Land Pollution and Management Systems - Essay Example

? Environmental Science of the module of the August 18, Environmental science Human activities often turn to be extremely harmful for the environment. Environmental factors such as pollution, biodiversity loss and renewable sources have the potential of influencing the wellbeing and quality of human life. While pollution causes illness and death among human beings the loss of biodiversity adversely affects the entire ecosystem. Renewable sources, on the other hand, can reduce environmental pollution to a great extend in comparison with the large scale pollutions from the over use of non-renewable energy sources. This paper addresses these three environmental factors, shows how these factors are being influenced by humans and tries to suggest useful strategies and methods to reduce their harmful impacts on human life. Introduction Environmental factors play a pivotal role in maintaining human well being and quality of life. However, man’s indiscriminate actions have resulted in large scale environmental pollution and subsequent adverse impacts. Man can influence environmental factors to a large extend either positively or negatively. This paper seeks to address three environmental factors-renewable resources, biodiversity loss and pollution. The growing amount of greenhouse gas emissions have prompted the international community to think in terms of renewable resources. Similarly, biodiversity has been proved to be a significant environment factor as its loss adversely affects the functioning of ecosystems. In the same way, air, water and land pollutions have contributed towards a number of health related concerns. It is thus evident that unless and until these environmental factors are adequately managed or prevented these will culminate in the destruction of the entire mankind. Thus the paper also seeks to suggest certain recommendations and preventive strategies through which these environmental factors could well be brought under control. Environmental Factors I. Renewable resources It has been identified that increased amount of conventional oil consumption contribute to greater CO2 emissions which will be harmful to the environment. Therefore, it is high time that major oil companies globally respond to climate changes through alternative technologies and emissions reduction. This necessitates the reduction of carbon emissions, more focus on natural gas and biofuels, carbon capture and storage and the prevention of atmospheric greenhouse gases. While oil, petroleum and coal produce air, water and solid wastes the pollutions created by natural gas are comparatively low. The increased demand for energy and the growing environmental pollutions from non-renewable sources have forced world nations to turn to renewable energy sources such as the solar power, hydropower projects, and wind energies. Humans have often failed to understand the environmental impacts of the overuse of non-renewable resources. On the other hand, the potential power of renewable energy sources to limit climate change is well documented. For Kleijn and Van der Voet (2010) a transition to a renewable based energy system is essential for tackling climate change. For them ‘a renewable based hydrogen economy’ becomes more of eco friendly and the “world receives ample energy from the sun that can be harvested by PV solar cells and, indirectly, by wind turbines” (Kleijn and Van der Voet, 2010, p. 2784). A large scale global investment in renewable energy is essential from the part of well to do countries and such a step is expected that renewable energies will bring about social, economic and environmental benefits to many developing nations. Similarly, renewable resources are proved to be more conducive to the protection of natural ecosystems as it prevents health issues by reducing exposure to pollutants. Therefore, the best way to derivate energy from renewable sources is the transmission of energy from the source and as such solar energy has proved to be the most effective alternative energy source. There should be technologies and devices for transmitting renewable energy from their sources. Renewable energy sources consist of biomass, hydro-electric energy, solar power, geo-thermal power, and wind power. Besides, nuclear power accounts for a large amount of electricity and energy in many developed and developing nations. Among these solar power requires high economic costs especially in terms of start-up whereas nuclear power requires highly technological infrastructure and safe operational machineries. II. Biodiversity loss Biodiversity has been proved to be a significant environment factor as its loss adversely affects the functioning of ecosystems and makes man’s life more miserable. Biodiversity loss causes considerable changes to the goods and services that ecosystems provide. Biodiversity preservation is essential for conserving ecosystems and for maintaining species richness of plants. It has been pointed out that “biodiversity loss reduces the efficiency by which ecological communities capture biologically essential resources, produce biomass, decompose and recycle biologically essential nutrients” (Cardinale et al, 2012, p. 60). Biologically essential resources such as nutrients, water and light get diminished with reductions in the number of genes, species and functional groups of organisms. Biodiversity is essential for both humans as well as animals as functional traits of organisms and biodiversity loss can give rise to a wide range of rational impacts of extinction on ecosystem function. Man’s indiscriminate actions have contributed to the large scale biodiversity loss in