SOIL EROSION

SOIL EROSION The greatest challenge to environmentalists , is soil erosion. Experts have calculated that 0.02 millimeters of surface soil , per square kilometer of the earth , is lost every year due to rain fall. During rainy season ,we see muddy water flowing into the sea. Yellow river of China spits mud, to more than a kilometer into the sea! All can watch helplessly. Millenniums ago , the whole of the earth was covered with grass and shrubs ad the rain water in the rivers was clean and colorless. Farmers cut the earth by ploughing it. Builders removed the top soil and dug deep , to construct multistorey buildings . What can we do? I have suggested in my blog that “Mountain Valley Dams “can be built by simply dumping boulders into the rivers , flowing through valleys between two mountains. It will function like speed breakers. Water will flow slowly , allowing surrounding ground to absorb water. In the plains , pits can be dug right inside the rivers, leaving some distance between two pits; lot of silt will accumulate in the pits. Another suggestion is to divert the river , by digging channels for agricultural purposes