[Homestead] Earth charity
Gene GeRue
genegerue at ruralize.com
Wed Jan 30 06:55:06 EST 2008
On Jan 29, 2008, at 10:28 PM, Jerry B wrote:
> It is claimed by Alan Yeoman's of Australia that
> simply by raising the fertility of the already cropped topsoils 1.5
> percent, we could remove all excess Carbon we have introduced into
> the
> atmosphere within only ten years time. . . . I had hoped to read
> your analysis of yeomans thesis Gene, but it appears you must not have
> been much impressed, and I am wondering why.
Well, I'm working on other stuff, but I will give you this:
I've not read the book but I am aware of the message. For those in the
dark, Allan J. Yeomans, in his book Priority One: Together We Can Beat
Global Warming, proffers a menu of strategies to manage global
temperature rise due to greenhouse gases. The pertinent connection
here is his premise that we can sequester enough carbon in
agricultural soil to halt global warming in about a decade. This would
be accomplished by treating the soil as organic farmers do: low- or no-
till, no chemicals, high humus input. Yeomans' book appears to be a
fine effort and I hope his voice continues to be strong.
Rather than fear global warming, I welcome the challenge as a way to
motivate humans to learn how to live more intelligently. It seems to
me that the greatest challenge is from population growth. The
widespread goal of living longer--which I share--contributes to the
population problem. Excessive population will be handled by automatic
correction. As human numbers grow and we become more consumptive there
will be an exponential effect on Earth conditions. When Earth is
sufficiently damaged then there will be population decrease. As humans
gain more knowledge of Earth's mechanisms they will have the ability
of make adjustments. Currently, and for the foreseeable future, too
many disparate power sources with opposing agendas preclude
coordinated intelligent response. Meaningful change will only occur
when there is sufficient pain to create revolution. As forever, man
will continue to evolve. The direction is unknowable.
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