Sustainable solutions: charting a greener future for all in NC
Encourage reforestation
Essential to good soil health, reforestation should be encouraged in NC, in particular in arid lands that have suffered from fires, for example, or to maintain a balance when part of the forest cover is removed for urbanization.
Plant roots bind soil particles together, promote the appearance of microorganisms and maintain the water table. The soil is then better protected from terrestrial pollution, and less prone to the process of erosion.
Propose an appropriate treatment of solid waste
Waste should be classified according to its degree of contamination, subject to strict control and disposed of efficiently.
Transfer treatment and depollution costs to polluting companies
As for the depollution of contaminated soils, it is a question of establishing the principle of the polluter-pays on a national scale and of requiring operators to restore the sites after any cessation of activity. Otherwise, they expose themselves to various administrative measures that can go as far as criminal sanctions.
The Administrative Code authorizes police forces to compel those responsible for polluted sites to carry out depollution work.
Individual solutions to combat soil pollution
These are all essential measures that we can all support on an individual level.
Rethink your mode of consumption
Fighting soil pollution in North Carolina starts with how you shop. By avoiding over-packaging and choosing organic products, grown without pesticides, and using farming methods that are more respectful of nature. And then by limiting its consumption of meat, intensive agriculture being largely linked to animal feed. Across the planet, thousands of hectares are deforested and the soil is exploited to the extreme to grow soybeans, which will be used, in large part, to feed livestock. The same processes are used for palm oil, which should also be avoided.
By choosing sustainable sources of energy to heat us and power our vehicles, we can also reduce soil pollution produced by factories, just as buying clothes from thrift stores and refurbished electronics will. This will limit waste management issues in NC.
At home, we will reduce our consumption of chemical products and we will try to throw as little waste as possible in the trash. Moreover, our waste is also cigarette butts which contain an impressive quantity of toxic substances and which are still thrown by the millions every year in the streets.
The same goes for batteries, the vast majority of which are still abandoned in the middle of nature or thrown into conventional garbage cans. Their composition thus releases important toxic substances which will lead to lead, nickel or mercury contamination with catastrophic effects on the health of living beings. For example, a single abandoned battery can pollute 1m³ of soil or 400 liters of water for 50 years. So we will think, each time, of bringing our used batteries back to the store, as is the case with light bulbs as well, in order to avoid any heavy metal pollution.
Garden healthier
In the garden or on the terrace, there are a multitude of small gestures to put in place. Avoid pesticides and herbicides but also chemical fertilizers by using compost or green manures instead. Despite their somewhat misleading name, they are actually plants not intended to be harvested but mowed and left in place to fertilize the soil and prevent the appearance of weeds.
Between two crops, we will also use mulch made up of different natural, organic and mineral elements. Placed on the ground around plantations, it improves the structure of the soil and the growth of plants, and helps to retain water to limit watering.
Recycle as much as possible in Greensboro
Reusing and recycling in North Carolina what can be is ensuring that less waste is sent to landfills. Which, in turn, is a way to limit soil contamination.
Or for NC residents with too much junk at home or in their office, the best solution is just sometimes simply to rent a dumpster (read more on this website or on this page)
Whatever the techniques used, it is now essential to recognize and value the fundamental role played by soils in maintaining the balance of ecosystems, and in our food security. Year after year, the human population continues to grow and should reach 9 billion people by 2050. These soils that we use today are also those that future generations will use tomorrow, so it is essential to improve yields while preserving the rhythm and richness of the soil. And protection starts with all of us.
