World Earth Day celebrated on December 5 is a day dedicated to the earth's soil which is one of man's most important resources. Earth, as the World Soil Day website points out, is "where food begins." All of our fruits and vegetables grow in the soil or on top of shrubs or trees that come out of the soil, the food for the animals we grow grows in the soil. Even the natural fibers we produce for clothing are made from plants that grow in the soil or from animals that eat plants that grow in the soil.
Along with water and sun, the soil is one of the most important components in agriculture.
Still, some of the things people do cause the soil rich in valuable minerals to shrink and lose its quality.
When we throw in the trash materials that contain toxic chemicals, like nylon and plastic, they are buried in waste sites and absorbed into the soil where we grow our food. The toxic ingredients are swept away in rains and floods and spread to large areas, and also seep into the water we drink, let the animals drink, use for washing and watering plants.
An example of damage to land can be seen in the case of Love Canal, a neighborhood near Niagara Falls in New York. The neighborhood was established near the Love Canal Canal, and in the 1940s, with government approval, water was diverted to it from a chemical plant that operated at Niagara Falls that contained toxic chemicals. The chemicals were absorbed into the soil and drinking water and caused a massive environmental pollution disaster that harmed the health of hundreds of neighborhood residents. Many of them had leukemia, asthma and kidney disease, and suffered from miscarriages, births of babies with malformations and more.
To maintain our precious soil, we need to reduce the use of plastic and plastics and stop consuming disposable utensils (just as Greta Thunberg says). The many purchases we make also contribute to soil pollution, as the increased consumption causes the industry to continue to pollute the environment with chemicals and the products of the industry are the waste that is thrown away and buried in the soil.
December 5th is also Ninja Day and Repeal Day