Healthy soil and sustainable growing

[Mark Nagel <activism98201@verizon.net>]

Originally I ran across this article while debating the feasibility of 
ethanol in the US; repeatedly we hear about the success that is Brazil's 
ethanol program, that is a "model" for self-suficiency (and cleaner air 
[which, runs into problems when cane stock is burnt by famers]) that we 
should look to.

Thanks to the influence of this group, I figured I'd  double-check all the 
claims using the most important measure- soil health!

I found the following UN Food and Agriculture document to be quite the 
treasure trove of information.  As soil folks might expect, extensive, 
intensive growing and exporting of coffee and sugar cane (plus burning it for 
transportation) is taking a toll on Brazil's soils.

>From 
>http://www.fao.org/documents/show_cdr.asp?url_file=/docrep/007/y5376e/y5376e08.htm
> their concluding remarks contain: 

"In general terms, the fertilizer nutrient balance in Brazilian agriculture 
is unsatisfactory. The removal of nutrients by the 16 main crops is higher 
than the quantities applied in the form of mineral fertilizers*. The deficit 
is much greater in the case of nitrogen than in those of phosphorus and 
potassium. >>> Thus the soil is being seriously depleted of nutrients and 
this represents a serious threat to long-term agricultural 
sustainability.<<<" (emphasis added)

* This is a big "duh" when one exports lots of crops!

But hey, Brazil is self-suficient in energy (well, not really, but that's a 
separate issue)!

Not suprizingly, Brazil's import of natural gas is rapidly inceasing.  I 
don't know what their pecentage of NG use goes toward fertilizer manufacture, 
but I'm sure that it can only be increasing.

One way or another we'll find a way to kill ourselves via automobile: we'll 
do it via air and water pollution, and or through starvation...


-Mark Nagel
Everett, WA