Carbon Sequestration—The Climate
Change Solution That Virtually All Climate Activists Ignore
February 03, 2015
Story at-a-glance
2015 has been declared the International Year of
Soils, with the objective to achieve full
recognition of the prominent contributions of soils
to food security and climate change adaptation
Carbon sequestration in soils can help regenerate
soils, increase crop yields, reduce atmospheric
carbon dioxide levels, limit fresh water usage,
reduce use of agricultural chemicals, and reduce
pollution
About 40 percent of agricultural soils around the
globe is currently classified as degraded or
seriously degraded; the world only has about 60
years’ worth of topsoil left
By Dr. Mercola
2015 has been declared the International Year of Soils,1
and few topics could be more important at this time. One of the
objectives of the International Year of Soils is to "create full
awareness of civil society and decision makers about the
fundamental roles of soils for human's life."
Another is to "achieve full recognition of the prominent
contributions of soils to food security [and] climate change
adaptation." Rarely do you hear climate activists2
address the issue of soil and land regeneration, yet it is
perhaps the most comprehensive solution to everyone's concerns.
Fighting over whether or not climate change is real; or
whether climate change is manmade or not is completely
irrelevant. Arguing over whether the temperature is actually
rising or falling, or whether arctic ice sheets are shrinking or
growing is a waste of time.
Why Agricultural 'U-Turn' Is Necessary
The fact of the matter is, the global landscape is
changing, and food security is no longer a given, even if you
have plenty of available land, and here's why:
Water scarcity is getting worse as aquifers are drained
faster than they can be refilled. In August 2014, the
National Geographic3
reported that a four-year long drought in California had led
to the depletion of snowpacks, rivers, and lakes.
As a result, the state has been tapping into its
underground aquifers to make up for the lack of water. At
present, nearly 60 percent of California's water needs are
met by groundwater4
that does not have time to recharge at the same rate it's
being used.
Soil erosion and degradation is rapidly getting worse.
Air and water pollution are worsening.
Land is turning into desert at a rapid clip, and with
it, we're losing biodiversity of both plant and animal life.
Everything is getting more toxic, and according to a
wide variety of scientists, we are looking at no more than
50-60 years' worth of "business as usual" before we reach a
point at which nature will no longer sustain us on any
front, be it water, air, or soil quality.
The World Has Only 60 Years' Worth of Topsoil Left
One striking example highlighting just how pressed for time
we are is the news that the world only has about 60 years' worth
of topsoil left.
In a 2012 Time Magazine5
interview, University of Sydney professor John Crawford
discussed this issue, noting that about 40 percent of
agricultural soils around the globe is currently classified as
degraded or seriously degraded.
"Seriously degraded" means that 70 percent of the topsoil
(the layer of soil in which plants grow) has already
disappeared. The reason for the erosion and degradation is
farming methods that remove carbon from the soil and destroy the
microbial balance in the soil responsible for plant nutrition
and growth.
At present, topsoil is being lost 10-40 times faster than
nature can regenerate and replenish it naturally. According to
Professor Crawford:
"People don't always think about how [soil] is
connected with so many other things: health, the
environment, [food] security, climate, water. For example,
agriculture accounts for 70 percent of our fresh water
use...
If soil is not fit for purpose, that water will be
wasted, because it washes right through degraded soil and
past the root system. Given the enormous potential for
conflict over water in the next 20-30 years, you don't want
to exacerbate things by continuing to damage the soil, which
is exactly what's happening now...
Under a business as usual scenario, degraded soil
will mean that we will produce 30 percent less food over the
next 20-50 years. This is against a background of projected
demand requiring us to grow 50 percent more food, as the
population grows..."
Nitrogen Application Contributes to the Problem
Synthetic nitrogen fertilizers add to the problem by turning
soil carbon into carbon dioxide (CO2). According to André Leu,
President of Organics International and author of The Myths
of Safe Pesticides:
“Research shows a direct link between the application
of synthetic nitrogenous fertilizers and the decline in soil
carbon.
Scientists from the University of Illinois analyzed
the results of a 50-year agricultural trial and found that
synthetic nitrogen fertilizer resulted in all the carbon
residues from the crop disappearing as well as an average
loss of around 10,000 kg of carbon (C) per hectare per year.
This is around 36,700 kg of carbon dioxide per
hectare on top of the many thousands of kilograms of crop
residue that is converted in to CO2 every year.
The researchers found that the higher the application
of synthetic nitrogen fertilizer the greater the amount of
soil carbon lost as CO2. This is one of the major reasons
why conventional agricultural systems have a decline in soil
carbon while organic systems increase soil carbon.”
In a paper6
titled, Nitrogen: the double-edged sword, Christine
Jones, PhD goes into some detail about the impacts of inorganic
nitrogen. Ironically, in addition to depleting soil carbon,
application of nitrogen fertilizers also deplete the soil of its
natural nitrogen stores. In her paper, she also describes the
inter-dependency between nitrogen, carbon, and aggregation
produced by soil fungi.
