Tag Archives: soil carbon

Episode 340. We (Still) Need a Regeneration Revolution (Episode226)

This is the World Organic News for the week ending 5th of  June 2023.

Jon Moore reporting!

Decarbonise the air, recarbonise the soil!

Soil

Today we’re going to discuss regeneration in particular regeneration of the soil and ecosystems. Over the last 50 to 75 years, basically since the second world war we’ve gone through a period of destruction. In effect a faustian bargain in which we gave up 1% of our topsoil every year in return for production returns.

Industrial Agriculture

We did this by using chemicals: chemical fertilizers, chemical pesticides and herbicides and fungicides and it worked. There were lots of famines and people starving in the 1970s. A lot of the techniques developed with chemical inputs saved many people, kept them alive. But the cost! That bill is coming due and we need to pay for it now. If we wait, the cost will be so much higher. Continue reading →

Episode 324. FFS! We had the answer 9 years ago!

This week begin with a piece from Iowa Learning Farms entitled: It’s alive! Scientists get closer to identifying what lives in our soil.

The importance of soil life cannot be overstated. That we know so little about this complex web of life is not surprising. Soil science has focused upon the most easily measured properties of soil, its chemistry and the physics involved in compaction, ploughing and so forth.  Continue reading →

Episode 227. The RegenEarth Approach to Chooks

This is the World Organic News for the week ending 17th of  August 2020.

Jon Moore reporting!

Decarbonise the air, recarbonise the soil!

This week I’ve been waist deep in Uni assignments so I have the latest episode from RegenEarth, a podcast I co-host with Rich Bowden. It’s our first back after a period of reorganisation. Not quite a pivot but more of a tightening of the focus. Anyway here ‘tis, I hope ye all find something useful in it. Continue reading →

Episode 226. We Need a Regeneration Revolution

This is the World Organic News for the week ending 11th of  August 2020.

Jon Moore reporting!

Decarbonise the air, recarbonise the soil!

Soil

Today we’re going to discuss regeneration in particular regeneration of the soil and ecosystems. Over the last 50 to 75 years, basically since the second world war we’ve gone through a period of destruction. In effect a faustian bargain in which we gave up 1% of our topsoil every year in return for production returns.

Industrial Agriculture

We did this by using chemicals: chemical fertilizers, chemical pesticides and herbicides and fungicides and it worked. There were lots of famines and people starving in the 1970s. A lot of the techniques developed with chemical inputs saved many people, kept them alive. But the cost! That bill is coming due and we need to pay for it now. If we wait, the cost will be so much higher. Continue reading →

Episode 182. What The Hell is Soil Carbon?

This is the World Organic News for the week ending the 19th of August 2019.

Jon Moore reporting!

Decarbonise the air, recarbonise the soil!

This week I’m going to address the question that is this episode’s title. This was triggered by a conversation I overheard on the question and it left me speechless. The level of misunderstanding was something I felt needed to be addressed because soil carbon is so important to the process of reversing excessive CO2 in the atmosphere. So if we are to do this we really should have thorough knowledge of what’s involved. Continue reading →

Episode 161. Soil Carbon Goes Deeper and Really Hot Rocks

This is the World Organic News for the week ending the 25th of March 2019.

Jon Moore reporting!

Decarbonise the air, recarbonise the soil!

Today’s first post comes Eimhin David Callanan on the Facebook page Irish Regenerative Land Trust entitled: Researcher sees huge carbon sink in soil minerals.

As you can guess, I find this material to be very exciting.

Quote:

A Washington State University researcher has discovered that vast amounts of carbon can be stored by soil minerals more than a foot below the surface. The finding could help offset the rising greenhouse-gas emissions helping warm the Earth’s climate. Credit: Biogeochemistry Letters

End Quote Continue reading →