Improving Existing Sites For New Infrastructure Development

The message of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment’s Governing Board is that human impacts on this resilient natural world are so unprecedented and extensive that we crossed the line into unsustainable consumption some time ago and are now depleting ecosystem capital stock instead of living off its sustainable goods and services.

Ecosystems in our world act as vital and fundamental sections to maintain health, living, well-being and survival of human beings and other creatures (Robert Costanza et al, 1997; Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA), 2005; TEEB Foundations, 2010; TEEB Synthesis, 2010). They provide different kinds of service, such as production of goods, life support processes, and life-fulfilling conditions (Gretchen C. ,2000). Ecosystem significantly contributes to both economic and non-economic value of our planet, but when compared to market efficiency, it seems to be paid less attention when involved in decision making. In the majority of the ongoing projects that have numerous debates on, it seems common for people put a price tag on ecosystem services and evaluate them by means of commodification. When the immediate or intuitionistic benefits fail to be derived, it is less likely for ecosystems to be protected or reserved. Therefore, the importance of ecosystem services is often poorly appreciated and only to be seen when facing severe problems. People are less likely to come up with solutions to protect the ecosystems of their own will than to make a better trade to exchange ecosystem services for money. Also, it is quite often to fail to define the difference between “valuation” and “privatisation”, considering ecosystem services more of tradable products than a part of nature system. It is often overlooked that the market

The audience of this book is presumed to be the general person who is not fully intact with the ideas that he or she is disrupting the ecosystem and is not aware of the effects they are doing as a whole. The book argues that no ecosystem is completely inert as things such as climate changes or drought can also affect the enviorment. Without human interaction an environment can still have issues, but the introduction of human life and economy does take a grave toll on the climate. These are irreversible effects that mankind are doing to the ecosystem. The English

Vast numbers and kinds of organisms, mainly microorganisms, inhabit soil and depend on it for shelter, food, and water. Plants anchor themselves in soil, and from it they receive essential minerals and water. Terrestrial plants could not survive without soil, and because we depend on plants for our food, humans could not exist without soil either (Wiley, 2013).

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.

Thus, in conclusion, this essay has considered: the definition of soil, identifying the components of, and its contribution to soils unique properties, and the critical roles in which soils play to sustain life on Earth. Soil, therefore, coincides with life on our

Economic analysis that weighs all costs and benefits of a particular model must include environmental considerations. That is to say, the potential for short-term economic losses caused by conservation in the present, should be measured against the dividends that conservation will pay in the future (Nordhaus, 2007). If the earth is truly our most valuable commodity, then analysis under these conditions should recognize that if a “dollar value” were placed on environmental sustainability, more often than not it would outweigh any initial monetary loss resultant of the implementation of more sustainable practices.

Soil is everywhere but it is easy to ignore . There are so many types of soils . Soil contains very many fungi and microbes . Soil is also used for recycling by breaking down the leftover of the plant when it dies. It also breaks down the remaining animals after it

Contaminated land has been perceived as the occurrence of relatively rare, but potentially catastrophic incidents, with unforeseen and poorly understood consequences for human health, communities (Verplanken, 1990) and the environment, for example Barnes et al (2002); Levine (1982). Currently, contamination represents a widespread infrastructural problem of varied intensity and significance (Nathanail, 2004). Mass industrialisation and the technological advancements seen throughout much of Europe and North America during the 20th century can be characterised by disproportionately large increase in emissions of contaminants into the environment, where soil is often the ultimate sink

In conclusion, the human and physical factors are as important as each other in causing change, positively and negatively, in ecosystems. However within these categories there are some factors which are more important than others for example the physical factors which are essential for the growth of plants are more important than those which change rates of growth or the types of species which they cause to grow in different areas. Obviously the most important human factor

Six million hectares of primary forest have been lost annually since 2000, and average hard coral cover in the Caribbean has decreased from 50% to 10%. Both of these changes occurred in a short period of time, and humans have been the primary cause. Human impact on biodiversity and the environment is very significant. Research has defined humans uses of renewable and nonrenewable resources, their positive and negative impacts on ecosystems, and our solutions and ideas for maintaining biodiversity.

The number of people living in urban areas is dramatically increasing across the world. Currently, 75 % of people live in cities in the developed world, (Bernhardt E.S. and Palmer M.A, 2007) despite such high percentage many do not get access to the green and blue spaces available, in other words cannot interact with nature. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency green spaces are ‘land that is partly or completely covered with grass, trees, shrubs or other vegetation’ (Environmental Protection Agency, 2014) This includes community gardens, parks as well as cemeteries. (Environmental Protection Agency, 2014) On the other hand, blue spaces include rivers, canals and lakes. (Sally, M, 2010) As urbanisation increases, it will pose a greater threat to nature such as pollution, habitat destruction, erosion and colonisation of native species. There are various ways to engage with nature. However, one reason for green and blue spaces not being utilised effectively by people may be due to people being unaware of the values that these have and the crucial functions they undertake in the ecosystem such as recycling nutrients and controlling the hydrological cycle.

Due to population growth, much pressure has been placed on natural resources and the ecosystem services that are essential to human life (Franks et al. 2012). Rapid changes to the environment such as climate change and the use of natural resources affect the resilience of natural systems. Therefore, appropriate management and assessment of cumulative impacts on the terrestrial and marine environment from anthropogenic activities is crucial, albeit difficult, as impacts often extend outside of the geographic location of a development. Further, impacts from an action can have a compounding effect on outside systems already under stress from unrelated activities. Although much legislation has been enacted in attempt to buffer stressors caused by anthropogenic land use, environmental impact assessment and management approaches are often reactive, and consider mainly the impacts of individual activities and how to mitigate them (Dales, J 2011, Sonter et al. 2013). Therefore, a more integrated, proactive and holistic approach needs to be applied when it comes to the assessment and management cumulative impacts.

Human society's progression through time has resulted in many environment-altering effects, particularly those brought about by industrialization and rapid population growth. The combination of increased numbers of humans and improved technology has created the need for better management of resources and transportation across the globe. This need has produced great leaps in infrastructure, such as roads and dams. However, the introduction of this infrastructure into the natural world has adversely affected the environment. Biodiversity is often drastically altered, resulting in changes in breeding and predation patterns which, in turn, lead to species extinction and degradation of soil and vegetation. The

As the years go by--the population kept increasing and the demand for food and industrial materials increases--the soil is being endangered. The activities of humans and the lack of laws or inactive laws is associated with this