Mycorrhizal fungi use carbon to form soil aggregates, which
is how soil structure is built. (More specifically, soil
aggregates are produced by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi.) Soil
aggregates are like clusters of tiny particles that do not fit
together, resulting in porous spaces in the soil. This
alleviates compaction and allows for water retention.
As explained by Dr. Jones, if soils are not actively
aggregating (due to a lack of mycorrhizal fungi), it will not
fix significant amounts of atmospheric nitrogen, nor will it
sequester stable forms of carbon. The mycorrhizal fungi
responsible for aggregation can be significantly harmed by
agricultural chemicals and disruptive methods like tilling, both
of which are cornerstones of our modern chemical-based
agriculture. The use of diverse ground cover plants is also
important for mycorrhizal fungi proliferation, and this is
rarely done in conventional farming. She writes, in part:
“When soil is bare there is no photosynthesis and
very little biological activity. Bare soils lose carbon and
nitrogen, nutrient cycles become dysfunctional, aggregates
deteriorate, structure declines and water-holding capacity
is reduced. Bare fallows, designed to store moisture and
retain nutrients, become self-defeating. The maintenance of
bare fallows - or the use of high rates of inorganic N in
crops or pastures—or worse, both—results in the uncoupling
of the nitrogen and carbon cycles that have functioned
synergistically for millennia.”
Nitrogen application also pollutes water supplies. As noted
by Dr. Jones: “The USDA estimates that the cost of removing
nitrate from U.S. drinking water is more than $4.8 billion per
year, while nitrogen run-off from farmland is the single largest
source of nutrient pollution contributing to the massive ‘dead
zone’ in the Gulf of Mexico.”
Carbon Sequestration is an Important Part of the Solution
There's an obvious answer to all of these concerns.
Unfortunately, too few are giving it the attention it deserves,
if they're paying it any attention at all. The answer is to
alter our agricultural practices in such a way as to return and
confine organic matter and carbon in the soil. This will help:
Regenerate the soil
Limit agricultural water usage with no till and crop
covers
Reduce the need for agricultural chemicals and
additives, if not eliminate such need entirely in time
Reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide levels
Reduce air and water pollution by lessening the need
for herbicides, pesticides, and synthetic fertilizers
2014 Saw a Rise in Sustainable Farming
8 2014 saw an upshot in ecological
farming—agricultural practices that protect, sustain, and
regenerate the Earth's ecology. Increasing numbers of farmers
are indeed starting to recognize the value, if not necessity,
for such modifications.
Eco-farmers have also started getting increasing support from
international organizations—the United Nations in particular. As
noted by Olivier De Schutter, United Nations Special Rapporteur
on the right to food, last year:
"We cannot continue in this impasse of an oil
dependent food production system. … Agroecology is really
common sense. It means understanding how nature works, to
replicate the natural workings of nature on farms in order
to reduce dependency on external inputs."
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
Director-General, José Graziano da Silva, has also said:
"Agroecology continues to grow, both in science and
in policies. It is an approach that will help to address the
challenge of ending hunger and malnutrition in all its
forms, in the context of the climate change adaptation
needed."
At present, most governments around the world are subsidizing
and/or promoting a food production system that is unsustainable.
Moreover, it's done at the cost of both human and environmental
health.
As noted by Professor Crawford, modern crop breeding and
genetic engineering is also exacerbating malnutrition and hunger
rather than alleviating it. Take wheat for example, which today
contains half the micronutrients of older strains. The
same goes for fruits and vegetables of all kinds. Most are bred
or engineered to withstand pests. Very little attention has been
paid to the nutrient content, which has precipitously fallen. In
a previous interview with Dr.
August Dunning, he presented data showing that in order to
receive the same amount of iron you used to get from a single
apple in 1950, by 1998 you had to eat 26 apples!
The reason for this is in part due to the excessive use of
glyphosate. The United States alone applies 200 million pounds
of glyphosate to croplands each year. Worldwide, more than one
billion pounds of glyphosate are used each year. This
broad-spectrum herbicide effectively chelates minerals from the
soil, making the minerals unavailable for plants. It's also a
potent antibiotic that decimates crucial soil biology
responsible for nutrient uptake. As stated by Professor
Crawford:9
"The focus has been on breeding high-yield crops
which can survive on degraded soil, so it's hardly
surprising that 60 percent of the world's population is
deficient in nutrients like iron. If it's not in the soil,
it's not in our food...Significant progress is technically
quite straightforward... First-off I'd focus on getting
carbon back into the soil, by reversing bad farming
practices like
tillage, nutrient mismanagement, removing stubble and
over-grazing...
In the longer term, breeding targets need to focus
more on human nutrition as well as productivity, and on
traits that improve the soil... From a policy standpoint,
probably the most important thing is to find pricing
mechanisms that take into account the environmental, health
and other costs of a broken system. Farmers need to be
appropriately rewarded for regenerating the environment and
producing food that supports a healthier society."