the modern era. More and more forests and natural habitats are cleared by humans in the name of development. Multinational companies and timber lobbies are trying to turn places of biodiversity into commercial markets. The farmers and agriculturalists at the bottom of the social strata are never given opportunities and timely encouragements to promote biodiversity. Habitat loss and degradation are identified as the two governing reasons for biodiversity loss worldwide and it can be seen that “socioeconomic institutions, including inter alia, markets, laws, political bodies and social norms, frequently favor expansion of patterns of development that lead to biodiversity loss” (Wood, Stedman-Edwards & Mang, 2000, p. 15). One needs to have a thorough understanding of the underlying factors for biodiversity loss. The major socio-economic factors driving biodiversity loss are demographic change, inequality and poverty (inequality of income and resource distribution, land degradation), public policies, markets and politics. In the past sustainable-use approach was employed to preserve biodiversity. However, scientific studies have clearly proven that “activities centered on a protected area and sustainable-use approach failed to conserve biodiversity in a meaningful and long-term way” whereas conservation could better be “served through an approach that focused on larger geographic areas” (Wood, Stedman-Edwards & Mang, 2000, p. 8). Therefore, humans need to be aware of these underlying causes for biodiversity loss and there needs to be genuine efforts from land holders to preserve biodiversity. The present situation of biodiversity loss calls for comprehensive studies to understand the nature and depth of human activities that culminate in major biodiversity changes. It is essential to identify the role played by various organisms in driving the ecosystem processes. Deforestation poses the greatest threat to biodiversity preservation and as such there should be radical policies aimed at fostering afforestation. There should be comprehensive steps to promote habitat heterogeneity by identifying the most functional ecosystem models at the local level. From an economic point of view it is significant to “estimate the value of natural and managed ecosystems and the market and non-marketed services that they provide” (Cardinale et al, 2012, p. 65). There should be public awareness campaigns to convince humans of the relationship between biodiversity, ecosystem processes and ecosystem services. One needs to keep in mind that increasing the supply of any of the ecosystem services will result in the reduction of the supply of other and as such it is to be kept mind that “the gains from simplifying ecosystems are often local and short term, whereas the costs are transmitted to people in other locations, or to future generations” (Cardinale et al, 2012, p. 65). Therefore, it is imperative that humans “make informed choices about land uses that have mixed effects, the science linking biodiversity to ecosystem functioning and services must be extended to explore trade-offs between services at multiple temporal and spatial scales so that information can be incorporated into models of optimal land use” (Cardinale et al, 2012, p. 66). For biodiversity to be effective genuine efforts from the land holders are essential. Offering incentives or payments to land holders seem to be a rational means to promote biodiversity and subsequent ecosystem services. Governmental strategies should also aim at “developing incentives to encourage land holders to take full account of the ecosystem services that are affected by their actions” (Cardinale et al, 2012, p. 66). Thus, managing biodiversity change requires a clear cut understanding of the linkages among biodiversity, ecosystem functioning and the production of ecosystem services. There needs to be international and intergovernmental collaborations such as the Convention on Biological Diversity “to support the conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of its components, and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits” (Cardinale et al, 2012, p. 66). III. Pollution (air, water, and land) The growth of industrial zones, urban areas, population growth, use of pesticides and other chemicals, scarcity of water, the growing demand for energy and motor vehicles, poor environmental regulation, inappropriate waste disposals, and the changed life style of people have made the modern world quite vulnerable towards environmental pollutions of various sorts. Air pollution, water pollution and land degradation have contributed towards a number of health related concerns. Polluted air contains a number of potentially dangerous pollutants including “particulate matter, PAHs, lead, ground-level ozone, heavy metals, sulphur dioxide, benzene, carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide” and these are capable of causing ill health and death in the long run (Khan & Ghouri, 2011, p. 278). Similarly, it is pathetic to note that one sixth of the world’s population do not have access to safe water while 2.4 billion people all over the world lack basic sanitation. Water pollution has also adversely affected human health, quality of soil and vegetation. Land or solid waste pollution is yet another major threat on human health and well-being. Man has caused large scale water pollution through industrial discharged effluents, sewage water, rain water pollution, and waste disposal. In the same way, man’s improper management of solid waste has polluted and degraded the land. The wastes deposited by heavy industrial metal industries, waste from coal and uranium mines, waste from