Abstract
It has long been known that pollution threatens our environment in many ways, causing damage to natural resources and harming humans. But the link between cause and damage is usually complex and difficult to assess. This is particularly true of agricultural pollution, which is normally diffuse by nature, arising at low levels but leading to significant cumulative impacts. Agricultural pollution is significant for a number of reasons:
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It is a relatively new phenomenon, arising primarily out of the intensification of agriculture to feed growing numbers of people.
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The environment functions as an integrated and interdependent whole, and agricultural pollution inevitably has a wide range of impacts upon the component parts.
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Accurate assessment of the problems and costs of pollution and the development of policies and technologies to reduce pollution, require a partnership between specialists from a wide range of disciplines and institutions, and the people who produce, or suffer the impact of, the pollution.
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Notes
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© 1990 Jules N. Pretty
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Pretty, J.N. (1990). Agricultural Pollution: From Costs and Causes to Sustainable Practices. In: Angell, D.J.R., Comer, J.D., Wilkinson, M.L.N. (eds) Sustaining Earth. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-21091-6_6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-21091-6_6
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