furniture represented $2.2 billion.
Ontario tobacco belt
Should the sea levels rise by , the Ontario tobacco belt would not be affected by flooding. However, it may be affected by droughts as a by-product of the dislocation of available fresh water and may be forced to rely on desalinated salt water piped in from the Eastern United States. Constructing the proper infrastructure to carry the water hundreds of miles away would take considerable manpower along with significant economic costs and an unprecedented level of cooperation from multiple federal, state/provincial, and municipal governments. Another possible outcome of the global climate change would bring back desertification into the Lake Erie portion of the tobacco belt. Any grasslands in the area would become brown and eventually become sand; increasing in dryness the further the piece of land is from a source of fresh water. A regional bout of famine would occur if the desertification continued to spread inland and threatened the local crops.