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THE LAND WE LIVE ON:
Servant or Master?
May 14, 2025
THE ESSENCE
We walk on it. We build on it. We grow food in it. We live on it. We are served with our livelihood by it. We take it for granted … Then, it becomes our master. It serves us only as well as we have served it: The Land of our Earth …
The land performs various functions as we live our every days while hardly taking notice of those functions that sustain our very lives … until we exploit it to an extent that those functions are no longer able to serve us well. But, there are things we can do to mitigate that.
HOW THE LAND CONTRIBUTES TO SUSTAINING HUMAN LIFE
  1. Provides soil for growing food (agriculture)
  2. Provides ecosystems (forests and wetlands) to remove carbon and other gases from the air that would be harmful to humans
  3. Provides livelihoods for nearly 20% (1 in 5) of people on the Earth
  4. Provides the solid ground under our feet to walk on it, to build on it, to live on it
And yet, many human activities modify the effectiveness of these roles—from personal habits to large‑scale industrial undertakings—continuing to exploit our land. For the purpose of industrial development, we are cutting down trees (destroying forests) and digging up vegetative biomass (destroying wetlands)—both of which release their stored carbon into the atmosphere.
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THE DETAILS
But, there is more to know than just a general description. The details of what really happens under our feet in the land we walk on, every day, can open eyes and minds …
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EXPLOITED LAND (by humans) AND CLIMATE CHANGE
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  • SOIL EROSION
    • Erosion Through Eradicating Human Activities:
      destroying tree root systems, understory vegetation (e.g. grass, moss) ⟹ damages the land’s ability to absorb water, to have enough land nutrients, and to grow food in it. Soil erosion also exacerbates flooding, and reduces availability of medicines derived from forest plants.
    • Through Using Nitrogen‑Based Fertilizers:
      biggest source of carbon in agriculture: ⟶ avoid them; use organic farming practices
  • WETLANDS
    (marshes, mangroves, peatlands, swamps, muskegs or boglands, fens, etc.)
    • Wetland = Ecosystem, where water covers the soil. Aquatic or terrestrial species (shrubs, trees, other plants) are submerged understory the water level.
    • Benefits of Wetlands:
      water purification, stabilization of shorelines, storm protection, flood control, being carbon sinks (i.e. they store large amounts of carbon to prevent it from being released into the air, and therefore, from causing harm to humans).
    • Wetlands’ capacity to store carbon is remarkable due to it being: water-logged, dark, very productive. They store carbon in vegetation both above and below ground, in sediment beneath live plants, and even in dead plants (e.g leaf litter).
    • Example of Harmful Exploitation of Wetlands by Humans:
      peatlands are drained for agricultural or industrial purposes ⟹ destroys its habitat ⟹ removes its capacity to store carbon in the present or the future
      AND
      exposes the inner carbon to the air that accumulated in the past over hundreds or thousands of years ⟹ the exposed carbon decomposes, turns into harmful carbon dioxide (CO2) ⟹ exacerbates global warming.
      (Peat = an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter)
  • LOGGING/ DEFORESTATION
    (the cutting down and transportation of large number of trees for manufacturing paper‑ or lumber products, or for converting forests into industrial spaces)
    • The cut‑down trees release their stored carbon into the atmosphere that accumulated in the past over hundreds or thousands of years
      AND
      lose their carbon‑sequestration (i.e. carbon‑removing) ability to remove harmful gases from the air in the present or in the future ⟹ those gases increase the greenhouse effect ⟹ temperatures rise ⟹ exacerbates global warming
      (Greenhouse Effect = Trapping the Sun’s heat, and stopping it from leaking back into space. This is a long‑term effect)
    • The increased levels of carbon (and other gases) are soaked up more and more by the ocean (and seas) ⟹ the water becomes more acidic ⟹ affects fish life
    • Disturbance in The Balance of Human‑Plants‑Animals Habitat:
      Logging and deforestation breaks down the balance among people, animals, and plants ⟶ some useful species in the forests become extinct, and some harmful species thrive (e.g. mosquitos, ticks) and carry diseases to humans
    • Causes of Deforestation:
      • Industrial logging and deforestation : By far the largest driver
      • Sea‑level rise (due to climate change): Surrounds the roots of trees with salt water ⟹ damages or kills trees
      • Forest fires (due to climate change): drier‑, warmer‑, more flammable air ⟹ hotter, longer‑lasting fires
  • LIVELIHOOD
    • As large swaths of forests are eliminated, many people who previously worked at those forests become unemployed.
    • Symbols Key:
    • ⟶ next
    • ⟹ consequently
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WHAT CAN
YOU
DO ABOUT IT?
The ‘feel‑good’ sense that most of us—as individuals—have no hand in the growing climate change can be quite deceiving. So, what is it that you can do about it?
Paper Products
Use fewer or less voluminous paper products (e.g. ask for a plate/ napkin/ small bag instead of a cake box, at the pastry shop; use only one napkin; decline unneeded paper‑ or plastic shopping bags at the clothing‑ or grocery store, etc.).
If available, buy products locally in order to prevent cardboard box waste and carbon emission due to shipping.
Less Shipping
Natural Farming Practices
If you have a garden or farm, use natural farming practices (e.g. no fertilizers).
Pay attention to what’s happening in your local area, and stand up against initiatives that intend to expoit the land by destroying natural vegetation.
Your Immediate Environment
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We don’t advocate zero household waste.
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What actions will YOU take?
For your present & future
For the children’s future
For the grandchildren’s future, and so on
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