How does mining and industry led to land degradation?
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Mining can "scar" land, and can bring toxic metals to the surface as mine tilings. Depending on the design of the mine, affected land may be left to natural recovery, or some type of rehabilitation may be performed at the cessation of mining. Because mining removes the desired ore, it essentially has a one-time impact.
Waste disposal is the last "industry" that commonly affects the land. Apart from your normal garbage removal service, some manufacturing companies dispose of waste themselves. In the 1960s and 1970s the rampant dumping of waste began to cause serious land degradation. Environmental regulations were created to limit what and how much of what could be dumped. Highly polluted land was reconditioned at the owner's expense, or if the owner went bankrupt, public expense (super fund). Dump sites must be constructed under plans to limit toxic runoff. As is the general case with waste disposal; making less waste means disposing of less waste, which means less land impact.
There is a common thread in most of these land use issues: They were all recognized as problems and solved decades ago. So what industry can do to help lower land degradation today is to keep doing what those industries have already been doing.
Also keep in mind that humans have actually been re-using the same land again and again for a long time now without problems, and when we abandon that land, Nature doesn't waste much time taking it back.
Waste disposal is the last "industry" that commonly affects the land. Apart from your normal garbage removal service, some manufacturing companies dispose of waste themselves. In the 1960s and 1970s the rampant dumping of waste began to cause serious land degradation. Environmental regulations were created to limit what and how much of what could be dumped. Highly polluted land was reconditioned at the owner's expense, or if the owner went bankrupt, public expense (super fund). Dump sites must be constructed under plans to limit toxic runoff. As is the general case with waste disposal; making less waste means disposing of less waste, which means less land impact.
There is a common thread in most of these land use issues: They were all recognized as problems and solved decades ago. So what industry can do to help lower land degradation today is to keep doing what those industries have already been doing.
Also keep in mind that humans have actually been re-using the same land again and again for a long time now without problems, and when we abandon that land, Nature doesn't waste much time taking it back.
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