chemical factories and aluminium industry have posed great threat to the protection from environmental pollutions. Air, water and land pollutions are detrimental to the lives of all organisms including humans, animals, birds and plants. For instance, air pollution alone can trigger such environmental related diseases as cancer, behavioural disorders, cardiovascular problems, asthma, reduced lung functioning, irritation of eyes, nose, mouth and throat, and respiratory diseases. As pointed out by Gurjar, Molina and Ojha (2010, p. 1) “human-driven activities aimed at providing necessary goods and services to society are responsible for the anthropogenic share of air pollution.” Tackling of air, water and land pollution necessitate effective waste management systems, prevention of air pollution emissions, and the provision of hygienic water resources. Industrial units and chemical factories should have their own waste management system irrespective of soil, water or air pollution. Similarly, a large amount of air pollution from motor vehicles can be reduced by promoting the use of public transport facilities. In the same way, there needs to be novel pollution free technologies for ‘raw material extraction, energy acquisition, production and manufacturing, use, reuse, recycling, through to ultimate disposal’ (Gurjar, Molina and Ojha, 2010, p. 1). Above all, there needs to be comprehensive strategies and regulation systems to prevent all sorts of pollutions through meaningful legislations and timely enforcements. Discussion and conclusions Having gone through the three major environmental factors it is worthwhile to analyse the possible preventive systems and strategies by which these issues could best be addressed. In comparison to conventional non-renewable sources renewable sources such as the solar power or wind power pose only minimal threats to the environment. Renewable sources are abundant and the only challenge is to meet the heavy initial start up costs. The present scenario also calls for global investments on renewable energy resources so that the poor countries can also benefit from the energy thus generated. It can also be seen that the negative environmental and climate impacts of renewable sources are comparatively smaller than that of the oil based economy. Besides, renewable energy sources such as the solar power and wind power have the potential to offer unlimited resources that are clean, efficient, and safe. One needs to understand the linkages between biodiversity and ecosystem functions and services. The societal consequences of diversity loss are many and varied and there should be comprehensive policies to protect biodiversity. One needs to take into account the nature and depth of human activities that culminate in major biodiversity changes. Promoting habitat heterogeneity, planting of trees, preserving natural habitats, identifying the most functional ecosystem models at the local level, and offering incentives to the land holders are identified as conducive factors for the preservation of biodiversity. Environmental education should be made a necessary part of the school curriculum to motivate students for environmental protection. Such a curriculum should be capable of convincing the learners of the relationship between biodiversity, ecosystem processes and ecosystem services. Similarly, there needs to be public awareness campaigns that facilitate the citizens to make informed choices regarding their use of land and other environmental properties. Finally, managing air, water and land pollution necessitate effective waste management systems, prevention of air pollution emissions, and the provision of hygienic water resources. As already mentioned, large scale industries and chemical factories should make use of the most advanced technologies for waste management system. It is also advisable for every family to have its own provision for managing, reusing, or recycling its own wastes or plastic materials. Similarly, it is essential to have a strong regulation system whereby the nation can minimize the use of private vehicles by promoting the use of public transport facilities. In the same way, there needs to be novel pollution free technologies for the complete disposal of all sorts of environment pollutants. There also needs to be timely guidance, monitoring and enforcement over legislations that are passed by governmental agencies to protect its citizens from environmental pollutions or threats. Any policy makes needs to take into account the above mentioned recommendations while thinking of bringing about any radical changes to the current scenario of biodiversity loss and environmental pollution. References Cardinale et al. (2012). Biodiversity loss and its impact ton humanity. Nature, 486, 59-67. Retrieved 20 August 2013 from http://www.ecoservices.asu.edu/pdf/Cardinale%20et%20al,%20Nature%20(2012).pdf Gurjar, B.R., Molina, L.T & Ojha, C.S.P. (2010). Air Pollution: Health and Environmental Impacts. CRC Press. Khan, M.A & Ghouri, A.M. (2011). Environmental pollution: its effects on life and its remedies. International Refereed Research Journal, 2(2), 276-285. Retrieved 20 August 2013 from http://www.researchersworld.com/vol2/issue2/Paper_23.pdf Kleijn, Rene and Van der Voet, E. (2010). Resource constraints in a hydrogen economy based on renewable energy sources: An exploration. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 14, 2784–2795. Retrieved 20 August 2013 from http://www.mmta.co.uk/uploads/2012/09/19/141514_material_constraints_h2_economy_rser_nc_2011.pdf Wood, A., Stedman-Edwards, P & Mang, J. (2000). The Root Causes of Biodiversity Loss. Illustrated ed: Earthscan. Read More