Erosion is a natural process. It is a process that moves soil and other natural materials from one location away to another location. Water and wind are the primary forces behind this movement.

Before human beings, erosion was a long, drawn-out process. Unfortunately, human beings have dramatically sped up this process.

Our ancestors cleared fields by cutting down trees and disturbing vegetation in order to build homes, plant crops and raise animals.

As time went on and our population grew, we continued to clear more land to build more homes, farms, structures and roadways.

Each time we cut down trees and removed vegetation in order to build or plant crops, we shifted the topsoil. This left it unprotected against wind and water and eventually led to a reduction in its water retention capacity. The loosened topsoil would also be transported by wind and rain to nearby bodies of water. This runoff would then lower the quality of that water.

Today, in order to feed and shelter our human population of 7.6 billion, we have cut down an unimaginable amount of trees and cleared countless acres of land. This has led to significant damage to our vegetation and soil, hardening it and making it more difficult for rainwater to soak into it.

Our shelters have evolved from a sustainable amount of organic structures that were once one with nature to an unsustainable amount of houses and apartment buildings that are surrounded by asphalt that unnaturally covers our soil. The rainwater is unable to penetrate our paved surfaces in order to nourish the earth below it. Instead it travels across these surfaces, picking up pollutants and carrying them to various waterways.