Human-caused climate change started not only with burning fossil fuels but with our exploitation of the Earths’ soil. Indigenous societies, many with sophisticated agricultural systems structured around knowledge of environmental limits, were often violently displaced from their land or forced to accept European farming models. As colonialism and extractive practices spread globally, land was, for the first time, exposed to the plow. After just a few decades of intense tillage by plowing, 50% of the original organic matter in the planet’s soil was oxidized and released into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide.
Land use, deforestation and industrial farming contributes about 25% of the global greenhouse-gas emissions today
Fortunately, land-use practices can be one of the most-substantial solutions to the climate crisis, given the ability of the soil to sequester and hold carbon. A tablespoon of soil contains billions of microbes which collectively hold more carbon than all animals combined.
Billions of tons of carbon sit underground, three times more than in the atmosphere. Microbes are the key to carbon sequestration, as they transfer organic matter from plants and animals into soil. This process builds soil fertility while extracting carbon from the atmosphere and locking it away.
With the advent of industrial agriculture, it is estimated that we have lost 133 billion metric tons of carbon from the soil.
To keep warming to 1.5 degrees C. and preserve a livable planet, we need to both dramatically reduce our emissions and achieve widespread carbon sequestration. The acclaimed Project Drawdown shows in its data no other way as effective in addressing global warming as capturing carbon dioxide from the air through photosynthesis and the growing of plants and trees and other vegetation. Yet mono-crop, industrial-style farming practices of tilling, leaving land bare, use of chemical herbicides, pesticides and amendments and long-distance transporting of crops are significantly adding to our GHG emissions.
Conversely, regenerative agriculture practices can extract and sequester carbon. Healthy soil needs and stores carbon. Regenerative agriculture practices are most often cost-saving over time, safer for the farmworkers, “low-tech,” and employ local knowledge. These practices can restore degraded land, improve water retention, reduce flooding, provide more nutrient-rich food, improve air and water quality with reduced use of toxic herbicides, pesticides and fertilizers, protect pollinators, create local, balanced ecosystems, promote crop resilience, disperse heat, reverse climate change and reconnect people to the land. Regenerative agriculture involves several basic practices: minimal soil disturbances, organic production, compost application, the use of cover crops and crop rotation. Regenerative practices take different forms; some involving grazing livestock with grasslands and food trees, and others resembling the Hawaiian ahupua‘a system.
There is maturing global scientific consensus around the need to transition away from industrialized agriculture to regenerative practices, as well as the ability of regenerative practices to match the yields of conventional methods, especially in a less-climate-stable world. The landmark International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development is the most-comprehensive and rigorous assessment of agriculture to date. The IAASTD’s most-salient conclusion is that a radical transformation of the world’s food and farming systems — especially the policies and institutions that affect them — is necessary if we are to overcome converging economic and environmental crises and feed the world sustainably. It found that small-scale, diversified farming is responsible for the lion’s share of agriculture globally, and that “the greatest scope for improving livelihoods and equity exists in small-scale, diversified production systems in developing countries. On the other hand, 60% of U.S. farmland is used for GMO corn and soy that is used for animal feed, fuel and corn syrup. These bigger farms have bigger problems, including substantial greenhouse-gas emissions, and are more vulnerable to climate impacts.
To learn more about the benefits of regenerative agriculture, tune in July 14, 6 p.m., to the monthly remote Climate Action Forum. To register online forum go to bit.ly/rootsofclimatechange Those registering for the July forum — “The Roots of Climate Change : Solutions in the Soil,” will have free access to the documentary “Kiss the Ground.”
This movie gives a good explanation of how regenerative-agriculture practices benefit the environment, although it oversimplifies both the problem and the solution and falls short of addressing the deeper, extractive systems and cultural-supremacy mentality that birthed the destructive land practices in the first place.
Other documentaries that give greater attention to the role of Indigenous regenerative farming are “Gather” and “Tending the Wild.” The forum can also be viewed on live on the Zero Waste Kaua‘i Facebook page. For more information on Kaua‘i Climate Action Coalition or to get involved, email kauaiclimate@gmail.com.
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Laurel Brier is involved with the Kaua‘i Climate Action Coalition, previously known as Apollo Kaua‘i. The KCAC meets the third Monday of the month at 5 p.m. KCAC joins with Surfrider and Zero Waste Kaua‘i to offer a monthly educational series on the climate crisis and related topics the second Wednesday of the month on Zoom and the ZWK Facebook Live page.
