The US is the planet’s second-biggest polluter following China. Yet, the world’s soil has the potential to virtually wipe the country’s emissions slate clean. All humanity has to do to take advantage of that is; protect and replenish the world’s carbon stores and adopt some simple agricultural practices. There’s even a slew of new sensors nowadays for the more technologically savvy farmers, which help by monitoring soil health and more.
The reward would be up to 5.5 billion tons of greenhouse gases being drawn out of the sky and into the ground yearly. As a bonus, the soil-based natural climate solutions benefit wildlife, water retention, which minimizes the risk of floods, and food production because the soil is more prosperous.
There are three times as much carbon in the top meter of soil covering the planet as there is in the atmosphere. That dirt is as much a significant carbon sink as are the trees and oceans. When dead plant matter falls to the floor, the soil soaks up the carbon. When trees and other vegetation absorb CO2 from the air, it’s passed to the ground when roots and leaves die and decompose. Read more…
