Soil degradation

causes
include agricultural
, industrial, and
commercial
pollution; loss of

ADDRESSING SOIL
arable land due to
urban expansion,

DEGRADATION

“LEND A HAND TO SAVE THE LAND”

 EFFECTS ON EARTH SUBSYSTEMS

GEOSPHERE HYDROSPHERE ATMOSPHERE

BIOSPHERE
Soil degradation causes include
agri-

It has led to increased pollution and sediments in culture, industrial, and

comer-
streams and rivers, clogging these waterways and cial pollution; loss of
arable
Soil degradation causing declines in fish and other species. And It acts as a carbon sink, seques- land due to urban
expan-
caused soil degraded lands are also often less able to ting CO2 from the atmosphere into sion, overgrazing,
erosion and other hold onto water, which can worsen the soil organic carbon. Land use change, and unsustainable
land changes in land flooding. It also harm the quality degradation processes and climate change
agricultural
quality for the demand of inland waters. Often result into soil organic carbon being
practices.
on agriculture land is released from soil to the atmosphere which
causing accelerated erosion. Decreases the capacit
Name: JOANA JEAN B. SUYMAN
Grade and Section:11 ABM- JOBS

Activity No. 2: A Case of a Hypothetical Planet

To sum it all, based on the data, I believe that this particular planet,
Nidavellir, is uninhabitable. Although some of its data was quite
appropriate to be classified as habitable, but a small portion of the data
would not be able to support and sustain life. There is a significant
conflict in the planet's distance from the sun and its atmosphere. Being
the fifth planet from the sun, it would be roughly 5.2 astronomical units,
but according to my research, the habitable zone of the sun is estimated
to extend from about 0.9 to 1.5 astronomical units so therefore a shift in
the orbit moving Earth farther from the sun would cool and potentially
freeze the planet. Oceans would be covered in ice, causing them to
release less carbon dioxide and vapor. Furthermore, having an
atmosphere that contains a huge amount of carbon dioxide could be
dangerous because carbon dioxide becomes a poisonous gas when
there is too much of it in the air you breathe. Besides the effects the
effects it can have on the planet and the atmosphere, carbon dioxide
poisoning can lead to Central Nervous System damage and respiratory
deterioration in humans and other breathing creatures. In light of this,
this planet, in my opinion is uninhabitable.
Activity No. 3: Earth 1 or Earth 2

September 19, 2021

Environmental Scientist
Surigao City, Surigao del Norte

Dear Mr. Castro

I would like to express my great admiration on your team for all your dedication to the noblest cause
of your research. In light of this, after so many deliberations, I would like to inform you that our board
of trustees and I decided at our meeting on September 18th, 2021 to invest in your environmental
scientific study.

Part of the reason we opted to invest on your environmental study rather than the space exploration
one is because the amount of money being spent on space research is in billions and it has achieved
extraordinarily little except for a bit of improved technology which would probably have come about
anyway by other means. Whether or not global warming is real, and whether or not we are facing
imminent catastrophe on this planet, we are certainly facing serious issues here on Earth, and they
are getting worse as we simply watch them. These include the disappearance of the rainforest, the
pollution of the oceans, and increased desertification of an area about the size of England every year.
There are the general crises that are coming to the planet, quite apart from the economic ones we’re
so obsessed with at the moment.

Inevitably the greed of development leads to the extinction of a culture. This is exactly what is
happening to us today. We’re experiencing climate change, famine, drought, warfare and we’re
investing money needed to solve these problems in space.

If the collapse of civilizations is a recurrent theme, then at we should be looking for ways of managing
the planet’s resources in order to make how we live sustainable. Science should be devoting the sorts
of sums of money that it is pumping into space to working out how to manage the climate here on
Earth. If you put the money that is used in space exploration into the hands of environmental research
you could have lasting benefits for mankind.

We look forward on receiving your progress report with regards to your environmental study by
September 28, 2021 so that we can consider funding at our October meeting. In the meantime, I am
honored and thrilled about our upcoming collaboration. May this research aid in the salvation of
mankind, because I can attest that it is conducted with a curious mind and a compassionate heart.
Sincerely yours,

Joana Suyman
Joana Jean B. Suyman
CEO of Science Innovation Research Company
REFLECTION

If I were given the opportunity to be a part of the mission to be the first human on
Mars, I would gladly accept the offer and use my collective imagination of
experiencing life there and stablish a civilization in the planet. Every great civilization
starts small, so if we want this martian colony to stablish a civilization then were
going to need more than a handful people. The biggest challenge to establish this
civilization is becoming sustainable without relying on regular shipments from Earth.
Since the chlorinated soils on Mars are toxic. We will start to grow some food in
hydroponic chambers in underground or using LED lights but this however might not
sustain the needs so eventually however we’re going to terraform Mars itself so that
we can grow food on its surface. We also need to establish a surface material that
will provide the same amount of shielding from radiation since the atmosphere of
mars is made up of 95% carbon dioxide. This material would create layered walls
and would be a protective shell and underneath that shell will be the science
facilities, living spaces and all our home comforts. This would provide us shelter from
the dust storms outside. We should set up solar arrays for electricity and use natural
gases for engines. Since scientist still debate whether liquid water exists on Mars.
But if does exist, that freshwater source could be filtered for the colonists to use for
irrigation. Having spring water available on Mars would change how the planet would
operate. It would create a government infrastructure to distribute and overseas the
water supply and employ scientist to manage the filtration needs. And now the planet
has an infrastructure in place and jobs to fill. With regards to money, we need
something more locally based, we might have to use cryptocurrency and this money
would help build the governance, increase trade and create a standard living. With
the help of this we can be able to support base building, settlement, development of
technologies that enable settlement and ultimately terraforming. If this plan would be
successful then life on Mars might be the model of future civilization.
Assignment (essay)

‘Can man alter Mars environment to make it more suitable

for human habitation? How?’

Changing the environment of Mars is unlikely to be possible using

current technology, but in the future? I’d like to believe so. Its process
will take centuries perhaps even millennia because this involve a lot of
steps. For starters, we’d have to warm it up. This would entail increasing
the amount of CO2 and other greenhouse gases already present in the
atmosphere and focus light on the planet. Then we’d have to go back
and cool it off again after heating it up because breathing requires
oxygen.

The easiest way to do this would be to introduce bacteria that

photosynthesize; these would establish Mars’s first ecosystem to come.
Now that the atmosphere is checked off, we need to figure out the
geosphere. We want ecosystems to establish. And for that we need soil.
Making soil is incredibly long and arduous process we don’t fully
understand yet and can’t emulate effectively. So we’d introduce plants
and organisms may have to be genetically engineered to cope with an
atmosphere that’s likely still high in CO2. This is my brief overview that is
very theoretical.
REFLECTION

As a responsible citizen I can help to prevent, and in some

cases reverse, soil degradation in many ways. This include
simple acts such as leaving vegetation on soil to allow
nutrients to return into the earth, attain education about
sustainable practices to promote respect and responsibility
for nature and reduce their carbon footprint. This can also
encourage individuals to grow their own produce, which can
foster a curiosity and appreciate for nature, as well as
motivate to protect the planet. It also alleviates some of the
pressure experienced by farms to support an ever-growing
population.