Fortunately, we Americans have done a fantastic job at cleaning our environment! Our great Country has lowered our carbon emissions to a much greater extent than most other Countries on earth. If the opinion writer is right, and the “1 degree centigrade” the earth has warmed over the past 100 years is going to continue or increase because of human carbon emissions, which is debatable, there is nothing Americans can do about it that will make any difference to the outcome. NOTHING! China, Russia, India, North Korea, and the many other filthy Countries in our world will not, and can not, lower their emissions to any meaningful degree. That’s why our stupid Government starting with Obama allowed those filthy Socialist/Communists to forgo any penalty for polluting our earth, and gave them decades before they will be liable for not changing their release of gases into our atmosphere. They can not pay much attention to their carbon footprint because their entire economies are dependent on the money it creates. If you’re ready to attack and destroy these Countries militarily all at once, which would be a much more destructive endeavor for our atmosphere than the measly 1% centigrade rise we now have experienced, start demanding that. No American needs to feel guilty, or point to America as anything other than an environmental model the entire world should emulate. Congratulations America! Now all you Climate Change whiners, stop attacking our Country and never talk about Climate Change again without focusing on the real villain’s that are causing 80% of carbon emissions released on earth! The only good thing that has resulted due to massive Covid fiasco was that everybody, and their now wealthy and angry little girl stooge, stopped whining about global warming ad nauseum!
It’s just common sense to care for the resources nature provides to us. This does not mean that we need “climate change” drama. This term is being used to increase taxes and the cost of living while promoting a political agenda. Stop with the lies, and promote common sense.
“nothing’s free”: if America is such a shining example of environmental stewardship why are we the #1 contributor of green house gases to the atmosphere, but only represent 5% of the worlds population? Ohhh, I know, we are privileged because God is on our side; got it. Most those “filthy commies” are not Christian.
CAVE people….Citizens Against Virtually Everything……
Some good info, and some inaccuracies & exclusions. For instance, humans have been plowing for at least 3500 years. When we invented ‘agriculture’, quite some time before that, we drastically changed the environments where we lived. All that predates the practices you’re referencing. Colonialism is not responsible for any of that nor are ‘European farming models’, some of it by millennia. Indigenous peoples were modifying environments permanently by practicing ‘slash and burn’ agriculture well before Colonialism got there.
You also neglected to mention some very important pieces of the mess we’re contributing to climatewise:
We are over Earth’s carrying capacity for our species, which can not be fixed by the ability to produce more food & eliminating most ‘waste’. Water is the absolute limiting factor and we can not manufacture it.
The planet is already over the tipping point for life as we think we know it – not just as WE know it, as in everything changing so drastically that unless evolution speeds up, adapting will not be enough for an almost unthinkable number of species.
We can not reverse the drastic changes already occurring
with weather, water availability, sea level, and oceans that are disastrously warming and changing chemical & material content. Indigenous /regenerative farming ( which I am in favor of about 150% BTW) may be incapable of reversing *anything* by now. Expanding heatwaves, ever more violent weather and sinking water tables easily offset changes in cultural practices. If 20% of the planet becomes uninhabitable before 2050, there will be no way to maintain even our current 8 billion people ( projected to be over 9 billion in 20 years).
i bet the original poster orders from amazon, eats at mcdonalds and is mainland transplant
Yawn…more from Kauai’s own climate neurotic, chicken little Laurel Briar. She and her ilk although sounding authoritative have no real grasp of climate science. Instead they rely on the rantings of politically motivated psychopathic types bent on scaring others.
Here is something worth reading: https://reason.com/2021/07/02/to-stop-climate-change-americans-must-cut-energy-use-by-90-percent-live-in-640-square-feet-and-fly-only-once-every-3-years-says-study/
So hold on the worst is yet to come from these people…all in the face of no evidence that the world will soon burn up. https://notrickszone.com/2021/07/03/global-warming-stalls-again-back-to-levels-seen-20-years-ago-and-no-warming-in-tokyo-this-century/
or this: https://twitter.com/wattsupwiththat/status/1411852370808655874
Enough with the ranting, Laurel…are you ready to make the persona; sacrifice that you demand the state force on the rests of us? And I don’t mean just the virtual signaling of riding a bicycle around.
RG DeSoto
@ deSoto – I’ve been trying for years to remember a description of flaunting one’s righteousness; you have given it back to me! “Virtue signaling”! Thank you.