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Thematic Article: Soil Pollution |
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by Govinda Katuwal | 26-04-2022 13:17
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Soil: The Base Of Life Soil is one of the five primordial elements that sustain life on the earth. Its contamination, like that of any natural resource, has an impact on the living world it contains. There is this constant debate going on about whether to consider soil as living or non-living. But one thing is for sure, there is no existence without soil. In the complex, intricate, functioning way of life comes the modernization of the world, which disrupts this efficient flow completely. In general, pollution refers to the introduction of contamination to any resource.[1] Here, soil pollution implies that the basic properties that make soil are distorted, forcing it to lose its natural characteristics. These contaminations are primarily in the form of toxic chemicals emitted by a variety of human activities. How much one describes the essence of soil in whatever form, there will still be a lack of something. Because we are both beneficiaries and exploiters of soil, humans must understand these fundamental ethics.
 Figure: Nature’s Nutrient Cycle[3] Everyone agrees that the Green Revolution brought some prosperity around the world, reducing hunger and poverty. But this can be considered the greatest blow to our very basis of life. The unprecedented usage of fertilizers, pesticides, and monoculture practices are the three major impactful actions that are still jeopardizing the fertility of the soil. This also creates an imbalance in the pH of the soil, accelerating the acidification of soil, resulting in a low frequency of microbes impacting plant growth and further up the food chain.[4] When anthropogenic activities involving direct contact with soil, such as mining and agriculture, are done without proper care, desertification starts to happen. According to the European Commission's World Atlas of Desertification, over 75% of the Earth's land area has already been degraded, with a further 90% likely to be degraded by 2050. The impacts of degraded soil are beyond one’s imagination; crop failure, displacement, violence, and the downfall of the economy are some of the first to occur. Furthermore, if we dive deeper, soil pollution runs in a vicious cycle with other fundamental resources' pollution, like water: eutrophication means the excess flow of nutrients through chemicals input contaminating groundwater.[5] Polluted air acts as both a cause and effect of soil pollution. Polluted air can alter soil pH through acid rain and its influence on the pH of the soil, impacting the soil’s ability to store carbon.[6] Soil: as simple as it appears, it is critical for the entire world. We proudly credit this and that for our basic to luxurious fulfillment of needs, but we must remember that soil is the foundation for all we claim as ours. And as part of nature, we know what to do. “Save NATURE to be saved.” References: [2] carbon storage [3] nutrient cycling |
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Former E-gen Ambassador
Govinda Katuwal
Previous : Thematic Report : Soil polluti...
7 Comments
The picture helps me understand more of the information displayed in the article! Thank you so much for the useful information!
Posted 02-08-2022 01:33
Thank your @Shreya for your feedback. :))
Posted 28-04-2022 11:11
Thank you mentor @Chelwoon for your comment. I appreciate truly, combating current climate change by focusing shift on soil also can help us to reach the goal earlier.
Posted 28-04-2022 11:10
Thank you mentor @Joon for your comment.
What we intend to do is glorify ourselves and make ourselves superior though in the natural system this isn't viable and such species must learn a lesson. Hopefully, we are fast learners we can overcome this soon.
Posted 28-04-2022 11:04
Good read! Found it very informative! Thanks for sharing!
Posted 28-04-2022 04:39
Hello Govinda, this is your mentor Chelwoon.
You pointed out the very important ability of soil which most ambassadors did not mention! We all know Water Cycle well, but we are a little unfamiliar with Carbon Cycle. However, this is very crucial for the earth to sustain life. Bodies of dead animals, plants and even fallen leaves would pile up repeatedly if there were no microorganisms such as fungi to decompose them. Microorganisms are contained in water and soil form, and they activate a large amount of the carbon stored underground. Strictly speaking, the clothing we are wearing originates from carbon. If we continue to destroy soils, we will not be able to stop killing the killing of microorganisms.
Thank you for the article!
Regards,
Chelwoon
Posted 27-04-2022 16:11
Hello Govinda, this is your mentor Joon.
As mentioned on the title of your article, soil is the base of our life. We cannot live without soil, but we are consistently harming the environment as we have another chance. We always need to keep in our mind that our life isn't a game and we do not have saving points. We are progressing rapidly to the end of passing the critical, irreversible, point or we already might have. But as we do not know it now, we should work on reducing as much influence to earth as possible. Reducing soil pollution could be one of the possible way to do so.
Well read your article, and let's keep up!
Best,
Joon
Posted 27-04-2022 11:00