9.
Soil Depletion
Plant, Animal And Human Health Deterioration
Soil and organic matter in the soil may be considered our most important national resource. Plant and animal health and subsequently human health depends on healthy soil. Unfortunately our current farm practices have enormously reduced the supply originally present in the soil and we must expect a permanently lower level of agricultural efficiency if we do not take corrective steps urgently. An adequate supply of organic matter in the soil is vital to the survival of life on the planet.
One of the factors responsible for the global health crisis today is soil deterioration. In the Museum of Natural History (New York), is an exhibit showing the effects of soil deficiency on plant life.
These plants, all of the same kind, were reared in soils lacking some element. The exhibit has to be seen to be fully appreciated. The plants range in size from about three inches to about eighteen inches in height. Their color ranges from pale yellow to dark green. The leaves of some are broad, of others narrow. Some of the leaves are kinky. All of the plants except one is defective both in size, color and features and all except that one were raised in soil lacking some food element. For example, one was raised in a soil lacking iron, (the plant has “anemia”), another in a soil lacking potassium, another in a soil lacking nitrogen, etc.
Deficient soil means deficient food that grows on it. Humans and animals who consume such food also naturally become nutrient deficient. If essential food elements are lacking in their foods, they, like the plants in the experiments, fail and die. Ride along the highway with an experienced farmer and he will point out fertile soil and poor soil, by the vegetation growing thereon; sickly and stunted children (as well as the obese ones) are the result of poor soil.
One of the factors responsible for the global health crisis today is soil deterioration. In the Museum of Natural History (New York), is an exhibit showing the effects of soil deficiency on plant life.
These plants, all of the same kind, were reared in soils lacking some element. The exhibit has to be seen to be fully appreciated. The plants range in size from about three inches to about eighteen inches in height. Their color ranges from pale yellow to dark green. The leaves of some are broad, of others narrow. Some of the leaves are kinky. All of the plants except one is defective both in size, color and features and all except that one were raised in soil lacking some food element. For example, one was raised in a soil lacking iron, (the plant has “anemia”), another in a soil lacking potassium, another in a soil lacking nitrogen, etc.
Deficient soil means deficient food that grows on it. Humans and animals who consume such food also naturally become nutrient deficient. If essential food elements are lacking in their foods, they, like the plants in the experiments, fail and die. Ride along the highway with an experienced farmer and he will point out fertile soil and poor soil, by the vegetation growing thereon; sickly and stunted children (as well as the obese ones) are the result of poor soil.
Global Soil Change : As Serious As Climate Change
Earth’s climate and biodiversity aren’t the only things being dramatically affected by humans—the world’s soils are also shifting beneath our feet.
‘Global soil change’ due to human activities is a major component of what some experts say should be recognized as a new period of geologic time: the human-made age. This new era will be defined by the pervasiveness of human environmental impacts, including changes to Earth’s soils and surface geology.
Daniel Richter of Duke University, in his report published in the December 2007 issue of the journal of Soil Science, warns that Earth’s soils already show a reduced capacity to support biodiversity and agricultural production. As the amount of depleted and damaged soils increases, global cycles of water, carbon, nitrogen, and other materials are also being affected.
In another paper, Jan Zalaseiwicz of the University of Leicester in England and colleagues argue that the fossil and geologic record of our time will leave distinct signatures that will be apparent far into the future.
‘Global soil change’ due to human activities is a major component of what some experts say should be recognized as a new period of geologic time: the human-made age. This new era will be defined by the pervasiveness of human environmental impacts, including changes to Earth’s soils and surface geology.
Daniel Richter of Duke University, in his report published in the December 2007 issue of the journal of Soil Science, warns that Earth’s soils already show a reduced capacity to support biodiversity and agricultural production. As the amount of depleted and damaged soils increases, global cycles of water, carbon, nitrogen, and other materials are also being affected.
In another paper, Jan Zalaseiwicz of the University of Leicester in England and colleagues argue that the fossil and geologic record of our time will leave distinct signatures that will be apparent far into the future.
Overworked Earth
Today about 50 percent of the world’s soils are subject to direct management by humans. Global soil change is also occurring in more remote areas due to the spread of contaminants and alterations in climate. Worldwide, soils are being transformed by human activities in ways that we poorly understand, with possibly dire implications.
