(Photo via Ernst Haas/Getty Images via Planet Green)
The UK’s Soil Association just put out a report 5 days before Copenhagen that farming’s biggest thing is in fighting climate change — putting carbon back into the soil and earth. Organic, chemical free farms have dirt that has 20-28% more carbon (the lego brick of all life) than your burned out non-organic, chemical fried farm. If the whole world turned to organic farming, you could cut greenhouse gas emissions (not to mention air pollution or acid rain) by 11%.
How Much Carbon Can Organic Agriculture Sequester? : TreeHugger: “In the run up to the Copenhagen summmit, the organization is releasing a new report that describes organic farming as ‘the missing link’ at COP15. the report argues that up to 86% of agriculture’s potential for climate change mitigation lies in carbon sequestration in soils; that organic farming results in 20%-28% higher levels of soil carbon compared to non-organic farming; and that a global conversion to organic farming could sequester up to 11% of global greenhouse gas emissions.”
Even James Lovelock, the Gaia Theory thinker is all for farming, soil and biochar as a way to fix this mess. And if you think chemical free, poison free farming means it has to be some sort of back water thing it doesn’t have to be. If the middle is usually right it’ll be a combination of low tech, low cost and high tech, high cost solutions like wireless soil sensors (good idea for conserving water by the way, might take some work), urban fish farming systems (that’s what FoodCycles and Growing Power are working on) and maybe vertical farming.
RESOURCES
Soil carbon and organic farming: UK Soil Association Report SUMMARY
Soil carbon and organic farming: UK Soil Association Report FULL
Find the climate cure in the soil?
BURYING CARBON: It’s a common practice for farmers to plow charred plants back into their fields. (Photo: David McNew/Getty Images)
Get Rid of Climate Change Once & For All!: “By burying farm waste, researchers hope to show that they can store 200 million tons of carbon annually in the soil.”
(Via MNN.)
How Much Carbon Can Organic Agriculture Sequester?
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