Causes and Effects of Land Pollution
Land pollution is one of the gravest kinds of pollutions. I say so because we do not realize when and how we pollute land due to different things we do and decisions we take. We realize the air is getting polluted when we step out of our houses and take a deep breath. We know when our actions cause water pollution, for we can see for ourselves the quality of the water worsening. Similarly noise, light, visual pollution can all be monitored, because we can all see or sense these kinds of pollution. However, land pollution is a hard one to get since we do not understand and we cannot comprehend which of our actions cause destruction of land.
What is Land Pollution?
When the anthropogenic effects of development adversely affect land (especially in turns of quality of land), it can be termed as land pollution. This brings us to an important question - what counts as an adverse effect? The answer is simple - anything that reduces the productivity and potential of a piece of land. Here, 'productivity and potential' refers to prospective uses of a piece of land for any of the different purposes for which land is used; including infrastructure, housing, services, agriculture, forestry, etc. If any of the effects of human development reduce the potential of a piece of land to be used for any good purpose, it amounts to land pollution.
Causes of Land Pollution
1. Degenerative Actions encompass a lot of human actions, including - deforestation, overuse of pesticides and chemical fertilizers, desertification, mining, inefficient and / or inadequate waste treatment, landfill, litter, etc. Many of these are unavoidable; however, definitely the severity of these actions in terms of the effects they have on the land can be reduced by taking appropriate and adequate corrective measure. For example, the amount of litter produced can be hugely reduced if we all strictly say NO to plastic. The key here is to conduct a thorough EIA - Environmental Impact Assessment.
2.
What is Land Pollution?
When the anthropogenic effects of development adversely affect land (especially in turns of quality of land), it can be termed as land pollution. This brings us to an important question - what counts as an adverse effect? The answer is simple - anything that reduces the productivity and potential of a piece of land. Here, 'productivity and potential' refers to prospective uses of a piece of land for any of the different purposes for which land is used; including infrastructure, housing, services, agriculture, forestry, etc. If any of the effects of human development reduce the potential of a piece of land to be used for any good purpose, it amounts to land pollution.
Causes of Land Pollution
1. Degenerative Actions encompass a lot of human actions, including - deforestation, overuse of pesticides and chemical fertilizers, desertification, mining, inefficient and / or inadequate waste treatment, landfill, litter, etc. Many of these are unavoidable; however, definitely the severity of these actions in terms of the effects they have on the land can be reduced by taking appropriate and adequate corrective measure. For example, the amount of litter produced can be hugely reduced if we all strictly say NO to plastic. The key here is to conduct a thorough EIA - Environmental Impact Assessment.
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