Welcome to my Environmental A-Z…today it’s the letter S…I have been heartened to hear how many of you feel like I do that we need to take our own steps to avoid pollution wherever we can…

Abraham Lincoln is correct we need to act now to create the future for our families that we want…but at the moment we can only dream of…

The best way to predict your future is to create it...Abraham Lincoln.

 

The A-Z of the environment and Climate Change… letter S…

Salinisation…Salinization is the increase of salt concentration in soil and is, in most cases, caused by dissolved salts in the water supply. This supply of water can be caused by flooding of the land by seawater, seepage of seawater or brackish groundwater through the soil from below.

It is also a global problem as Salinity affects production in crops, pastures and trees by interfering with nitrogen uptake, reducing growth and stopping plant reproduction. Some ions (particularly chloride) are toxic to plants and as the concentration of these ions increases, the plant is poisoned and dies.

The solution and different types…

How farmers deal with Salinisation…they avoid over-irrigation by monitoring soil moisture to work out water requirements. good crop selection such as using deep-rooted plants to maximise water extraction. minimising fallow periods using crop rotations and break crops…

Smog…Smog is air pollution that reduces visibility. The term “smog” was first used in the early 1900s to describe a mix of smoke and fog. The smoke usually came from burning coal. Smog was common in industrial areas and remains a familiar sight in cities today. Today, most of the smog we see is photochemical smog.

What is photochemical smog? Photochemical smog is a mixture of pollutants that are formed when nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) react to sunlight, creating a brown haze above cities. It tends to occur more often in summer because that is when we have the most sunlight.

What are the dangers?
Photochemical smog can have an effect on the environment, on people’s health and even on various materials. The main visible effect is the brown haze that can be seen above many cities. The brown tinge is caused by very small liquid and solid particles scattering the light.

It all sounds harmful and scary to me…

Sustainable Development…Sustainable development can be defined as development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs…Fine words but what is really the reality?

The-Sustainable-Development-Goals-Report-2021.pdf

Solid Waste…

“Solid Waste” means any garbage or refuse, sludge from a wastewater treatment plant, water supply treatment plant, or air pollution control facility and other discarded material, resulting from industrial, commercial, mining, and agricultural operations, and from community activities. Nearly everything we do leaves behind some kind of waste.

It is important to note that the definition of solid waste is not limited to wastes that are physically solid. Many solid wastes are liquid, semi-solid, or contained gaseous material.

Municipal solid waste (MSW), commonly known as trash or garbage in the United States and rubbish in Britain, is a waste type consisting of everyday items that are discarded by the public. “Garbage” can also refer specifically to food waste, as in a garbage disposal; the two are sometimes collected separately.

Sustainable Agriculture…Sustainable agriculture is farming in sustainable ways meeting society’s present food and textile needs, without compromising the ability of current or future generations to meet their needs.

Interestingly I watched “The Earth shot Prize” Repairing our Planet…Set up by Prince William it includes Sir David Attenborough who is on the committee…I downloaded it on Utorrent for me it is a wonderful idea and I am so very proud of Prince William and Sir David Attenborough you can tell how much thought has gone into this and they are committed to making the right decisions by including people from around the world…

PLEASE WATCH IT, if you can… the first one was in part about cattle and in particular how much damage they cause to the environment but most importantly how this can be addressed …I believe we can still enjoy our beef if that’s what we want to eat maybe in smaller quantities as I also believe we should increase our fruit and vegetable intake…not just for the environment but for our health… the two go hand in hand.

We need radical changes to how we farm, how we buy, how we eat and what we eat…for our health and the health of the planet…

What worried me though and it should worry you is that while I have been conducting research I read that and I was astounded that despite the focus being on building sustainable and fair food systems the UN summit was boycotted and criticized by none other than scientists, farming groups and social movements…

I was now reading this with a look of pure disbelief on my face…Why?…instead of giving the platform to groups who were building and advocating for sustainable food systems worldwide…the summit centred around major food and agriculture companies who argue that the way forward is through proprietary tech and more chemicals.

This greatly concerns me as we have COPD26 coming up…This post summed it up…Working Together For Planet…There is no Planet B…

This is important as we need to act now...Politicians need to make the big decisions now to end our dependence on fossil fuels and they need our support to do this. This is our opportunity to let our representatives know that we want them to take action NOW….MY BIG FEAR IS THAT THE SAME WILL HAPPEN AT COPD26 AS WHAT HAPPENED AT THE UN SUMMIT…The way forward is not through propriety tech and more chemicals in my mind..so please if you are as concerned as I am please act now…

Thank you so much for reading this and please, please at least have a read..we don’t need a COPD27 because nothing of use was taken forward from COPD26.