For Climate Solution, Look to the Ground

Soil, that humble brown stuff we call dirt, is part of the answer to saving our future
Judith Schwartz Common Dreams May 21, 2013
Late last week the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere crossed the 400 parts per million (ppm) threshold. From a climate standpoint this is alarming, and points to the urgency of shifting away from fossil fuels. However, I also feel that our sole emphasis on CO2 blinds us to other means of addressing climate change—notably by returning carbon to where it belongs, in the soil. For this approach represents not only our greatest opportunity to reduce atmospheric CO2 levels, but simultaneously enhances soil fertility and biodiversity, and the land’s ability to retain water.
We get the impression that human interference with climate is a sky thing: those greenhouse gases we keep pumping into the air. But it’s also a ground phenomenon. The flip-side of rising atmospheric CO2 is the loss of carbon in the soil, the main component of soil organic matter. More carbon is stored in soil than in the atmosphere and plants combined. Over time, more CO2 has entered the atmosphere from soil-disturbing agricultural practices than the burning of fossil fuels. Once we understand this, and encourage land management strategies that store carbon as opposed to promoting its oxidation, things look different. This is cause for optimism because while we can’t un-burn fossil fuels (futuristic geoengineering tricks notwithstanding), we can effectively return carbon to the soil……
Cutting emissions is a crucial part of reducing atmospheric CO2 levels. But as we reckon with climate change and other environmental problems, it’s time we brought our efforts down to earth. Soil, that humble brown stuff we call dirt, responds readily to restorative measures. Soil carbon, a fulcrum in many biological cycles, offers crucial points of leverage. By focusing only on atmospheric carbon, we’re missing an important part of the picture. We’re also missing the opportunity to engage the public, push past malaise and hand-wringing, and get our hands dirty—literally—to safeguard our future.
Read more http://www.commondreams.org/view/2013/05/21