Dirt: The Silent Global Crisis
September 1st, 2007The most disturbing thing that I notice about New Zealand is soil erosion. Many farms in the Far North are shockingly overstocked and erosion is, quite simply, washing the deforested land out to sea.
This isn’t some far out theory. I see it happening. It doesn’t take much rain to turn the Oruru river brown with the soil washing away from over grazed, sometimes steep, paddocks. The Taipa harbor is filling up with it.
I don’t know if “normal” people notice this, but it represents national suicide in slow motion.
As usual, don’t take my word for it: soil erosion new zealand
On the one hand, I hate kikuyu grass. On the other hand, I’m thankful for it because it prevents our soil from slipping away during the 50 year deluges that now occur semi-annually.
Soil erosion is the most serious threat facing humanity today. Becky and I realize that, in the near future, our lives will depend A) Building top soil, and B) Keeping it from washing down the ditch.
Via: Stephen Leahy:
Soil erosion is the “silent global crisis†that is undermining food production and water availability, as well as being responsible for 30 percent of the greenhouse gases driving climate change.
“We are overlooking soil as the foundation of all life on Earth,†said Andres Arnalds, assistant director of the Icelandic Soil Conservation Service.
“Soil and vegetation is being lost at an alarming rate around the globe, which in turn has devastating effects on food production and accelerates climate change,†Arnalds told IPS from Selfoss, Iceland, host city of the International Forum on Soils, Society and Climate Change which starts Friday.
Along with many other international partner institutions, Iceland is marking the centenary of its Soil Conservation Service by convening this forum of experts.
Every year, some 100,000 square kilometres of land loses its vegetation and becomes degraded or turns into desert.
“Land degradation and desertification may be regarded as the silent crisis of the world, a genuine threat to the future of humankind,†Arnalds said.
Check out “The Final Empire” by William H Kotke. It’s downloadble for free at http://www.rainbowbody.net/Finalempire/
Definitely essential reading.
Chapter 3 is titled, “Soil: The Basis Of Life.”
Some of the section titles in that chapter are: The Process of Soil Collapse, Soil Exhaustion, Soil Compaction, Soil Erosion.
Enough said!
BTW: Kevin, you may remember that you posted a link to the book in December 2004!
People who understand soil science have been screaming about this for decades, in such books as Wendell Berry’s “The Unsettling of America.”
I guess they “cunt hear us” because they “have an ear infucktion,” as we used to say in Middle School.
The despoilers of the earth will never hear; which is why we are where we are today: Looking down the barrel of a die-off.