Zero-Waste History

 Throughout most of history, the amount of waste generated by humans was insignificant due to low levels of population density and exploitation of natural resources. Common waste produced during pre-modern times was mainly ashes and human biodegradable waste, and these were released back into the ground locally, with minimum environmental impact. Tools made out of wood or metal were generally reused or passed down through the generations.

Early waste disposal ; In ancient cities, wastes were thrown onto unpaved streets and roadways, where they were left to accumulate. It was not until 320 BCE in Athens that the first known law forbidding this practice was established. At that time a system for waste removal began to evolve in Greece and in the Greek-dominated cities of the eastern Mediterranean. In ancient Rome, property owners were responsible for cleaning the streets fronting their property. But organized waste collection was associated only with state-sponsored events such as parades. Disposal methods were very crude, involving open pits located just outside the city walls. As populations increased, efforts were made to transport waste farther out from the cities.

After the fall of Rome, waste collection and municipal sanitation began a decline that lasted throughout the Middle Ages. Near the end of the 14th century, scavengers were given the task of carting waste to dumps outside city walls. But this was not the case in smaller towns, where most people still threw waste into the streets. It was not until 1714 that every city in England was required to have an official scavenger. Toward the end of the 18th century in America, municipal collection of garbage was begun in Boston, New York City, and Philadelphia. 

References: 

-https://datatopics.worldbank.org/what-a-waste/trends_in_solid_waste_management.html#:~:text=Globally%2C%20most%20waste%20is%20currently,with%20landfill%20gas%20collection%20systems.

- http://www.romesightseeing.net/the-history-of-plumbing-pompeii-and-herculaneum

POLLUTION

What is pollution?



It is the presence in or introduction into the environment of a substance which has harmful or poisonous effects.



 Environmental pollution is the addition of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or any form of energy (such as heat, sound, or radioactivity) to the environment at a rate faster than it can be dispersed, diluted, decomposed, recycled, or stored in some harmless form. 



Pollution of all kinds can have negative effects on the environment and wildlife and often impacts human health and well-being.



We will be focusing more about the types and effects on pollution in our coming chapters.



Here is a little history about pollution:



Cities of ancient times were often noxious places, fouled by human wastes and debris. Beginning about 1000 CE, the use of coal for fuel caused considerable air pollution, and the conversion of coal to coke for iron smelting beginning in the 17th century exacerbated the problem. In Europe, from the Middle Ages well into the early modern era, unsanitary urban conditions favored the outbreak of population-decimating epidemics of disease, from plague to cholera and typhoid fever. Through the 19th century, water and air pollution and the accumulation of solid wastes were largely problems of congested urban areas. But, with the rapid spread of industrialization and the growth of the human population to unprecedented levels, pollution became a universal problem.



By the middle of the 20th century, an awareness of the need to protect air, water, and land environments from pollution had developed among the general public. In particular, the publication in 1962 of Rachel Carson’s book Silent Spring focused attention on environmental damage caused by improper use of pesticides such as DDT and other persistent chemicals that accumulate in the food chain and disrupt the natural balance of ecosystems on a wide scale. In response, major pieces of environmental legislation, such as the Clean Air Act (1970) and the Clean Water Act (1972; United States), were passed in many countries to control and mitigate environmental pollution.



Here are some of your take on pollution from Facebook:

 Alice Liddell  Pollution -

is everything that is not biodegradable made by man. 

Source : https://www.britannica.com/science/pollution-environment

Deforestation Part 2: HISTORY

Now that we know what deforestation means. Let us focus on how it started. Learning the history of deforestation will help us get a clear view as to how it affects us and the environment, and we can also make better decisions or future plans.

According to History Today, deforestation has been gaining momentum in the tropical regions of the world since 1950. But its history is long and stretches back to when humans first occupied earth. Their needs started to grow as they learnt how to cook on fire or stay warm during cool nights. This dates back to half a million years ago.

All that changed since then is the rate of acceleration, and that, compared to previous ages, environment has become more sensitive and irreversibly damaged. Before 150 about nine-tenths of all deforestation had occurred.

We will focus more on 'how' deforestation occurred in our next chapter. However, we need to know how early man came to a conclusion of chopping down trees for use. The first evidence of deforestation appears in the Mesolithic period (1), closed forests were converted to open ecosystems favorable to game animals. In the Neolithic period there was extensive deforestation for farming lands and wooden tools(2). In this way, as time and evolution of man went on, deforestation kept on increasing at a faster pace.

Let us note that deforestation is part of climate change. It is to take a natural cause no matter the involvement of man in speeding up the process. The Carbinoferous Rainforest Collapse (3) was an event that occurred 300 million years ago. The climate change causing the extinction of many plants and animal species, was abrupt as the climate became cooler and drier which were not favorable to the growth of rain forests.

Here an important question arises. Did we really have the need to cut down trees to survive? Yes climate change would have eventually set in deforestation but would we have survived without cutting down those trees? Did the early man have the knowledge that their actions will one day have adverse affects on humans and animals? and if they would not have cut down a single tree would man have survived today?

History does make a think and helps us find better ways in solving current issues as well as putting in place effective measures for a better future.

"Recognize your history in the present, to know your future "

1. Brown, Tony (1997). "Clearances and Clearings: Deforestation in Mesolithic/Neolithic Britain". Oxford Journal of Archaeology. 16 (2): 133–146. doi:10.1111/1468-0092.00030.
2. ^ "hand tool: Neolithic tools". Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
3. Sahney, S.; Benton, M.J. & Falcon-Lang, H.J. (2010). "Rainforest collapse triggered Pennsylvanian tetrapod diversification in Euramerica". Geology. 38 (12): 1079–1082.