Soil Can Reverse Climate Change

In this article; why we need to remove carbon from the atmosphere; how plants pump carbon into the soil; and why soil can reverse climate change. This is part of our series on Regenerative Agriculture to Grow Sustainably.

In the last six months, I have learnt things about climate change that have absolutely blown my mind. I’ve learnt about the microscopic world beneath our feet with fungus the size of football pitches and more microorganisms in a single teaspoon of healthy soil than there are people on our amazing planet. I’ve learnt about using soil to capture carbon from the atmosphere.

Here’s a number to think about as you read this article:

That’s a BIG number. It’s a number we have to do something about. It would be a scary number but since I discovered the amazing organisation called Kiss The Ground, I’m actually excited. Why? Because, sequestering is the biggest and least expensive opportunity to draw down carbon and reverse global warming! And, regenerating the soil can improve the food that we eat, can eliminate the costly and dangerous chemicals that are used to grow fruit and vegetables, and can ensure food security for billions of people. Hopefully, you are intrigued to read more…

We Need To Take Carbon Out Of The Atmosphere

Switching to electric cars, not burning fossil fuels, ending deforestation, and many other improvements to how we live will reduce the carbon that we pump into the atmosphere. What about the carbon that’s already there? As of May 2021, carbon dioxide makes up about 417 parts per million (ppm) in our atmosphere [8]. That’s well over the 350 ppm needed for a stable climate [9]. We have to do something to take carbon out of the atmosphere to reverse climate change. We need to let nature do what it’s been doing for over 500 million years. We need to put carbon back where it came from, in the soil. So, how can soil capture carbon?

Plants Pump Carbon Into The Soil

I’m not a soil expert. I’m not a farming expert. I am somebody who has been inspired by people that know the science behind soil life. I decided to use my marketing skills to inspire others.

Saying that soil can reverse climate change is a pretty bold statement. It’s the solution that has been studied by many people around the world. It’s achievable if we start farming like nature. Let me give you some context…

Plants have lived on our beautiful planet for over 500 million years. Mother nature nailed it. Here’s what happened:

Over 500 million years ago, Earth was a desert landscape
Plants, working with fungi and bacteria, gradually came out of the oceans onto land
Plants took carbon from the air, used some to grow and gave some to the fungi and bacteria
In exchange for carbon, the fungi and bacteria gave plants nutrients and water
This process transferred carbon from the air into the ground

That is a very simplistic view. But that’s basically what has been happening for over 500 million years, until about 12,000 years ago with the introduction of agriculture. Then in the last 200 years we started industrial farming, followed by the use of artificial fertilisers and dangerous chemicals that evolved from weapons developed during the first and second world wars. For 12,000 years we have been degrading the soil. We broke the circle of life and released 476,000,000,000 tons of carbon from the soil into the atmosphere.

All Life Needs Carbon

Everything on earth needs carbon to grow and live. Plants are carbon monsters but they aren’t that good at getting nutrients from the soil. That’s where microorganisms come in. Microorganisms are fantastic at making nutrients and water available but they need help getting carbon. So, over 500 million years ago plants, fungi, and bacteria started working together to exchange carbon, nutrients, and water. When soil is not dug or ploughed, and when artificial fertilisers and dangerous chemicals aren’t used, fungi grows underground to create extensive networks of tubes, called Hyphae, and those underground tubes transport water and can even burrow into rock and extract nutrients.

Now, the important bit here is that plants, bacteria, fungi, and all the other creatures and microorganisms actually work together to store carbon in healthy soil. More on that in another article…

So, if we farm like nature, without digging and ploughing and without artificial fertilisers and dangerous chemicals then nature can pump carbon back into the soil, and keep it there. That is regenerative agriculture. And, the extra benefit of regenerating soil is that farmers no longer need to use dangerous chemicals. No more dangerous chemicals means no chemicals on the food we eat. No dangerous chemicals means healthy soil where microorganisms thrive to improve the nutrients in plants and the quality of food that we eat. But, why should we care about the nutrients in food? Surely food is food…

Why Use Soil To Reverse Climate Change

Let’s start with some facts:

Soil is the second biggest carbon sink after the oceans [3]
95% of our food comes from the soil [3]
Most soil on cultivated land has lost 50 to 70% of its carbon stock [3]
Half of the topsoil in the planet has been lost in the last 150 years [3]
Food production from mostly dead soil lacks many trace minerals [3]
Some crops have lost 38% of their nutrients in the last 70 years [4]

Now let’s break down those facts:

Carbon in our atmosphere came from the soil and it can go back, just the same way that nature put it there in the first place.

Healthy soil is critical to food production.

As so much of our land has been degraded, it gives us HUGE potential to regenerate the soil and put carbon back where it can from.

Industrial farming is the reason our food has lost so much of its nutrients. By helping farmers to transition to regenerative agriculture, we help them break free of the need to buy expensive artificial fertilisers and dangerous chemicals.

We have to cut out the toxins in our food. Not that long ago the cancer rate was around 1 in 100. Now we’re close to 1 in 2 people being diagnosed with cancer. At the current rate of increase, it won’t be long before nearly every person will contract cancer during their lifetimes. Cancer is also the number one killer in dogs. Isn’t that telling us something about toxins in the food chain? We’re not only killing everything in the soil, we also kill ourselves and our animals. [7]

Here Is What You Can Do

Talk to your friends and colleagues about what you’ve read in this article
Watch Kiss The Ground documentary
Start asking questions about regenerative agriculture
Buy food that has been produced using regenerative methods
If you grow your own vegetables try no-dig, organic, and biodynamic
Be inspired and know that we can reverse climate change if we all do something about it

Where Next?

There is so much inspiring information to give you ideas of how to help climate change by growing, eating, and living sustainably, you can:

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Become a Patron to Give Regular Contributions
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Sources Used To Create This Article

Humus – the essential ingredient: Graeme Sait at TEDxNoosa
Dan Kittredge, Founder Bionutrient Food Association
Kiss The Ground, Regenerative Agriculture Talking Points 2020
Rodale institute
FAO, International Year of Soil Conference
Jack Kittredge | Soil Carbon Restoration Can Biology do the Job
SOS: Save our Soils | Dr. Christine Jones Interviewed by Tracy Frisch
Bloomberg | Carbon Clock
MN350 | The origins of 350 and the history of atmospheric CO2

Production Notes

This was produced by me, James Walters, as a personal project to help stop climate change by inspiring others to grow, eat, and live sustainably.

Any advice given is the opinion of those involved and does not constitute medical, financial, or legal advice.

* We include links we think you will find useful. If you buy through those links, we may earn a small commission. It’s one way to support our work and to inspire as many people as possible.