Erosion

November 11, 2005

Unsustainable Soils

Interpretation/Problem Statement

Erosion is a continuing problem around the world, and the soil (“the thin layer…that covers much of the earth’s land surface is the foundation of civilization”[1]) is being washed away at a speed that cannot be replenished fast enough for usage - “in recent decades, soil erosion has accelerated, often outpacing the creation of new soil.” [2] Erosion over 5 tons per acre per year is considered a serious problem; 80% of US farmland exceeds this amount.[3] If nothing is done to save the soils, it will threaten future agriculture more greatly than its current effects.

Analysis

Around 7,000 years ago, lands in Fertile Crescent, Mesopotamia, and present day Iraq, became to be cleared, irrigated, and salinized. The clearing was done by sheep, goats, cows, and pigs. This left rich soil, which the women of the time began farming and planting their own crops. Over time, the soil became salinized by irrigating with salt water, leaving the land useless to agriculture, and “since the health of people is closely related to the health of the soil on which they depend,” [4] this may be the reason that the people perished. This is shown in the Student Atlas of World Politics where, “recent research has shown that more than 3 billion acres of the world’s surface suffer from serious soil degradation, with more than 22 million acres so severely eroded or poisoned with chemicals that they can no longer support productive crop agriculture.” All over the world, “soil damage has been caused by poor farming practices, overgrazing of domestic livestock, and deforestation, which strip away the protective cover of natural vegetation – forests and grassland - allowing wind and water erosion to remove the topsoil that contains the necessary nutrients and soil microbes for plant growth.” [5]

Other natural factors including heavy rains on weak soils, vegetation depleted by drought, steep slopes, sudden climate change (rainfall, drought, changing winds) also contribute to erosion. Human-induced factors that could be changed include change of lands (deforestation) intensive farming, housing development, and road construction.[6] Long term effects of erosion are also seen in the time that it takes soil to form. Soil forms at only half a ton per acre per year; this is only 1 inch of new soil per 100 years in the Willamette Valley.[7]

Conclusion/Inference

Soil is precious and soil needs to be maintained in order for people to live healthy. The problems of erosion must be faced and solved so that there is a future. There are some factors causing erosion that cannot be changed, but there are some that can be. By rethinking the use of land and resources, erosion can be reduced, which can save many lives and the future of mankind.

Evaluation

The sources used are all academic sources including the website, and they may all have their own biases. The interpretation of the data is to prove the point that something needs to be done about the erosion of the world, so it carries with it my bias. Soil erosion is a problem that seems to many “not a big deal” because of its seemingly slow rates, but it is one of the biggest problems that we face.

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[1] Brown, Lester B. Plan B: Rescuing a Planet under Stress and a Civilization in Trouble. W.W. Norton & Company: New York, 2003. p.43.

[2] Brown, Lester B. p.43.

[3] Cook, Steve. Geo 300 Lecture – Erosion. 2 November 2005.

[4] Brown, Lester B. p.45.

[5] Allen, John L. and Elizabeth J. Leppman. Student Atlas of World Politics. McGraw-Hill: USA, 2004. p. 95.

[6] Seafriends – Soil: Erosion and Conservation. http://www.seafriends.org.nz/enviro/soil/erosion.htm last consulted: 10 November 2005.

[7] Cook, Steve. Geo 300 Lecture – Erosion. 2 November 2005.