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SOIL CARBON SEQUESTRATION
Soils can cool the planet.
There's
one thing the rich and the poor may agree, and that's the connection
between land and wealth.
Land is about to take on a new value; that of carbon sequestration.
It's not that land is going to change (because it was always a carbon
sequester) it's the value to us humans that will change.
To realize the capability of soil; to literally "breathe in" the excess
blanket of CO2 and cool the globe.
Unlike renewable Solar & Wind Farms that convert energy into
electricity, Renewable Ecology Farms, REFs, convert CO2 into stored
carbon.
One
could liken it to; Solar gets it's fuel from the sun and the soil is
fueled from CO2.
The CO2, when mixed with water and sun; enriches the soil; giving life
to the tree; that which powers ecology: eventually fulfilling the
carbon cycle.
"The nation that
destroys its soil destroys itself" (Roosevelt 1937)
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It would appear
the land is thirsty for CO2 whilst the sky and the oceans have had a
belly full.
The Unseen Role of Soil
In this
time of
change, we hear a lot about renewable energies like solar wind waves
and tide to replace fossil fuels coal and oil, but soil
isn't
generally included.
It's
generally thought trees, like the Amazon Rainforest, are the
lungs of the earth... well, soils
breathe too.
Life is all about the breath, the
solution is always to breathe. It's the same for all living things -
the same for the oceans that team with life - and the soil that has
millions of organisms in a square inch.
Not
only have we dug up millions of years of coal and thrown up in the
air in 100, we've disabled soils ability to breathe by planting crops
that deplete the soil of nutrients, inadvertedly
blocking the natural carbon flow.
Soil carbon sequestration is switched
/OFF everywhere there is depleted soil. Recognizing the problem is the
first step, doing something about it; like switching it back /ON is our
next step.
The
healthier
the soil the more it breathes,
and soil needs
water and CO2.
It would appear
the land is thirsty for CO2
whilst the sky and
the oceans have had a belly full.
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"The most
meaningful indicator for the health of the land, and the long-term
wealth of a nation, is whether soil is being formed or lost. If soil is
being lost, so too is the economic and ecological foundation on which
production and conservation are based".
Dr Christine
Jones
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The unseen solution is at your feet - soil is the key to ecologically
renewable and sustainable farming and resources.
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"Soil
carbon sequestration is an important and immediate sink for removing
atmospheric carbon dioxide and slowing global warming". ref: Montana State University
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YEARLONG GREEN FARMING
Yearlong Green Farming (YGF)
Food for an increasing population.
YGF is any process, technique or practice that turns bare soil into soil covered with green plants for most of the year. Yearlong Green Farming increases the quality, quantity and perenniality of green groundcover in broadacre cropping, horticultural, silva-pastoral and grazing enterprises.
YGF practices include (but are not limited to) pasture cropping, over-cropping, cover-cropping, use of microbial stimulants and compost teas, green manuring, alley farming and planned grazing. Livestock are an important component of YGF. Grasslands and grazers have co-evolved for over 20 million years and are mutually beneficial if managed appropriately.
It is envisioned YGF prepares a new breed of farms and farmers, that include sequestering CO2 as a source of income.
YGF balances productivity with ecology; soils remain richer and yields high; lower dependance upon pesticides and petroleum products; lower carbon footprint; grows crops and sequesters CO2 at the same time.
The farm continues to produce crops and foods, albeit different ones, which may also include bio-energy crops.
The replenishing soil fuels the farmers eco cycle and farming becomes an ecologically renewable and sustainable resource.
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