Environmental degradation is the process of compromising the natural environment, which can be caused by natural or human activities. Depletion of resources, pollution, and damage are common causes, with social and legal issues involved in cleanup responsibility.
Environmental degradation is a process by which the natural environment is compromised in some way, reducing biological diversity and the overall health of the environment. This process can be completely natural in origin, or it can be accelerated or caused by human activities. Many international organizations recognize environmental degradation as one of the major threats facing the planet, since humans have been given only one Earth to work with and if the environment is irreparably compromised, it could spell the end of human existence.
There are several ways that environmental degradation can work. In a classic case, resources simply run out. Air, water and soil are all resources vulnerable to depletion through overuse, as are natural resources such as minerals and oil fields. Habitat pressures that force animals into a small area can also contribute to resource depletion, as animals consume a large volume of material in a small area.
Pollution is another cause of environmental degradation. When the environment becomes polluted, it means that toxic substances have made it unhealthy. Pollution can come from a variety of sources, including vehicle emissions, agricultural runoff, accidental releases of chemicals from factories, and mismanaged harvesting of natural resources. In some cases, pollution can be reversible with costly environmental remediation measures, and in other cases, it can take decades or even centuries for the environment to cope with the pollution.
Simple damage is also a common problem. Sharp, unsustainable development and erosion are all forms of environmental damage. If the damage is extensive, the environment may not be able to reach a state of equilibrium on its own and the problem may worsen. Erosion as a result of poor agricultural practices, for example, can strip the earth of its precious topsoil, leaving behind coarse and useless soils. This sadly happened in North America during the Dust Bowl of the 1930s, in which droughts, poor agricultural practices, and adverse weather conditions led to widespread removal of topsoil from farmland.
A number of social and legal issues are involved in environmental degradation, ranging from the need to provide living space for humans to questions about who is responsible for environmental cleanup. For example, if a business acquires a business that released toxic chemicals into the environment at a time when this practice was common, it might argue that it has no legal obligation to clean up the chemicals, although it may be obligated to do so. based on ethical criteria. principles.
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