Monday, November 2, 2015

Environmental Issues

   Soil erosion and land degradation


Soil erosion and land degradation are perhaps the greatest environmental issues facing most regions and societies at this time. Although irrevocably linked to deforestation and pollution problems, soil erosion is bigger than the sum of these two crises combined. 

All agricultural practices depend on stable and productive soil for their long-term sustainability. Soil erosion leads to the gradual loss of fertility in the landscape. Soil is a living entity formed gradually through ecological and geological processes.

Soil degradation is the loss of production and in turn the loss of dependent plants and animals. Land degradation is not a new phenomenon, Human societies have been degrading environments through their cultural practices for thousands of years. 

Perhaps the root cause of soil erosion is mankind's general lack of understanding of the complex natural systems  (i.e.plant phrenology)  that constantly interact to produce dynamic and stable global ecosystems

Today the scale of the impact is greater due to exploding human populations, unsustainable agricultural practices, and urban development.

 Scour Protection

Runoff and soil erosion are among the major environmental threats related to agricultural land use in Europe.
Geomorphic responses of rivers and catchments to major land-use disasters such as floods, droughts, vegetation clearing, and extreme events may trigger a rapid sequence of fluvial responses of sand and gravel filling the former reservoir.

 Stream channel instability resulting in river erosion and changing angles of attack can contribute to bridge scour. Debris flow can also have a substantial impact on bridge scour in several ways. A build-up of material can reduce the size of the waterway under a bridge causing contraction scour in the channel.



Seven in 10 skip waste soils, Soil, and Landscape Consultant Tim O'Hare, tests contain the carcinogen Benzo(a)pyrene, and he estimates that around one-quarter could contain asbestos.

  Impervious pavements

 Impervious pavements deprive tree roots of aeration, eliminating the "urban forest" and the canopy shade that would otherwise moderate the urban climate. Because impervious surfaces displace living vegetation, they reduce ecological productivity and interrupt atmospheric carbon cycling.

Controlling stormwater flow over impervious areas is a multidisciplinary eco script where

  •  Impervious surfaces collect solar heat in their dense mass. When the heat is released, it raises air temperatures, producing urban "heat islands", and increasing energy consumption in buildings. 
  • The warm runoff from impervious surfaces reduces dissolved oxygen in stream water, making life difficult in aquatic ecosystems.

    Clean Water

    Compliance with the Clean Water Act mandatory erosion and sediment control devices must be installed on construction sites to minimize the release of soil into runoff waters. 

    Many construction sites have relied on straw bale and silt fence barriers. Straw bales have been proven ineffective due to inappropriate placement, bad installation, and the nature of their structure. 

    Silt fences require expensive manpower for installation, inspection maintenance, and removal. Silt fences cannot be placed on a slope or across a contour line and are not effective unless trenched or keyed in. 

    If not installed at a consistent elevation, silt fences cause erosion. 

       Biodiversity Offsets

     Biodiversity offsetting is a method intended to help compensate for the detrimental impacts of development on biodiversity. 

    Biodiversity offsetting is a system used predominantly by planning authorities and developers to fully compensate for biodiversity impacts associated with economic development, through the planning process.
     
    Such an approach is designed to work by creating a credit-based market that developers could use to offset actions deemed harmful to the environment by investing in habitat restoration for biodiversity elsewhere 

    The idea is that losses of biodiversity at an impact site are compensated for by the generation of ecologically equivalent gains elsewhere, resulting in ‘no net loss’ of biodiversity'.

    In some circumstances, biodiversity offsets are designed to result in an overall biodiversity gain. 
    Offsetting is generally considered the final stage in a mitigation hierarchy, whereby predicted Biodiversity impacts must first be avoided, minimized, and reversed by developers before any remaining impacts are offset. The mitigation hierarchy is used to meet the environmental policy principle of "No Net Loss" of biodiversity alongside development.[1][2]


    The legal and institutional dimensions of biodiversity are a highly top­i­cal and increas­ingly pop­u­lar approach used to com­pen­sate for impacts on species and ecosys­tems as a result of devel­op­ment and is the sub­ject of a large and grow­ing body of sci­en­tific research.   Acknowledging the limitations of what can be achieved through biodiversity offsetting is important if we are not to wake up one day and discover we have lost what we cannot replace.
     






