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Photo credits: Jin Xun
Soil isn’t sexy
By Richard (Rick) Mills
excerpt
Desertification is one of the greatest environmental challenges of our time, unfortunately most people have not heard of it or do not understand it at all.
Desertification and land degradation is a global problem, and desertification currently affects a quarter of the world’s land surface.
Today, arable land is being degraded at an estimated 30 to 35 times the historical rate. Land degradation costs $490 billion per year, and desertification causes the degradation of more than 12 million hectares of arable land each year—the equivalent of losing all of France’s arable land every 18 months.
“Every bite of food we eat…our clothes…our houses and most of the things in them…every scrap of paper, from birth certificates to books to dollars…our fuel…even the oxygen we breathe: all of it comes from plants, trees…and topsoil.
When our European ancestors arrived on this continent, our topsoil averaged about 18 inches thick. Due to our intensive agricultural activities, we have eroded that topsoil down to about 8 inches… the only thickness left between us and world disaster. When those 8 inches are gone, so will you and I… countless civilizations have traveled that path. Trees are always the first to disappear. As local populations grew, wood was used for heating, cooking, shelter, and burning lime. Solomon cut down the famous Lebanese cedars for his magnificent temples. Rome cut down southern European forests from Spain to Palestine. All of North Africa was cleared to grow more wheat for the growing Roman population… and replanting was unheard of.
When the trees disappear, the topsoil is inevitably lost. Exposed to rain, wind, and sun, the topsoil loses its organic matter, its humus, its soil life… This sponge-like nature allows the earth to retain water during droughts… The soil dries up, Turned to dust. The next gust of wind Blow it away,or next The rains wash it into the rivers… and the Earth dies.” Eddie Albert, actor and amateur ecologist.
Read the full article: Jin Xun
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