Courses After 12th. Typical examples of such waste material are glass, metal and the most popular ‘plastic’! Where there are no plants, there is no oxygen-generating mechanism (photosynthesis), no food or habitat for wildlife, amphibians, insects, and probably few, if any microorganisms to aerate, detoxify and regenerate the soil. Land Pollution. Industrial pollution causes land pollution: What can we do to prevent land pollution? This garbage is also the form of land pollution. We must be diligent in insuring that tough laws are enacted that require the very best pollution control technologies imaginable, pass strict pollution emission standards and make sure they are enforced. Here are 5 Simple Tips To Reduce Plastic Waste. It can also simply be degradation from transforming the land by clearing it so that beneficial organisms can no longer provide services supporting growth and protect it from further erosion. But, instead of taking care, all our activities have severely damaged the land, by inflicting it with catastrophic levels of pollution. Causes of land Pollution. Only when a large number of well-informed people come together and demand a change, do governments and businesses tend to listen. A huge chunk of this pile of waste, which is not recyclable, get shipped off to a landfill somewhere, where it will sit for decades, and leak out toxic chemicals, paints, oils, metals etc. Human activities have gradually destroyed and degraded the land, causing diseases to humans and animals, reducing the ability to support the surrounding ecosystems and their numerous species. The removal of trees to make way for urbanization hasaffected the environment significantly. We humans have been long fighting to protect and save our planet. Leaching radioactive cancer-causing isotopes into the soil, only five miles from the rushing Columbia River [22]. And finally, the third ‘R’ – Recycle. Hydraulic fracturing, which is used to recover natural gas and oil from the ground, releases some of these hydrocarbons into the surrounding rock, which can then seep into the groundwater. Loggers are not the only ones responsible for the rapid deforestation of the earth. Not to mention, the damage caused to the various life forms that depended on the forest for sustenance. It is a global issue that needs to be fixed immediately. Economic incentives need to be put in place for farmers at the frontier of forests so that they intensify their production without expanding their land by cutting down the forests [27]. So speak up, speak out and share such knowledge with your family, friends and colleagues. There are many different ways of permanently changing the land, from soil contamination (poisoning by chemicals or waste) to general urbanization (the systematic creation of cities and other human settlements from greenfield, virgin land). Leave a comment. Wrong irrigation practices also lead to the accumulation of free salts, degrading the soil and leading to a condition called soil salinisation. The second type of land pollution occurs when the original soil structure is disturbed to such an extent that it loses its life-giving capability. The change in chemical composition of streams and rivers from this chemical runoff upsets the natural balance of life causing other, often foreseeable but unanticipated problems. Insisting on organic food would be a very big start to reducing the adverse effects of agriculture on land. Soil that is contaminated becomes less productive and this reduces the value of land. During mining, many of these chemicals leak out into the soil, leading to soil contamination. Land pollution, whether it is a barren space where nothing can grow but a few weeds or a site that harbors garbage and debris, like old tires, gas cans and plastic bags is an aesthetic drain. Let us know if you liked this article. The removal of plants has led t… Studies consistently show the health benefits of enjoying nature at its finest, with its lush growth, clean air and water renewing world-weary urbanites [4]. One of the most famous environmental violations in the United States, Love Canal, though hardly an isolated incident, concerned a breached landfill containing toxic waste that caused miscarriages, nervous disorders, cancers and an unusually high number of human birth defects and deformities before being discovered. Ever since the birth of the industrial age, development has been trying to catch up to the ever growing population and its demands. One of the largest causes of land pollution is mining activities As the demand for goods increases along with the growing population, the demand for raw materials also increases. Which means that the land and its soil, having lost their original nourishing capacity, is no longer able to support life. It is the unnecessary materials that contaminate and damage our land. The balance of mining is done underground, where pillars support the earth while work is performed underground and at the end, removed or simply left to collapse. Polluted land consequences into farther pollution of workss and land H2O resources which finally leads to fouling full web of nutrient concatenation in the ecosystem. Read more about us. Behavioural objectives : At the end of lesson, pupils should be able to: Define pollution land pollution; List common causes of land pollution . Industrial activities often release toxic and material wastes onto the land or into the atmosphere where they settle onto the land. Obviously, a rain forest gets a lot of rain, heavy rain and without a forest canopy to buffer the downpours and without ground cover to hold the soil intact, the rich soil of the forest floor is easily washed away. So without further ado, here are the top 10 cause of land pollution… In no particular order. Even the EPA has concluded that any liner will begin to leak eventually [21]. Not to mention, the damage caused to the various life forms that depended on the forest for sustenance. And it is our actions that inevitably pollutes the land, which causes the planet the most harm. Almost all of the places of human dwelling and community activities such as homes, hospitals, schools, offices etc., tend to generate a lot of waste that is non-biodegradable. Of course, awareness regarding land pollution and the actual scale of the problem is of the utmost importance. Overpopulation and excessive industrial activities lead to a lot of sewage waste being generated. Over time, the soil turns poisonous and is harmful to the various microbes and insects, and in turn the birds and animals that feed on them. The contamination destroys the healthy organisms responsible for generating new vegetative growth. Because the materials are buried and not visible, a recent investigation to find hazardous waste dumps looked at the effect of an increase in the number of roads on specific health outcomes of people living nearby, in particular: infant mortality, hemoglobin level and severe anemia of children under five years old [25]. The mining process utilises heavy metals and many toxic chemicals such as sulphuric acid. All of these non-biodegradable waste mostly ends up in a landfill where they will sit for decades or even centuries, continually poisoning the land and the groundwater. Such roads tend to erode, and once the erosion begins, the road and land begin to deteriorate rapidly. For humans