Friday, May 22, 2015

Scarred Environments

In 1965, my family moved from Connecticut to Santa Barbara, CA and I, in one year, "graduated" from playing hockey to surfing.

Thar first season, we endured the scarring of the foothills of the Sespe National Forest from the forest fires only to soon suffer the oil spill in the Channel Islands near Santa Barbara, CA..

Needless to say, my surfing legacy was rudely interrupted  and be-calmed  by the massive oil slink that sickened both the environment and those of is, both fauna and flora, who ventured into unsafe waters .

Two days ago an environmental problem re-surfaced


Arguably, the debate is no longer about whether environmental toxins and accompanying environmental pollution  is happening, but on what we do about them.

  • Bioaugmentation–the addition of bacterial cultures required to speed up the rate of degradation of a contaminant. 

  • Secondary spill containment  using GeoTextiles for the containment of hazardous liquids in order to prevent pollution of soil and water

  • Techniques specifically designed to restore scarred environments to a fully natural state, quickly and efficiently with long term sustainability
 "Ecotoxicology" was coined by RenĂ© Truhaut in 1969 who defined the subdiscipline of environmental toxicology as the study of the effects of toxic chemicals on biological organisms.
 
EXPERT ENVIRONMENTAL CONSULTING SERVICES paired alongside SOIL SCIENTISTS  protect the environment by preventing soil erosion of scarred land and/or water and are committed to Targeted Results for   :
  • pedologists
  • edaphologists
  • soil classifiers
  • soil surveyors
  • environmental site assessors
  • erosion
  • sediment control specialists
  • Wetland Deliminators

  Geo-syntheticsis, a type of polymeric material, is predominantly used in engineering applications such as civil construction, environmental protection projects., and  environmental cleanup projects..

    Contaminants In the Environment

 Environmental law - or 'environmental and natural resources law' -   cleans-up the rest

 

Wednesday, April 8, 2015

2015 the "International Year of Soil"


Open Erosion Forum

  World Bank

Around the globe as people with relevant experience or an interest in Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences,  utilize Task Managers to ensure Environmental Compliance conforms to environmental laws, regulations, standards and other requirement.

Cities and military customers worldwide are increasingly a nexus for environmental challenges.

 Distancing through Differencing


Your open forum is an  interactive, subscription-based tool that provides environmental solutions to issues and research-based insights on the sustainability trends that are shaping our future.

 Your online erosion web site identifies issues such as biodiversity, climate change and green infrastructure,

Green Infrastructure is part of a collaborative to build sustainable communities, targets environmental products that enhance sustainable communities  via "Purifying Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences" emissions.

Environmental transparency reports reduce Reporting Time, and Costs.The ecological and sociological "footprint" of Quality Assurance, or QA for short, refers to planned and systematic production processes that provide confidence in a product's suitability for its intended purpose.

An action plan is a logical solution for countries and regions  to develop and implement.
 

Annual freshwater resources    

A study that found hydraulic fracturing for natural gas puts drinking-water supplies in Pennsylvania at risk of contamination may renew a long-running debate between industry and activists

Epic California drought is preview of future global warming mega-droughts

 HazWasteMgmt


  •  listing of worldwide flood control projects.
 Environmental Solutions Protect the Environment and Limit  Storm-water Contamination!



Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Improving Water Management


A forum that provides an array of environmentally acceptable services and  a comprehensive pathway for erosion control Intel Services,

Clean water scarcity is a major concern for most cities.

 Nowadays geospatial knowledge / solutions  can empower cities to make better decisions and become more green, so as to involve citizens in decisions in order to preserve the safety of citizens and the environment.from adverse environmental exposures.

What does environmental devastation actually look like ? 

