We can also replace some wood products with alternatives like bamboo, which is actually a type of grass. Soil Soil is vital to food production.
We need high-quality soil to grow the crop s that we eat and feed to livestock. Soil is also important to plants that grow in the wild. Many other types of conservation efforts, such as plant conservation and animal conservation, depend on soil conservation. Poor farming methods, such as repeatedly planting the same crop in the same place, called monoculture , deplete nutrients in the soil.
Soil erosion by water and wind increases when farmers plow up and down hills. One soil conservation method is called contour strip cropping. Several crops, such as corn, wheat, and clover , are planted in alternating strips across a slope or across the path of the prevailing wind. Different crops, with different root system s and leaves, help slow erosion. Harvesting all the trees from a large area, a practice called clearcutting , increases the chances of losing productive topsoil to wind and water erosion.
Selective harvesting —the practice of removing individual trees or small groups of trees—leaves other trees standing to anchor the soil. Biodiversity Biodiversity is the variety of living things that populate the Earth.
The products and benefits we get from nature rely on biodiversity. We need a rich mixture of living things to provide foods, building materials, and medicines, as well as to maintain a clean and healthy landscape. When a species becomes extinct , it is lost to the world forever. Scientists estimate that the current rate of extinction is 1, times the natural rate. Through hunt ing, pollution , habitat destruction, and contribution to global warming, people are speeding up the loss of biodiversity at an alarming rate.
Scientists discover thousands of new species every year. For example, after looking at just 19 trees in Panama, scientists found 1, different species of beetles—80 percent of them unknown to science at the time.
Based on various estimates of the number of species on Earth, we could be losing anywhere from to , species each year. We need to protect biodiversity to ensure we have plentiful and varied food sources. Some predator s are useful for keeping the populations of other animals at manageable levels. Biodiversity is important for more than just food. For instance, we use between 50, to 70, plant species for medicines worldwide.
If the coral reef dies, many of the fish, shellfish , marine mammal s, and plants will die, too. Some government s have established parks and preserves to protect wildlife and their habitats. They are also working to abolish hunting and fishing practices that may cause the extinction of some species. Fossil Fuels Fossil fuels are fuels produced from the remains of ancient plants and animals. They include coal , petroleum oil , and natural gas. People rely on fossil fuels to power vehicles like cars and airplanes, to produce electricity, and to cook and provide heat.
In addition, many of the products we use today are made from petroleum. These include plastics, synthetic rubber, fabric s like nylon , medicines, cosmetics , waxes, cleaning products, medical devices, and even bubblegum. Fossil fuels formed over millions of years.
Once we use them up, we cannot replace them. Fossil fuels are a nonrenewable resource. However, there are other good reasons to limit our fossil fuel use. These fuels pollute the air when they are burned. Burning fossil fuels also releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, contributing to global warming.
Global warming is changing ecosystem s. The oceans are becoming warmer and more acid ic, which threatens sea life. Sea level s are rising, posing risks to coastal communities. Many areas are experiencing more drought s, while others suffer from flood ing. Scientists are exploring alternatives to fossil fuels.
They are trying to produce renewable biofuel s to power cars and trucks. Everyone can help conserve fossil fuels by using them carefully. Turn off lights and other electronics when you are not using them. Purchase energy- efficient appliance s and weatherproof your home. Walk, ride a bike, carpool , and use public transportation whenever possible. Many mineral deposits that have been located and mapped have been depleted.
As the ore s for minerals like aluminum and iron become harder to find and extract , their prices skyrocket. This makes tools and machinery more expensive to purchase and operate. Many mining methods, such as mountaintop removal mining MTR , devastate the environment. They destroy soil, plants, and animal habitats. Many mining methods also pollute water and air, as toxic chemicals leak into the surrounding ecosystem. Conservation efforts in areas like Chile and the Appalachian Mountains in the eastern United States often promote more sustainable mining methods.
Less wasteful mining methods and the recycling of materials will help conserve mineral resources. In Japan, for example, car manufacturers recycle many raw material s used in making automobiles.
In the United States, nearly one-third of the iron produced comes from recycled automobiles. Electronic devices present a big problem for conservation because technology changes so quickly.
For example, consumers typically replace their cell phone s every 18 months. Electronic products contain minerals as well as petroleum-based plastics.
Many of them also contain hazard ous materials that can leach out of landfill s into the soil and water supply. Many governments are passing laws requiring manufacturers to recycle used electronics.
Recycling not only keeps materials out of landfills, but it also reduces the energy used to produce new products. For instance, recycling aluminum saves 90 percent of the energy that would be required to mine new aluminum. Water Water is a renewable resource. We will not run out of water the way we might run out of fossil fuels. The amount of water on Earth always remains the same. Out of that freshwater, almost 70 percent is permanently frozen in the ice cap s covering Antarctica and Greenland.
Only about 1 percent of the freshwater on Earth is available for people to use for drinking, bathing, and irrigating crops. People in many region s of the world suffer water shortage s. These are caused by depletion of underground water sources known as aquifer s, a lack of rainfall due to drought, or pollution of water supplies. More than 5 million people die each year from disease s caused by using polluted water for drinking, cooking, or washing.
Most of these areas are in developing countries. Polluted water hurts the environment as well as people. For instance, agricultural runoff—the water that runs off of farmland—can contain fertilizer s and pesticide s.
When this water gets into stream s, river s, and ocean s, it can harm the organisms that live in or drink from those water sources. People can conserve and protect water supplies in many ways. Individuals can limit water use by fixing leaky faucets, taking shorter showers, planting drought-resistant plants, and buying low-water-use appliances.
Governments, businesses, and nonprofit organization s can help developing countries build sanitation facilities. Read the report. Read a highlights brochure. Working with over countries, the OECD is a global policy forum that promotes policies to improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world. OECD Home Green growth and sustainable development Governments can do more to preserve material resources and cut waste Green growth and sustainable development.
Other recommendations in the OECD report include: Strengthen and expand Extended Producer Responsibility schemes already used by a majority of OECD countries in areas like electronic equipment, packaging and tyres whereby manufacturers take responsibility for collecting and treating end-of-life products.
The article reviews this literature, and focuses on reserves and compensation payments for conservation measures as the two most relevant conservation policy instruments in Europe. Progress has been achieved in understanding the cost-effective allocation of conservation measures and reserve sites, and further advances can be expected by integrating knowledge from ecology and the neoclassical analysis of policy instruments.
Research on cost-effective monitoring, enforcement and decision-making has addressed selected issues such as designing incentives for farmers to reveal their conservation costs to the regulator.
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