The Solution for Reversing Soil Degradation
A recent paper in the journal Sustainability10
presents "an optimistic strategy" for reversing soil
degradation. By examining how soil biology influences soil
quality, and how biological properties and processes contribute
to agricultural sustainability, the authors discuss how, by
focusing on soil health, a number of pressing problems can be
successfully addressed:
Nutrient availability in soil can be increased,
producing high yielding, high quality crops
Crops can be naturally protected from pests, pathogens,
and weeds
Factors that might otherwise undermine production, such
as drought, can be ameliorated
According to a US Department of Agriculture (USDA) 2012
report11
titled: Climate Change and Agriculture in the United States,
our current agricultural system, which is dominated by corn and
soy, is unsustainable in the long term. Should
temperatures rise as predicted, the US could expect to see
significant declines in yields by the middle of this century. We
do not have the time to ponder these problems much longer. We
must begin to address the health and quality of our soils, as
this can solve virtually every single dilemma we're currently
facing.
In the featured lecture, Judith Schwartz discusses the
transformative effects of various water management approaches
around the world. While many claim that climate change is
responsible for droughts and land masses turning into desert,
Schwartz notes that one can easily argue that our agricultural
methods have also contributed to this change in
climate. Arguing about which came first, the climate change or
the environmental destruction, is pointless. Instead we need to
focus on strategies that will bring us closer to a system that
works.
And restoring the water cycle in our environment—by
sequestering carbon in our soils—will not only make our food
supply more secure, it can also help moderate changes in
climate. Sequestering carbon in the soil will not only lessen
the carbon dioxide load in the atmosphere. Once in the soil, the
carbon does many beneficial things, including holding water. A
mere one percent increase in organic soil carbon means an acre
of land can hold an additional 20,000 gallons of water. "If
water can be kept in the soil, that land is supporting life,"
she says. Moreover, any rain that falls will also be more
effectively absorbed and used, rather than evaporating into the
air or eroding away the soils by rapid runoff.
Reducing the Environmental Hoofprint of Feedlot Operations
Holistic grazing is a crucial part of regenerative land
management. Done properly it can radically increase cover crop
diversity, top soil and soil microbes. At present, a staggering
two-thirds of the landmass on earth is turning into desert, and
cattle grazing is part of the answer to stop and reverse this
loss of land. It's also an important principle that improves the
nutrition of our food.
Not only do pastured animal foods (meat, eggs, dairy) have a
superior nutrient profile, they also do not contain
many of the contaminants associated with poor health and
disease, found in CAFO-raised animals. This includes
antibiotics and other
growth promoters, and
genetically engineered feed grains and the
pesticides associated with them. According to the National
Resources Defense Council (NRDC):12
"The US beef supply chain suffers from poor
management practices that impact our climate and degrade our
grazing lands while adversely influencing public health,
animal welfare, and worker safety...
Fortunately, an extensive body of science has shown
that improving supply chain management has the potential to
dramatically benefit ecosystem health across the country.
This is because, for example, well-managed grazinglands
provide society with economically valuable "ecosystem
services," including biodiversity, sequestered carbon,
filtered nutrient runoff, recharged ground and surface
waters, recreational opportunities, and scenic landscapes."
According to the NRDC, there's only one comprehensive program
serving American beef producers, and that is Food Alliance,
which is still quite small. To strengthen efforts, the NRDC has
partnered with Food Alliance, Rainforest Alliance, and a number
of other stakeholders to create a new, more comprehensive
program to help improve beef production in the US. According to
the NRDC:
"This new program will account for the health of
America's grasslands and other grazed ecosystems, how
ranchers and farmers grow grass and feed crops, how feedlots
are managed, and whether cattle are treated humanely and
workers are treated fairly."
You Are What You Eat... And Health Begins in the Soil
Aside from the environmental harm being done by confined
animal feeding operations (CAFOs) and chemical-dependent
agriculture, the current food production system also takes an
incredible toll on human health. Many kids are not getting the
nutrients they need in order to thrive, especially in the US
where nearly 40 percent of children's diets come from added
sugars and unhealthy fats.13
Only 21 percent of youth aged 6-19 eat the recommended five or
more servings of fruits and vegetables each day.
Ingredients that are of poor nutritional quality to begin
with, and often contaminated with hazardous chemicals, are being
further destroyed via extensive processing. Sugars, harmful
processed fats, and chemicals are then added for taste. And
people wonder why diseases that once appeared only in middle-age
and beyond, such as severe obesity, type 2 diabetes, high blood
pressure, and even
liver disease, are now so prevalent among our youth...
Processed foods, which were once seen as a godsend for busy
parents are now one of the leading causes of disease, and
there's nothing convenient about that!
The sustainable solution for good human and ecological health
is to focus on carbon sequestration. It's a solution that can
address most of the pressing problems we currently face,
including climate change, water shortages, and lack of food
security. So why don't major climate activists get on board with
regenerative farming enthusiasts? I hope in 2015—the
International Year of Soils—they will.
Copyright 1997- 2015 Dr. Joseph Mercola. All Rights Reserved.