The report warns that properties and processes in the soil are more dynamic and susceptible to change than previously thought.
Only recently it has been documented that many aspects of soil chemistry and composition are highly responsive to human activities.
Report also warns that severe soil degradation is increasing globally at a rate of 12.4 million to 24.7 million acres (5 million to 10 million hectares) annually.
The report warns that properties and processes in the soil are more dynamic and susceptible to change than previously thought.
Only recently it has been documented that many aspects of soil chemistry and composition are highly responsive to human activities.
Report also warns that severe soil degradation is increasing globally at a rate of 12.4 million to 24.7 million acres (5 million to 10 million hectares) annually.
Soil Degradation And Climate Change - A Relationship
Soil degradation plays much a larger role in climate change than was previously suspected. That’s because organic matter in soils store vast amounts of carbon—more than is present in the atmosphere and in all land vegetation combined.
According to the noted geologist Bruce Wilkinson of Syracuse University, heavily cultivated and degraded soils lose their carbon-storing ability as exposed organic matter breaks down.
Over the past half century or so, global soils have lost approximately a hundred billion tons of carbon [in the form of carbon dioxide] to the atmosphere through such exposure. Humans are now the predominant geological force operating on the planet.
Rates of sedimentation and erosion caused by human activities— mainly industrial agriculture—are ten times higher those attributable to natural processes. On agricultural land, soil is being lost ten times faster than it is being replaced. Humans are rapidly consuming the global soil reservoir. In light of the wasting grains to produce meat and biofuels, this is obviously a very serious change.
According to the noted geologist Bruce Wilkinson of Syracuse University, heavily cultivated and degraded soils lose their carbon-storing ability as exposed organic matter breaks down.
Over the past half century or so, global soils have lost approximately a hundred billion tons of carbon [in the form of carbon dioxide] to the atmosphere through such exposure. Humans are now the predominant geological force operating on the planet.
Rates of sedimentation and erosion caused by human activities— mainly industrial agriculture—are ten times higher those attributable to natural processes. On agricultural land, soil is being lost ten times faster than it is being replaced. Humans are rapidly consuming the global soil reservoir. In light of the wasting grains to produce meat and biofuels, this is obviously a very serious change.
Empty Foods, Hollow Lives
We’ve all heard and read it countless times - “the best way to maintain health is to eat a balanced diet including lots of fruit and vegetables”. Of course, this is absolutely correct, so long as those fruits and vegetables are not grown on the mineral-depleted soils that necessitate todays ever-increasing range of chemical ‘fertilizers’.
As long ago as in 1920s, the British and US Governments were warned by nutritional experts that the soils on which most crops were grown were so deficient in mineral content that the foods grown on them contained less than 10% of the vitamins and minerals they should normally have. The intention of these reports was to highlight the problem so that remedial action could be taken to remineralise the soils, leading once again to naturally healthy fruits and vegetables.
As long ago as in 1920s, the British and US Governments were warned by nutritional experts that the soils on which most crops were grown were so deficient in mineral content that the foods grown on them contained less than 10% of the vitamins and minerals they should normally have. The intention of these reports was to highlight the problem so that remedial action could be taken to remineralise the soils, leading once again to naturally healthy fruits and vegetables.
“...our modern civilization returns exceedingly little of what it borrows."
~Martin Renner”
But in last one century, no remedial action has been taken and the problem has been intensified by modern intensive farming methods. The fruits and vegetables not only have little or no vitamin and mineral content, but they are routinely sprayed with such a broad selection of chemicals that they are actually poisonous.
How Can Plants Grow Without Vitamins And Minerals?
They can! Even when the soil is burnt out, farmers can still grow good looking fruits and vegetables. Most plants require only three nutrients to grow, namely nitrogen, phosphorus and water. In the presence of these nutrients, virtually all plants will grow into what appear to be healthy, nutritious adult specimens.
However, if the minerals found in their natural habitat are not present, such plants and their relevant fruits and vegetables will be nutritionally “empty”.
As a result of this, these plants are less able to defend themselves against natural predators and are susceptible to insect attack and damage from viruses / bacteria. In order to control this, insecticides, antifungals, antibiotics, pesticides and dozens of other categories of chemicals have been designed to limit the damage done to plants by their natural enemies.