to cause species to become extinct and to destroy the biological diversity of God’s creation, for humans to degrade the integrity of the earth by causing changes in its climate, by stripping the earth of its natural forests, or destroying its wetlands, for humans to contaminate the earth’s waters, its land, its air and its life with poisonous substances, these are sins. Landfill liners are not foolproof and the liquid that leaches from them is toxic. The land is considered to be polluted the minute it no longer grows or becomes hard to grow crops or plants and is hazardous work in it. Deforestation carried out to create drylands is one of the major concerns. We are a couple of environmentalists who seek inspiration for life in simple values based on our love for nature. Similarly, when we misuse the land resources, land pollution happens. Love Canal was an abandoned canal project which became a landfill for dumping hazardous waste in the 1950s. Have you ever thought about what will the world look like in 100 years? But the destruction of land directly or indirectly by human are worse than the natural cause. The construction of landfills is generally overseen by a governmental agency responsible for solid waste disposal and involve compliance with regulations to safeguard the leaching of their contents into the soil. Removal of even a portion of the canopy changes the environment of the forest as the canopy blocks the harmful sunlight and keeps in heat at night. that took place over the now polluted land. Farmers routinely apply highly toxic fertilizers, pesticides, fungicides, herbicides and insecticides directly on to the crops and land. Fertilizers, pesticides, insecticides, and herbicides are used with good intentions but have negative side effects. Gravel & Dust From Unpaved Roads One of the most unnoticed of all the major causes of land pollution are the millions of miles of unpaved roads around the world. A possibility is bringing religious leaders into the picture to help educate their followers. Some of main causes of soil pollution include deforestation and consequent erosion, agriculture, industry, mining, landfills and illegal dumping of waste as well as urbanization and construction [8]. We behaved similarly with another essential resource required for our survival – water! Many times, it is directly and indirectly caused by human activities and abuse of land resources. Land pollution is a major problem around the world and is caused by a variety of factors. Such a soil harms both the plants that grow on it and other animals that may come to feed on it. The rising construction of building takes away the trees that takes away the homes of the animals living there. Will it look better than it looks today? A dead zone at the mouth of the Mississippi River from fertilizer runoff primarily from corn fields along its banks, covers more than 7700 square miles (20,000 sq km) in the Gulf of Mexico during the summer months. These fertilisers and pesticides are loaded with toxic chemicals that seep into the soil and contaminate it. The heavy metals bring about harmful changes in the microbiological, mineral and physiochemical composition of soils around the mills [18]. These non-biodegradable waste can take hundreds to millions of years to decompose completely. If you can’t skip it, then reuse! Very often there is a dichotomy on environmental issues as the theory of evolution invites an easy divisiveness between science and religion, but that gap should be bridged as we reach toward a common solution. Deforestation leaves the land exposed, which leads to rapid soil erosion. This has further consequences for us as part of the web of life. Land pollution is a grave issue that is slowly killing life on earth, and sadly, we are still unaware of its effects. All the while, dust particles and other chemicals keep escaping out into the environment and polluting it. The runoff is not only continuing, unabated, but is expected to increase as the demand for corn to feed cattle and as a biofuel increases [15]. Land pollution refers to the deterioration of the earth’s land surfaces, at and below ground level. Which cause of land pollution is the most urgent depends to some extent upon who you are and where you are. Various Causes of Land Pollution 1. Not as obvious are the oils, paints and other hazardous household wastes disposed of along roads because they are not accepted by most household waste collectors. Diseases Caused by Land Pollution. Or worse? Metals, coal and precious stones are raw materials that have to be extracted from the earth through mining. The cause is the accumulation of solid and liquid waste materials that contaminate groundwater and soil. This happens since, mining requires a lot of surface land clearing, drilling, excavating etc. Zoning requirements mandating havens of biological diversity at the edges of agricultural land, once the toxic chemicals are no longer in the equation of course, would work to promote the natural balance of life, where crickets and frogs and pollinators can all help make the land more productive. Such deforestation in itself causes severe land pollution. That being said, the same number of people will eat the same amount of food wherever they live and require the same amount of other resources, maybe even less when it comes to housing and given the more plentiful options for public transportation, it may well be that their CO2 emissions are lower and their environmental footprint smaller. Over time a lot of dust, sediments etc. All of the activities mentioned above, that cause land pollution, also requires the land to be cleared first. It appears that the double-shelled tanks storing radioactive waste have sprung leaks. Effects of land pollution on the environment, Why Is Biodiversity Important to Ecosystems, many species do not survive the destruction of their habitats, easy runoff of fertilizers and other applied chemicals, apply highly toxic fertilizers, pesticides, fungicides, herbicides and insecticides, Urbanization contributes to land degradation. For these reasons, nuclear waste is usually dumped deep beneath the ground. Nuclear plants through the process of nuclear fission and fusion produce vast amounts of energy. Let’s have a look at these activities in detail to see how exactly pollution of land resources happens when they take place. Underground coal fires, a significant problem in many countries can burn for centuries, emitting toxic gases, among them mercury, arsenic, fluorine and selenium, as well as emitting fly ash through its vents and fissures which then settle on the land. Land that once enjoyed forest cover is now exposed, compacted by heavy machinery and otherwise paved. Land pollution can be caused by natural means or by humans. The world population increase and increased demand for a food supply is causing forests and grasslands to be converted to farmland. Some, such as huge landfills or quarries, are very obvious; others, such as atmospheric deposition (where land becomes contaminated when air pollution falls onto it) are much less apparent. This can be caused by several factors. No longer has the ability to absorb excess rainfall [ 13 ] investigations revealed a of. Storing radioactive waste have sprung leaks materials in it the destruction of pollution! 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