Tag Archives: biodiversity

Episode 302. Monbiot, Mansplaining & Urban Arrogance

This is The ChangeUnderground for the 20th of June 2022.

I’m your host, Jon Moore

Decarbonise the Air, Recarbonise the Soil!

Well folks we’ve been through one of those “First World Problems” situations in the last week. A large and very slow moving high pressure system sat off the west coast of Tasmania, funnelling antarctic air onto the state. A little bit of snow on the higher peaks 10 days ago or so. Cooler temperatures and a little breeze reminded us winter was here.

Last weekend, 11th and 12th of June, the weather system unloaded. 45mm of rain in half a day accompanied with increasing winds. They eventually topped out around 140 kph (about 85 mph). Mrs ChangeUngerground was staying in Launceston with her sister and brother in law who had an early flight on the 12th. The night of the 11th was a true test of the structures at home. The power dropped out early but was back up Saturday night until it wasn’t, again. Sunday about 0100 some power came back. Enough for lights, TV and internet but not enough for the fridge, the freezer nor the water pump.  Continue reading →

Episode 254. When We Lose Diversity

This is The ChangeUnderground for the 26th of April 2021.

I’m your host, Jon Moore

Decarbonise the Air, Recarbonise the Soil!

We have lived through a period of agriculture that could be described as over specialisation. The number of mixed farms dropped after the second world war. From being cereal farmers, say, growing maize, wheat, oats, rye, clover, peas and barley, individuals were driven by government incentives and market forces into growing one or two crops, maize and soybeans. Continue reading →

Episode 218. Chaos Gardening Part 2

This is the World Organic News for the week ending 15th of June 2020.

Jon Moore reporting!

Decarbonise the air, recarbonise the soil!

This week we continue our exploration of the “Chaos Garden” idea. We finished last episode with some quotes from Dr Christine Jones on the importance of photosynthesis. 

Today we explore the suggestions Dr Jones makes to enable photosynthesis to operate at its maximal effect.

  1. Green is good – and yearlong green is even better.
  2. Microbes matter!! 
  3. Diversity is not dispensable!!! 
  4. Limit chemical use 
  5. Animal integration 

Continue reading →

Episode 177. Agroecology and SALT systems

This is the World Organic News for the week ending the 15th of July 2019.

Jon Moore reporting!

Decarbonise the air, recarbonise the soil!

Today I’m looking at some variations on the regenerative model. Agroecology and a thing called SALT, sloping agricultural land technology or Simple Agro-Livestock Land Technology.

Agroecology

Firstly to agroecology:

From the site: Common Dreams comes the piece: Agroecology as Innovation. Continue reading →

Episode 169. Canberra 100% Renewable, Antarctic Ice Melts and Farmers Have a Win.

This is the World Organic News for the week ending the 20th of May 2019.

Jon Moore reporting!

Decarbonise the air, recarbonise the soil!

Well, democracy at work. We have elected a government without a climate change policy. There’s an energy policy but not a climate change policy. Which puts me mind of a thing I saw on Facebook this past week:

Quote:

The forest was shrinking but the trees kept voting for the axe because its handle was made of wood and they thought it was one of them.

End Quote.

So life goes on. Well life as we know it, Jim, anyway. Continue reading →

Episode 156. ASEAN Pushes Agroforestry | China, eCommerce, Earthworms and Kenya!

This is the World Organic News for the week ending the 18th of February 2019.

Jon Moore reporting!

Decarbonise the air, recarbonise the soil!

We begin this week with something familiar before wandering off into a couple different spaces. 

From Eurasia Review comes a piece entitled: ASEAN Nations Focus On Agroforestry To Hike Food Output, Ensure Biodiversity Conservation.

Which seems like a pretty good summary of the benefits of agroforestry: More food, more biodiversity.  Continue reading →

Episode 154. Agroecology in Senegal and New Hope From Old Ideas.

This is the World Organic News for the week ending the 4th of February 2019.

Jon Moore reporting!

Decarbonise the air, recarbonise the soil!

We begin this week with some good news out of Senegal. From the site News Ghana comes the piece entitled: President Sall announces that Senegal will adopt agroecology.

Quote:

The chairman of Enda Tiers-Monde’s international network, Marième Sow, is delighted. The call that civil society organizations have made since the 1970s has finally been heard. The appropriation of the principles of the agro-ecological transition had been their workhorse for decades. This emblematic figure of clean agriculture salutes the awareness of the authorities to move towards a model of agricultural production that does not degrade our forests or our soil, and that does not pollute our groundwater and surface water. Indeed, in his message to the nation of December 31, 2018, President Macky Sall announced a preparation of Senegal, Sahelian country, to the ecological transition through the “Pse Vert”.

End Quote Continue reading →