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Land Pollution: Forever Changing Geography
from:When you think of land pollution, perhaps you think of general pollution like people throwing rubbish onto the side of the road but it is much more. Basically, land pollution is the decline of the earth’s surfaces caused by misuse of the land.
How Did It All Happen?
There is no one particular cause of this type of pollution. No one person or group who can be held responsible. A few examples of how this has happened would include:
• Wastes – Urban and Industrial wastes had to go somewhere, so the school of thought was to dig a large hole in the ground and dump it there. Once you cover it up then it just goes away, right? Well, eventually we learned that it takes many years for some of these things to decompose and others have yet to do so. The decomposition also led to leakage of toxins into the soil.
• Minerals – With the need of certain minerals to keep things running, such as coal, we quickly exploited our lands to strip mining. Many people got rich from this but you have to wonder at what cost to our precious Earth.
• Agricultural – Farming may seem like it would be harmless, however before we learned about proper crop rotation and fertilization, we would abuse the land with one type of crop and when the land would no longer produce because we stripped it of its vital nutrients, then we would abandon that land and move on.
How Can We Stop It?
Thankfully, we have learned a few expensive lessons along the way. Many new laws were instilled to prevent strip mining, crowded landfills, and proper crop rotation and fertilization. However, we have much more work to do and we all can help. A few suggestions:
• The three R’s – Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. We have all heard of these three words, but they become increasingly important. We need to reduce the amount of waste that needs disposal and smart buying can help to do this. Reuse an item for another purpose instead of buying an additional item; so get your creativity cap on and think how an item can be used again. Recycle anything and everything you can. Get your local government involved and get a program started in your area. Another idea is to bring your unwanted clothes and household items to your local Goodwill or Salvation Army so others can benefit.
• Budgeting – Budget your fuel usage in your car and at home. Doing this will lessen the demand of fuel and will conserve our fossil fuels. Lump your errands together and put on a sweater instead of turning up the heat. Also, learning about alternative fuels and getting local government involved in the solution is always a good idea.
• Smart gardening – Having your own garden provides enjoyment and fresh food for you. However, take on the organic way of gardening so you are not dumping pesticides and chemical fertilizers into your own soil.
Land pollution has been in the making ever since man started learning what the soil can provide us. We are supposed to get smarter as we evolve and hopefully greed and productivity do not get in the way of that.
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