Land use and misuse in the uk

Land use and misuse.

The United Kingdom has about 24 million hectors of land.

� million hectors go in to agriculture

�7 million hectors go in to housing

uilding, quarrying and waste disposal are some of the human activities that account for the rest of the land.

ach year quarrying produces about 300 million tonnes of gravel, limestone, sand and sandstone for concrete and other building materials.

bout 90% of household waste in the UK is dumped into a large pit in the ground this is called a landfill.

Because of these things habitats are destroyed making thousands of plants and animals on the verge of extinction. Other things increase the need for land are:

稥conomic development

稧rowing human population

稵he increasing need for food

Dumping waste form long-term mining activities has a visible impact in the environment.

here is about 200 million tonnes of waste living in pit heaps

oke/coal-fire stations in the UK produce about 10 million tonnes of pulverised ash each year.

Intensive Farming.

When the population began to rise sharply in the nineteenth century it required the farming methods to become more intensive, this is when the most food is produced from the available land for growing crops (arable farming) and animals (livestock farming)

When the intensive methods of farming are applied:

oThe removal of hedges to make huge fields to maximise offence. This destroys the natural habitat of many wild creatures, and can cause soil erosion.

oLoss of scenery, meadowlands, flowers, fields of grass, tree topped hills and country lanes are swept away.

oCareless use of fertilizers pollutes rivers and lakes, making them green and slimy.

oPesticides disturb food chains and reduce insect, bird and mammal populations.

Most of the bread that we eat comes from cereals that have been grown by intensive methods. When the same type of plant is grown over a large area it is called monoculture. Chemical fertilizers have been applied to make the plants stronger and larger, also to make them grow faster. Chemical pesticides have been used: insecticides have been sprayed to kill insect pests and herbicides have been applied to kill weeds. These chemicals cost money and the farmer has to balance out the amount of money he spends on them and the amount he is making.

Most of the pork beef and chicken we eat are produced intensively. When livestock are bred using these methods they are ready for slaughter earlier. This is because they are not free to graze and given fodder, the lack of excursive makes them gain weight.

Battery hens are kept in artificial heat; light humidity, ventilation and availability to water are controlled. As many as a million hens are put into 1 poultry shed. This is done to make hens produce more eggs. They lay about 200-300 every year.

Fairness for animals

The rearing of animals intensively indoors is called factory farming.

Some people argue about whether it is fair or not for this to happen.

For Against

Food- peoples demand for high quality meat can only be met by raising animals intensively.Food-people need less meat then previously believed. The health benefits of eating less animal fat have also been established.

Efficiency- animals confined indoors do not wasted energy in exercise and keeping warm. Therefore they can convert their food energy in to growth (meat) or milk or eggs.Efficiency- although free range methods of rearing animals is very inefficient, it is possible to devise systems that allow animals to love natural lives and yet be productive.

Breeding- animals may be bred to their productivity without worrying about the characteristics that alloy them to look after them selves or their offspring outdoorsQuality-the meat eggs and milk from animals fed on monotones diets do not taste as good as from free-range animals.

Labour- it only takes one person to look after animals indoors

Cost- increased efficiency, better breeding and reducing labour costs mean producing intensively reared milk, meat and eggs are much cheaper then equivalent free range products Cost- although non-intensivly reared animals are more expensive to keep we do not eat as much food as we did. The proportionate cost of meat, therefore, to our food bill should not increase

Animal welfare -intensive methods protect animals from parasites, harsh weather and shortages of food.Animal welfare-cruelty to animals is not just a matter of pain or physical discomfort. Boredom and frustration cause great suffering, which shows in bizarre behaviour.

Population growth.

From around the 1800's the population of the world has been growing very rapidly. This is due to the introduction of modern medicine, which has stopped a lot of death by disease. Modern farming also helps to increase population growth as it makes more food to feed people with. In under developed countries the death rate is much lower then birth rate. This means that there are more people being born then dying. This causes major problems in those countries and makes it hard to cope with so many people. Problems occur like basic health care and finding places to live, food and education about contraception.

Another strain on the environment is the increasing standard of living in all countries.

These factors mean that:

豏aw materials, including non-renewable energy resources are being used up.

豈ore waste is being produced.

豈ore pollution is being caused.

When the earth's population was smaller the effects of human activity were much smaller.