Unfortunately, many of these chemicals have not been properly tested to assess their effects on either plant or human health, and virtually none have been tested in combination to assess their combined effects. The result is that most fruits, vegetables and other plant-based foods are so contaminated with a huge variety of chemicals, and so deficient in nutrient content that they actuallydo more harm than good.
However, if the minerals found in their natural habitat are not present, such plants and their relevant fruits and vegetables will be nutritionally “empty”.
As a result of this, these plants are less able to defend themselves against natural predators and are susceptible to insect attack and damage from viruses / bacteria. In order to control this, insecticides, antifungals, antibiotics, pesticides and dozens of other categories of chemicals have been designed to limit the damage done to plants by their natural enemies.
Unfortunately, many of these chemicals have not been properly tested to assess their effects on either plant or human health, and virtually none have been tested in combination to assess their combined effects. The result is that most fruits, vegetables and other plant-based foods are so contaminated with a huge variety of chemicals, and so deficient in nutrient content that they actuallydo more harm than good.
What is lent by earth has been used by countless generations of plants and animals now dead and will be required by countless others in the future. In the case of an element such as phosphorus, so limited is the supply that if it were not constantly being returned to the soil, a single century would be sufficient to produce a disastrous reduction in the amount of life.
~Sears
Soil Replenishment And Survival of Civilization
The history of preceding civilizations and cultures indicate the imbalances that have developed when minerals have been permanently transferred from the soil. There are only a few localities in the world where great civilizations have continued to exist through long periods and these have very distinct characteristics.
It required only a few centuries, and in some profligated systems a few decades to produce so serious a mineral depletion of the soil that progressive plant and animal deterioration resulted. In such instances, regular and adequate replenishment was not taking place.
In nature’s program, minerals are loaned temporarily to the plants and animals and their return to the soil is essential. In the case of a forest system, this replenishment is made by its plant and animal life automatically. But in case of agriculture, we have to make a conscious effort to do it. A few intelligent civilizations have done it but the balance of the cultures have largely failed at this point.
Another procedure for the replenishing of the depleted soils is by the annual overflow of great river systems which float enrichment from the highlands to the lower plains. This is illustrated by the history of the rivers like the Ganges or the Nile which have carried their generous blanket of fertilizing humus and rich soil over their long course and thus made it possible for the plains to sustain a very dense population. Where human beings have deforested vast mountainsides at the sources of these great waterways, the whole situation has reversed.
For example in China, its two great rivers, the Yangtze and the Yellow River have their source in the isolated vastness of the Himalayas in Tibet and through the centuries have provided the replenishment needed for supporting the vast population of the plains. Because of this natural replenishment, the Chinese have been exceedingly efficient in returning to the soil the minerals borrowed by the plant and animal life. Their efficiency as agriculturists has exceeded that of the residents of many other parts of the world.
But this is no longer so. Under the pressure of industrial progress, more and more of the highlands have been denuded. The forests have been ruthlessly cut down. Vast areas that nature had takenmillenniums to forest have been denuded and the soil has been washed away in a few decades. These mountainsides have become a great menace instead of a great storehouse of plant food material for the plains.
The heavy rains now find little impediment and rush madly toward the plains, carrying with them not the rich vegetable matter of the previous era, but clay and rocks. This material is not good. Instead of replenishing the soil, it covers the plains with a layer of silt many feet deep, making it impossible to utilize the fertile soil underneath.
We have only to look over the departed civilizations of historic times to see the wreckage and devastation caused by these processes. The rise and fall in succession of such cultures as those of Greece, Rome, North Africa, Spain, and many districts of Europe, have followed the pattern which we are now pursuing with great pride, under the illusion of progress.
The complacency with which the masses of the people as well as the politicians view our trend is not unlike the drifting of a merry party in the rapids over a great water fall. There seems to be no sense of impending doom.
It is apparent that the present and past one or two generations have taken more than their share of the minerals and have done so without duly returning them back. Thus they have handicapped, to a serious extent, the succeeding generations. It is not easy to replenish the minerals in the soil and it practically takes many centuries to accumulate another layer of topsoil.
This constitutes one of the serious dilemmas. A program that does not include maintaining this balance between population and soil productivity must inevitably lead to disastrous degeneration. Over-population means strife and wars.
