Land Pollution

DENR (Department of Environment and Natural Resources)

DENR or Department of Natural Resources is the agency that protects and takes care of the environment . Such that, they have some

responsibilities that they should do .

• Formulation and Implementation of rules and policies that involve the management of the environment, and the prevention and control of pollution.

• Supervision of policies and programs that concerns the conservation, use, and replenishment of the country's natural resource.

• Establishment of rules concerning the Philippine forests, lands, mineral source, and wildlife.

Before

After

Graphs showing Earth’s condition

(Fossil fuel related CO2 emissions compared to five of the IPCC's "SRES" emissions scenarios. The dips are related to global recessions)

In terms of temperature

In terms of CO2 emission from fossil fuels

“Herb is a healing of a nation, alcohol is the destruction”-Bob Marley“Fear not, we are of the nature of the lion and cannot descend to the destruction of mice and such small beasts”-Queen Elizabeth I “Human brutes, like other beasts, find snares and poison in the provision of life, and are allured by their appetites to their destruction”-Jonathan Swift

“Modern technology owes ecology an apology”-Alan M. Edison

“If I had known that they’re going to do this, I would have become a shoemaker”-Albert Einstein

“ Don’t blow it- good planets are hard to find”-Quoted in “Time”

“For 200 years we’ve been conquering Nature, now we’re beating it to death”-Tom McMillan

What is Land Pollution ?Land pollution is the deterioration (destruction) of the earth’s land surfaces, often directly or indirectly as a result of man’s activities and their misuse of land resources.

It occurs when waste is not disposed off properly, or can occur when humans throw chemicals unto the soil in the form of pesticides, insecticides and fertilizers during agricultural practices. Exploitation of minerals (mining activities) has also contributed to the destruction of the earth’s surface.Since the Industrial Revolution, natural habitats have been destroyed, and environments have been polluted, causing diseases in both humans and many other species of animals.

Human actions have also caused many large areas of land to lose or reduce their capacity to support life forms and ecosystems. This is know as land degradation. Note that land degradation can result from many factors, and land pollution is only one of them.In the lesson, we shall see the more about Land and Environmental Pollution, the sources of the pollution, its consequences and a few things we can do to prevent further pollution and protect our environment.

Kinds of Land PollutionSolid Waste

These include all the various kinds of rubbish we make at home, school, hospitals, market and work places. Things like paper, plastic containers, bottles, cans, food and even used cars and broken electronic goods, broken furniture and hospital waste are all examples of solid waste.

Some of these are biodegradable (meaning they easily rot or decay into organic matter). Examples include food droppings, paper products as well as vegetation (like grass and twigs). Others are not biodegradable, and they include plastics, metals and aluminum cans, broken computer and car parts.

Many farming activities engage in the application of fertilizers, pesticides and insecticides for higher crop yield. This is good because we get more food, but can you think of what happens to the chemicals that end up on the crops and soils?

Chemical

Chemical and nuclear power plants produce waste materials that have to be stored somewhere. Fertilizer, insecticides, pesticides, pharmaceuticals manufacturers also produce lots of solid and liquid waste. In many cases they are stored in an environmentally safe way, but there are some that find their way into landfills and other less safe storage facilities. Sometimes they also find their way into leaking pipes and gutters. They end up polluting soils and making crops harmful to our health.

Sometimes, insects and small animals are killed and bigger animals that eat tiny animals (as in food chains) are also harmed. Finally, the chemicals may be washed down as it rains and over time, they end up in the water.

Deforestation

Humans depend on trees for many things including life. Trees absorb carbon dioxide (a green house gas) from the air and enrich the air with Oxygen, which is needed for life.

Trees provide wood for humans and a habitat to many land animals, insects and birds. Trees also, help replenish soils and help retain nutrients being washed away. Unfortunately, we have cut down millions of acres of tree for wood, construction, farming and mining purposes, and never planted new trees back.

Habitat Destruction

Habitat destruction is the process in which natural habitat is rendered functionally unable to support the species present. In this process, the organisms that previously used the site are displaced or destroyed, reducing biodiversity.

