Soil Contamination In The United States

Poor soil management can lead to biological, chemical, and physical degradation, which can in turn negatively alter the activity of

Conduct studies on food, air, water and soil to determine how they are altered when coming into contact with medicines, garden chemicals and industrial chemicals

The general cleaning that companies doing jeopardize the earth due the chemicals used to clean the area of machines affect the soil. Hence, the companies should consider using more environmentally friendly products.

Other pollution sources include chemical plants, coal-fired power stations, oil refineries, nuclear waste disposal activity, large animal farms, plastic factories, and metal production factories. The soil becomes contaminated by many chemicals and pathogens; this passes on to humans through direct contact via food and water. Overuse of pesticides and chemical fertilizers causes toxins to enter the food chain.

“ Without soil, land plants as we know them could not grow, and without plants no animals could survive”(53). This quote shows the great importance of one of our most important resources soil. “Perhaps the most important organisms in the soil, are the smallest-the invisible hosts of bacteria and threadlike fungi”(54). And, this quote shows how important the small organisms are. These include bacteria, fungi, and insects, which play such are large roll in life and are commonly being overlooked. One way they are being overlooked is by having chemicals sprayed on them and no one wonders what will happen. Well, if you are spraying chemicals to kill insects, it is most definite that the insects, such as earthworms, are going to be killed as well. These organisms are what make our soil so fertile, and without them we won’t be able to grow as much food. That being said, if we continue to plague the organisms of the soil with chemicals eventually, we will have less soil. We will no longer be able to grow as much crop due to this and we will not sustain the same lifestyle that we had

Franklin D Roosevelt once said, “the history of every Nation is eventually written in the way in which it cares for its soil.” The United States began seeing sustainable management practices in farms, and healthier soil through this act. In 1982 through 2007, the United States soil erosion had declined by 43%” (Montanarella, 2015). Every year the United States loses about $400 billion dollars due to crop soil that is eroded. Soil is a limited resource and the largest resource for growing food, accommodating diverse ecosystems, and providing food resources. Therefore laws, acts, and provisions are necessary to protect this natural resource.

By not using multiple chemicals to control crops, organic farming also ends up being better for the environment. Organic farmers use natural fertilizers such as manure so that they do not release artificial chemicals into the ground (“Organic Food”). In June of 1999 a report made by the U.S. Geologic Survey, found that most waterways and ground water supplies in both urban and rural areas contained enough pesticides to endanger aquatic life (“pesticides”). These chemicals can also leak into streams and encourage the growth of algae and intoxicate the water (“298 John P. Reganold et.al”). Furthermore studies have found that water contaminated with pesticides may accumulate in the

Agricultural societies were sedentary, which means the members lived in one place for pretty much their whole life. As a result of this, the waste products that were produced by the people build up and were hard to eliminate safely. This was definitely not an issue for hunter-gatherer and pastoral societies, as they were always on the move so filth was just left in one area while the grouped moved on. Pollution accumulation is a vast problem across the world, that was started at the beginning of agriculture. It has detrimental effect on people and the environment. When I was driving by a large lake in my town, I noticed that there were several bottles, cans, plastic bags, and other waste things. The only way this happened is because many people settled in this area since agriculture requires a stationary lifestyle. Prior to the Agricultural Revolution, humans would leave a little waste behind and move on, which barely had an affect on the environment. My local library had records on the fertilizers and pesticides used in the area over the last few decades, and I realized that agriculture has demanded the use of more fertilizers to increase crop supply. This fertilizer can be washed away by rainwater, and end up in bodies of water where it can kill fish. The Agricultural Revolution is the main reason why there is such enormous amounts of

The human body is contained mostly of water. Plants and animals will stop to exist without water. Water is used in transportation, cleaning, and other walks of life. It is not hard to figure out that water is one of the planet’s most valuable useful things (Bottcher 2012). However, the previously-mentioned walks of life create many of the concerns connected with the consumption of water. Water contamination is a hot topic in America. Americans are concerned with the contaminants that may be waiting in a creepy way their tap

Current conventional farming practices are also responsible for many pollution problems that would not exist otherwise. The land where we live and grow our food, the water we drink, and the air we breathe are all being contaminated. The large amounts of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers used on our crops are poisoning the soil, air, and water. Toxic heavy metals such

According to the European Union’s Joint Research Center, soil contains nearly one third of all living organisms, but only about one percent have been identified. Another study in 2003 featured in the journal Ecosystems estimated that 5% of the United State’s soil biodiversity was “in danger of substantial loss, or complete extinction, due to agriculture and urbanization.” (Robbins) The damage comes from multiple sources. Paving or building over soil effectively blocks out the air, water, and light needed to have a functioning soil biome meaning that roads, cities, sidewalks, houses, and businesses have destroyed the soil beneath it. Agricultural practices remove organic material, decreasing food, and then allows fallowed land to become dry and exposed to the elements. Household, industrial, and agricultural toxins can also sterilize soil if not disposed of

America the Beautiful! So why are we destroying it everyday with the use of pesticides? It has been proven that pesticides have affects on it's surrounding, although made to improve earths resources, they typically take there negative effect on the environment in time. Pesticides affect more than the environment; they also affect the animals and humans living in the environment. There are alternative, to this major problem but, we as the caretakers of earth must act fast. In the following paper I'm going to share with you what pesticides are. I'll tell you why they are not safe to use and some of the affects of pesticides. Last, I will talk about some new alternatives there are

2015). Yet, agricultural soils are moderately contaminated by heavy metals due to a long-term of phosphoric fertilizers use, sewage sludge application, dust from smelters, industrial waste and unsuitable watering practices (Yadav 2010). Soil contamination is mainly located in areas of large industrial activities, where surrounding agricultural areas are affected by atmospheric deposition of heavy metals (Puschenreiter et al. 2005). In these areas, agriculture faces a major problem due to heavy metal transfer into crops and subsequently into the food chain (Puschenreiter et al. 2005). The main problem is that heavy metals are non-biodegradable, and their excessive accumulation in agricultural soils could pose a risk to public health (Liu et al. 2012). Thereby, people pay increased attention to food safety because of increasing environmental contamination (Yu et al. 2014). The major route by which humans are exposed to these contaminants is through the soil-crop-food pathway (Liu et al. 2012). Crops growing on contaminated sites can take up and accumulate these metals, causing health problems when consumed by humans and animals (Fu et al., 2008). Therefore, the prolonged consumption of unsafe concentrations of heavy metals may lead to the disruption of numerous biological and biochemical processes in the human body (Balkhair and Ashraf 2015). Furthermore, heavy metals

Land pollution is a major global health concern, and occurs when humans fail to manage their waste

Modern farming and agricultural operations contribute to the degradation and contamination of our environment as well as the neighboring ecosystems. Fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, animal manure and other Argo-chemicals are rich in chemical nutrients and toxic substances which are often the major sources of agricultural pollution. The use of these various types of products can affect water quality when it rains, and the contaminated soils and water is washed into the waters or into ground waters. These chemicals can also be absorbed by plants which are then consumed by animals and even humans, harmful to animal and human health. There are many causes of this pollution.