  1. Environmental Issues
  2. Environmental Scientists 
  3. Environmental Health
  4. Ecological Engineering
  5. Environmental Engineer
  6. Eco-grid
  7. Repair erosion damage

Sustainable Environment

Environmental Justice

  1. soil erosion enforcement
  2. "zero accidents" has reduced erosion by 
  3. workers from hazards at the workplace? 
  4. Forensic Engineering Investigations & Environmental Consulting
  5. Environmental Management Consulting Services
  6. Environmental Consultancy & Monitoring Services
  7. ecological engineering

Eco friendly / Environmental Management Program

Derived from plants and renewable sources, contributing to a sustainable and economical water treatment are: these. 

The Human Rights to Water and Sanitation in Courts Worldwide: A Selection of National, Regional, and International Case Law (+) - See more

Friday, January 16, 2015

International Year of Soil

Environmental remediation deals with the removal of pollution or contaminants from environmental media such as the atmosphere,  groundwater,  sediment or wetlands.

Eco remediation : solutions of environmental issues.

Technologies for remediation by the environmental industry is part of a comprehensive network that unites scour prevention, erosion structures, liquid assets such as Bio-solids Reuse, and the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) to espouse solutions to erosion fears.

These concerns increase upon running afoul of environmental regulations and environmental organizations,  prompting environmental violations.
 An  environmental audit is a general term that reflects evaluations intended to identify environmental compliance services and management system implementation gaps, In some references, this is called a “gaps analysis” ,  or Preliminary Review. 

Along with related corrective actions,  these  types of evaluations perform an analogous (similar) function to a financial audit.

Remediation and management of contaminated sediments combined with the unlawful discharge  from a dredge plan may solve problem of silted channels and beach erosion, thus resolving the issue (s) of soil degradation.

Ground reinforcement.factors protect soils from mudslide dangers / landslide dangers reduces sediment that’s clogging the rivers. .


Trends after soiling environmental regulations.

  1. Environmental Conservation
  2. Environmental Monitoring
  3. Environmental Science
  4. Erosion control is an enormous global markrt
  5. Green Groups  
  6. Green Infrastructure
  7. Legacy nuclear waste
  8. Managing Remediation Waste
  9. NAEM
  10. NCER

SAN DIEGO, CA--(Marketwired - Jan 14, 2015) - Glenjohn Capital Company announced its KNEW technology was awarded the IChemE Water Management and Supply Award specifically for its patented process in remediation mine effluent called Acid Mine Drainage (AMD), fracking discharge and brackish ground water. 

Land Vulnerability

Many attempts have been made worldwide to develop methods to identify the areas most threatened by soil degradation. Some soils in afflicted areas may be irreversibly degraded and thus have very little resilience (the ability to restore themselves). For the purpose of assessing the current state of soil degradation in the Czech Republic (CZ) we have developed an overall indicator of land vulnerability


Science of Soil Health

USDA NRCS Soil Health Literature Review Project, developed to support the science based approach to NRCS’ soil health initiative, was recently launched and made available to both the public and USDA employees. “As world population and food production demands rise, keeping the nation’s soil healthy and productive is of paramount importance“, said Dave Hoover, National Leader for Soils Business Systems. “So much so that we believe improving the health of our Nation’s soil is one of the most important conservation endeavors of our time.” NRCS efforts on behalf of healthy soil result in an increase in crop production and profitability while improving the environment. Positive results are often realized within the first year of implementing soil health management systems and last well into the future.
 continue reading 

Efforts to Protect Soils


 The process starts with an assessment of the site to determine the remediation needs.

 Earth Flow / debris flows can be very destructive thus the need for soil erosion enforcement

The remediation of hazardous waste is an ongoing project in many nations of the world, as they deal with the continuing production of hazardous waste and the cleanup of waste which was produced in prior eras when environmental regulations were less stringent.

HOI POLLOI SITES of INTEREST

 Mother Nature Network

A Gallery of Tenacious Survivors

 The Oldest Living Things in the WorldWatch and Listen