Nathan Switzer

Protecting Our Soils

The Problem
In 2011 alone, 24 billion tons of fertile soil, an amount worth 490 billion dollars, was lost across the globe, at a rate of 70 dollars or 3.4 tons per person. When these soils are degraded, they are no longer capable of supporting our ecosystem. Soil is being lost at between 10 and 40 times the rate at which it can be naturally replaced. This is due to various farming practices that strip the soil of its vital carbon and make it less robust as well as weaker in nutrients. Projections say, at the rate of current erosion, the amount of arable land per person will be reduced to half of their current levels by 2050. This translates directly into half the production of our current amount of food.

JOMC 232 September 18, 2013

In human terms, soils are a non-renewable resource.

It takes an average of 2000 years for 10 centimeters of fertile soil to form.

Soil is a living organism

One handful of soil contains more microorganisms than the number of people who have ever lived on the planet.

Every minute of every day:

1. 23 hectares of land suffers from human-induced desertification, which greatly increases the rate of erosion by exposing soils to the climate. 5.5 hectares of land are transformed by urban encroachment, an amount that in Europe, is equal to the size of Berlin.

Soil and Climate

Human-induced desertification of our grasslands not only contributes to soil erosion, but contributes to the effects of climate change just as much as our fossil fuel emissions, if not more. Healthy soils together can store more carbon than our atmosphere and biosphere combined. Effective grazing practices on desertifying land alone has the potential reduce carbon levels in our atmosphere to pre-industrial levels.

2.

3. 10 hectares of soil are degraded, forever lost.

How You Can Help

Reversing bad farming practices like tillage, nutrient mismanagement, removing stubble and not over-grazing land serves to return carbon and other nutrients to soils. Supporting policy measures that account for environmental and health costs through pricing, as well as rewarding farmers for regenerating the environment, provide the necessary incentive for

Protecting Our Soils

action to be taken.

Sources (Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies) http://www.iass-potsdam.de/research-clusters/global-contractsustainability/sustainability-governance/global-soil-forum-0 (Time Magazine: What If the Worlds Soil Runs Out?) http://world.time.com/2012/12/14/what-if-the-worlds-soil-runs-out/ (Dr. Alan Savory: How to fight desertification and reverse climate change) http://www.ted.com/talks/allan_savory_how_to_green_the_world_s_deserts_and_reve rse_climate_change.html

Protecting Our Soils