ABSTRACT
We use the term land environment instead of geoenvironment because we do not include the coastal marine environment (considered in the previous chapter) in our discussions in this chapter. As we have seen and discussed in the previous chapters, in respect to the land environment, other than depletion of natural resources and habitat destruction, ground contamination by all kinds of contaminants and pollutants from anthropogenic activities poses one of the greatest threats to the sustainability of the natural capital of the geoenvironment. The term pollutants is used to remind the reader that these are contaminants that are deemed by Regulatory Agencies to be injurious to human health. In the treatment of the subject of contaminants and pollutants in this chapter, the encompassing term contaminants will be used. When emphasis is needed, the term pollutants will be used. Within the context of the land environment, the term natural capital refers to the land ecosystem, which includes (a) the receiving waters in the land surface environment such as rivers, lakes, ponds, and streams, (b) the solid land surface and the underlying soil-water system, (c) the natural resources such as forests, mineral, and carbon resources, and (d) the various biotic species and the biodiversity of the ecosystem. The presence of contaminants in the ground affects not only soil and water quality, but also those living elements and biota that more or less depend on soil and water for their wellbeing. This would include forests, agricultural production, habitats, and the host of biotic species contributing to the biodiversity of the land ecosystem.