The history of many civilizations has recorded a progressive rise while civilizations were using the accumulated nutrition in the topsoil, and a progressive decline when these civilizations were destroying these essential sources of life. Their cycle of rise and fall is strikingly duplicated in our present industrial culture.
It required only a few centuries, and in some profligated systems a few decades to produce so serious a mineral depletion of the soil that progressive plant and animal deterioration resulted. In such instances, regular and adequate replenishment was not taking place.
In nature’s program, minerals are loaned temporarily to the plants and animals and their return to the soil is essential. In the case of a forest system, this replenishment is made by its plant and animal life automatically. But in case of agriculture, we have to make a conscious effort to do it. A few intelligent civilizations have done it but the balance of the cultures have largely failed at this point.
Another procedure for the replenishing of the depleted soils is by the annual overflow of great river systems which float enrichment from the highlands to the lower plains. This is illustrated by the history of the rivers like the Ganges or the Nile which have carried their generous blanket of fertilizing humus and rich soil over their long course and thus made it possible for the plains to sustain a very dense population. Where human beings have deforested vast mountainsides at the sources of these great waterways, the whole situation has reversed.
For example in China, its two great rivers, the Yangtze and the Yellow River have their source in the isolated vastness of the Himalayas in Tibet and through the centuries have provided the replenishment needed for supporting the vast population of the plains. Because of this natural replenishment, the Chinese have been exceedingly efficient in returning to the soil the minerals borrowed by the plant and animal life. Their efficiency as agriculturists has exceeded that of the residents of many other parts of the world.
But this is no longer so. Under the pressure of industrial progress, more and more of the highlands have been denuded. The forests have been ruthlessly cut down. Vast areas that nature had takenmillenniums to forest have been denuded and the soil has been washed away in a few decades. These mountainsides have become a great menace instead of a great storehouse of plant food material for the plains.
The heavy rains now find little impediment and rush madly toward the plains, carrying with them not the rich vegetable matter of the previous era, but clay and rocks. This material is not good. Instead of replenishing the soil, it covers the plains with a layer of silt many feet deep, making it impossible to utilize the fertile soil underneath.
We have only to look over the departed civilizations of historic times to see the wreckage and devastation caused by these processes. The rise and fall in succession of such cultures as those of Greece, Rome, North Africa, Spain, and many districts of Europe, have followed the pattern which we are now pursuing with great pride, under the illusion of progress.
The complacency with which the masses of the people as well as the politicians view our trend is not unlike the drifting of a merry party in the rapids over a great water fall. There seems to be no sense of impending doom.
It is apparent that the present and past one or two generations have taken more than their share of the minerals and have done so without duly returning them back. Thus they have handicapped, to a serious extent, the succeeding generations. It is not easy to replenish the minerals in the soil and it practically takes many centuries to accumulate another layer of topsoil.
This constitutes one of the serious dilemmas. A program that does not include maintaining this balance between population and soil productivity must inevitably lead to disastrous degeneration. Over-population means strife and wars.
The history of many civilizations has recorded a progressive rise while civilizations were using the accumulated nutrition in the topsoil, and a progressive decline when these civilizations were destroying these essential sources of life. Their cycle of rise and fall is strikingly duplicated in our present industrial culture.
Alarming Rise In Dust Storms
Another very destructive force is the wind. When surfaces are denuded either at high or low altitudes the wind starts carving up the soil and starts blowing it across the country. These are known as dust storms.
Research shows that dust storms are increasing in certain parts of the world, including China and Africa. In parts of North Africa, annual dust production has increased tenfold in the last 50 years. According to Andrew Goudie, a professor of geography at Oxford University, in Mauritania alone there were just two dust storms a year in the early 1960s, but there are about 80 a year today. Levels of Saharan dust coming off the east coast of Africa in June 2007 were five times those observed in June 2006.
The huge amounts of dust blowing across the Earth may have serious consequences for the environment. Dust storms are transporting prodigious quantities of material for very long distances. Dust storms have also been shown to increase the spread of disease across the globe as they are now combining with airborne pollutants emitted by human activities.
Also, the virus spores in the ground are blown into the atmosphere by the storms with the minute particles. Their increasing frequency could affect the levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, thus directly affecting temperatures and rainfall.
