What have we done??

Imagine an Utopian world where the world plagues, poverty, war or even climate change no longer exists. When we humans do not need to invent antibiotics, no obesity crisis, no more terrorism and blood baths, are we totally out of danger? 

The answer is no. Even if all of those problems to vanish overnight, we are still do not address the issue in hand which is seen as trivial as compared to seemingly far important concerns. It literally and metaphorically beneath us. We consider it insignificant due its absence in our social media.It is crucial that we realize that all humanity depends on it. As written in Sanskrit text dated 1500 B.C., "Upon this handful of soil survival depends. Husbands it and it will grow our food, our fuel, and our shelter and surround is with beauty. Abuse it, and soil will collapse and die ,taking all humanity with it.".

So, what have we done that continues to destroy our soil?

1.  FARMING

Although farming is important to society in order to provide food .In farming, farmers add nutrients in the form of fertilizers especially if the land is not naturally fertile.This farming practice causes water pollution when rainwater washes away the excess fertilizer. It also causes soil loss. Farmers clear trees and other plants and plow soil to plant crops. But without its natural cover, soil is more exposed to the rain and wind, where leaching occurs. Overgrazing also affects our soil greatly. When farm animals eat large amount of land cover, it destroys the  natural vegetation , exposing the soil to weathering. This leads to desertification which is the expansion of desert condition in areas where natural plant cover has been destroyed.

             

2. CONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT

 Constructions are made in order to build roads and buildings. But little do we know, at construction sites soil washes away and ends up in nearby river or streams and even lakes and reservoirs. The eroded soil make the rivers muddy, harming aquatic life in the process and raises river levels and causes flood due to buildup in soil on riverbeds.

                 

3. MINING

Digging of strip mines and open pit mines involve the removal of plants and soil from the surface of the ground. This exposes the rocks and minerals to the air and rainwater, therefore increasing the rate of chemical weathering rate.