Page Six Goes Blank - There's A Dirt Shortage
John Aeschliman, an agriculturalist from Washington, is renewing calls for sustainable farming methods as a top soil shortage threatens.
"The National Academy of Sciences has determined that cropland in the U.S. is being eroded at least 10 times faster than the time it takes for lost soil to be replaced." It's not just run-off from water, either.
Ethanol from corn is often touted as a solution to the energy shortage. Problem is, those corn stalks that are being considered for clean energy are the same stalks that provide food to microorganisms in the soil. These same creatures aerate the soil which prevents rain run-off and erosion.The Pacific Northwest Direct Seed Association, a regional farmers' association for no-till farmers is hosting its annual meeting this week. An initiative of PNDSA is the sale of carbon credits from no-till acreage. Land that hasn't been tilled retains carbon. "For every ton of carbon stored in the soil, 3.67 tons of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) are removed from the atmosphere."
Dirt farmers around the world are losing ground. Around the world! The Azerbaijan government identified desertification from erosion as a priority environmental concern in 2004. Azerbaijan!I will do my part to save topsoil and you can too.
Send a check with your donation -payable to CASH (Concerned About Soil Horizons) to me.
C.A.S.H. -Funding Farmers' Fields of Dreams
Tags: [Sustainable Farming] [David Montgomery]
[Topsoil Shortage] [Joe Aeschliman] [PNDSA]
[Ethanol]
2 comments:
Quick - how do I contact the concerned farmers group. I have a ton of dirt they can have, it comes in on people's shoes, ground into their clothing (especially if football or rugby is involved) and I seem to sweem massive amounts of it up from our "shoe" landing.
Please, oh, please, let me help.
Sounds like you're looking to start something at the grassroots level. I suggest you collect all your dirt into a recyclable container and leave it out for pick up.
Alternatively, you could take said container into the country, dump it into a field, rake it to level it. To make sure the Dirt Cops don't catch you, you'd better rotate your donations between different farmers and different crop fields.
I don't think we have the funds to ship your dirt to Azerbaijan.
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