At first glance, “Kiss the Ground” was a documentary about soil. Upon closer reflection, it was about hope. It seems we have taken soil for granted–misused it and turned helpful soil into depleted dirt. But it appears that soil is forgiving if we start taking care of it. And, if we take care of it, soil will take care of us.
Failure to care for and nurture soil has led to the collapse of empires. In recent history, the damage done by agriculture on the Great Plains led to the Dust Bowl of the 1930s that damaged 200,000 million acres of soil. As a result, FDR created the Soil Conservation Core, now known as the National Resources Conservation Service.
Carbon is the driving engine of life on our planet. Humans are 16 percent carbon. It is not bad if kept in balance in its proper place. Currently, we have too little carbon in our soil and too much carbon in our atmosphere.
Plants use carbon as fuel to grow. Plants feed the microorganisms in the soil. As a result, soil has the capacity to sequester vast amounts of carbon.
Unfortunately, soil around the world is under threat. One-third of the world’s topsoil has been lost since the advent of modern agriculture. According to the UN, the world’s remaining topsoil will be gone in 60 years unless something is done.
Damaged soils also release water in addition to carbon.
The consequences for inaction are dire with estimates of as many as 1 billion climate refugees by 2050.
“Drawdown” offers a potential solution to global warming–drawdown occurs when carbon in the atmosphere is drawn back into the soil. Switching to renewable energy will not remove the “legacy load” of carbon in the atmosphere that has been building since the beginning of the industrial revolution but covering the soil with plants might. This involves using cover crops, limited disturbance farming (no-till), and replanting barren areas.
This puts a lot of pressure on farmers, but there is a lot non-farmers can do–reduce food waste, compost, and eat a regenerative diet (vegan or meat from pasture-raised animals).