Habitat destruction by human activity is mainly for the purpose of harvesting natural resources for industry production and urbanization. Clearing habitats for agriculture is the principal cause of habitat destruction. Other important causes of habitat destruction include mining, logging, trawling and urban sprawl. Habitat destruction is currently ranked as the primary cause of species extinction worldwide. It is a process of natural environmental change that may be caused by habitat fragmentation, geological processes, climate change or by human activities such as the introduction of invasive species, ecosystem nutrient depletion and other human activities mentioned below.

Litter

Litter consists of waste products that have been disposed improperly, without consent, in an inappropriate location. Litter can also be used as a verb. To litter means to throw (often man-made) objects onto the ground and leave them as opposed to disposing of them properly.

Larger hazardous items such as tires, appliances, electronics and large industrial containers are often dumped in isolated locations, such as National Forests and other public land.It is a human impact on the environment and is a serious environmental issue in many countries. Litter can exist in the environment for long periods of time before degrading and be transported large distances into the world's oceans. Litter can affect quality of life.Cigarette butts are the most littered item in the world, with 4.5 trillion discarded annually. Cigarette butts can take up to five years to completely break down. Statistics in 2003 showed metal/aluminum drink cans as the least littered item.

Land Degradation

Land degradation is a process in which the value of the biophysical environment is affected by one or more combination of human-induced processes acting upon the land. Also, environmental degradation is the gradual destruction or reduction of the quality and quantity of human activities animals activities or natural means example water causes soil erosion, wind, etc.

It is viewed as any change or disturbance to the land perceived to be deleterious or undesirable. Natural hazards are excluded as a cause, however human activities can indirectly affect phenomena such as floods and bush fires.This is considered to be an important topic of the 21st century due to the implications land degradation has upon agronomic productivity, the environment, and its effects on food security. It is estimated that up to 40% of the world's agricultural land is seriously degraded.

Thermal study due to Soil Degradation

What are causes of Land Pollution ?1. Deforestation and soil erosion:  Deforestation carried

out to create dry lands is one of the major concerns. Land that is once converted into a dry or barren land, can never be made fertile again, whatever the magnitude of  measures to redeem it are. Land conversion, meaning the alteration or modification of the original properties of the land to make it use-worthy for a specific purpose is another major cause. This hampers the land immensely. Also there is a constant waste of land. Unused available land over the years turns barren; this land then cannot be used. So in search of more land, potent land is hunted and its indigenous state is compromised with.

2. Agricultural activities: With growing human population, demand for food has increased considerably. Farmers often use highly toxic fertilizers and pesticides to get rid off insects, fungi and bacteria from their crops. However with the overuse of these chemicals, they result in contamination and poisoning of soil.

3. Mining activities: During extraction and mining activities, several land spaces are created beneath the surface. We constant hear about land caving in; this is nothing but nature’s way of filling the spaces left out after mining or extraction activity.

1. Soil pollution: Soil pollution is another form of land pollution, where the upper layer of the soil is damaged. This is caused by the overuse of chemical fertilizers, soil erosion caused by running water and other pest control measures; this leads to loss of fertile land for agriculture, forest cover, fodder patches for grazing etc.

2. Change in climate patterns: The effects of land pollution are very hazardous and can lead to the loss of ecosystems. When land is polluted, it directly or indirectly affects the climate patterns.

3. Environmental Impact: When deforestation is committed, the tree cover is compromised on. This leads to a steep imbalance in the rain cycle. A disturbed rain cycle affects a lot of factors. To begin with, the green cover is reduced. Trees and plants help balance the atmosphere, without them we are subjected to various concerns like Global warming, the green house effect, irregular rainfall and flash floods among other imbalances.

What are effects of Land Pollution ?

Possible solutions for Land Pollution ?1. Make people aware about the concept of Reduce,

Recycle and Reuse.

2. Reduce the use of pesticides and fertilizers in agricultural activities.

3. Avoid buying packages items as they will lead to garbage and end up in landfill site.

4. Ensure that you do not litter on the ground and do proper disposal of garbage

5. Buy biodegradable products.

6. Do Organic gardening and eat organic food that will be grown without the use of pesticides.

7. Create dumping ground away from residential areas. Several creatures survive under the land too. Disrupting the harmony of the land, is disrupting their habitat. This has led to several creatures reaching the endangered status like the Gilbert’s Potaro in Australia. We walk and survive on land. It is literally the base of our ecosystem. It is in our good interest to take care of it and nurture it.