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Sat, 08 Sep 2007

Dirt Isn't So Cheap

Soil erosion is a global crisis - causing food and water shortages, and responsible for 30 percent of global warming.

Online alternative news source Common Dreams published an article by Stephen Leahy on soil erosion, Dirt Isn't So Cheap in the 8.31.07 issue. His article is a good follow up to a previous article on soil, aka dirt, by Tamsyn Jones.

From Scoop On Dirt by Tamsyn Jones:
'We've long taken soil for granted. It is ubiquitous but unseen; humble but essential; surprisingly strong yet profoundly fragile. It nurtures life and death in vibrant harmony; undergirds cities, forests and oceans; and feeds all terrestrial life on Earth. It is a substance few people understand and most take for granted. Yet, it is arguably one of Earth's most critical natural resources -- and humans, quite literally, owe to it their very existence.'

Andres Arnalds is the assistant director of the Icelandic Soil Conservation Service. Arnalds spoke from Selfoss, Iceland, host city of the International Forum on Soils, Society and Climate Change, convening Friday Sept. 7th 2007:

'We are overlooking soil as the foundation of all life on Earth,' said Arnalds. 'Soil and vegetation is being lost at an alarming rate around the globe, which in turn has devastating effects on food production and accelerates climate change.' Every year, some 100,000 square kilometres of land loses its vegetation and becomes degraded or turns into desert. 'Land degradation and desertification may be regarded as the silent crisis of the world, a genuine threat to the future of humankind.'

Read stephen Leahy's article Dirt Isn't So Cheap

Also read Scoop On Dirt by Tamsyn Jones.