Using satellite imagery, scientists are able to monitor dust storms. Modern agricultural practices, deforestation, drought, winds and increased grazing etc. contribute to dust production.
The cross-boundary nature of dust makes it a truly global issue and one that is not receiving the attention it deserves.
Research shows that dust storms are increasing in certain parts of the world, including China and Africa. In parts of North Africa, annual dust production has increased tenfold in the last 50 years. According to Andrew Goudie, a professor of geography at Oxford University, in Mauritania alone there were just two dust storms a year in the early 1960s, but there are about 80 a year today. Levels of Saharan dust coming off the east coast of Africa in June 2007 were five times those observed in June 2006.
The huge amounts of dust blowing across the Earth may have serious consequences for the environment. Dust storms are transporting prodigious quantities of material for very long distances. Dust storms have also been shown to increase the spread of disease across the globe as they are now combining with airborne pollutants emitted by human activities.
Also, the virus spores in the ground are blown into the atmosphere by the storms with the minute particles. Their increasing frequency could affect the levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, thus directly affecting temperatures and rainfall.
Using satellite imagery, scientists are able to monitor dust storms. Modern agricultural practices, deforestation, drought, winds and increased grazing etc. contribute to dust production.
The cross-boundary nature of dust makes it a truly global issue and one that is not receiving the attention it deserves.
Desertification - Green Earth Turning Into Sand
Desertification is the degradation of land in arid areas, resulting primarily from human activities and influenced by climatic variations. A major impact of desertification is biodiversity loss and loss of productive capacity.
Examples can be cited from various parts of the world. In Africa, if current trends of soil degradation continue, the continent might be able to feed just 25% of its population by 2025, according to UNU’s Ghana-based Institute for Natural Resources in Africa.
Examples can be cited from various parts of the world. In Africa, if current trends of soil degradation continue, the continent might be able to feed just 25% of its population by 2025, according to UNU’s Ghana-based Institute for Natural Resources in Africa.
It is a common misconception that droughts by themselves cause desertification. While drought is a contributing factor, the root causes are all related to man’s overexploitation of the environment. There is no geological evidence that deserts expanded significantly before the advent of industrialization.
The heavy losses of territory to advancing deserts in China and Nigeria, the most populous countries in Asia and Africa respectively, illustrate the trends for scores of other countries. China is not only losing productive land to deserts, but it is doing so at an accelerating rate. From 1950 to 1975 China lost an average of 1,560 square kilometers of land to desert each year. By 2000, nearly 3625 square kilometers were going to desert annually.
A U.S. Embassy report entitled “Desert Mergers and Acquisitions” describes satellite images that show two deserts in north-central China expanding and merging to form a single, larger desert overlapping inner Mongolia and Gansu provinces. To the west in Xinjiang Province, two even larger deserts—the Taklimakan and Kumtag—are also heading for a merger. Further east, the Gobi Desert has marched to within 150 miles (241 kilometers) of Beijing, alarming China’s leaders. Similar phenomenon is taking place in dozens of countries around the World.
The heavy losses of territory to advancing deserts in China and Nigeria, the most populous countries in Asia and Africa respectively, illustrate the trends for scores of other countries. China is not only losing productive land to deserts, but it is doing so at an accelerating rate. From 1950 to 1975 China lost an average of 1,560 square kilometers of land to desert each year. By 2000, nearly 3625 square kilometers were going to desert annually.
A U.S. Embassy report entitled “Desert Mergers and Acquisitions” describes satellite images that show two deserts in north-central China expanding and merging to form a single, larger desert overlapping inner Mongolia and Gansu provinces. To the west in Xinjiang Province, two even larger deserts—the Taklimakan and Kumtag—are also heading for a merger. Further east, the Gobi Desert has marched to within 150 miles (241 kilometers) of Beijing, alarming China’s leaders. Similar phenomenon is taking place in dozens of countries around the World.
“When you're cooking with food as alive as this -- these gorgeous and semigorgeous fruits and leaves and grains -- you're in no danger of mistaking it for a commodity, or a fuel, or a collection of chemical nutrients. No, in the eye of the cook or the gardener ... this food reveals itself for what it is: no mere thing but a web of relationships among a great many living beings, some of them human, some not, but each of them dependent on each other, and all of them ultimately rooted in soil and nourished by sunlight.”
~Michael Pollan