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permaculture - Re: [permaculture] Rock Dust

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  • From: Toby Hemenway <toby@patternliteracy.com>
  • To: permaculture <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [permaculture] Rock Dust
  • Date: Sat, 9 Mar 2013 11:47:27 -0800

I've also been intrigued with John Hamaker and Don Weaver's ideas about the
relationship between minerals and climate.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Hamaker

As I understand it, glaciers spread rock dust over the temperate regions
during ice ages, it gets spread around by wind, and this mineralizes soil and
stimulates plant growth, pulling CO2 out of the air and warming earth into
inter-glacials. The minerals eventually wash into the sea and get sequestered
in plants, and plant growth lessens, putting more CO2 into the air and
setting off global warming. Melting ice stops ocean currents, increases the
temperature gradient between pole and equator, and puts more water into the
tropical atmosphere. This wet air spreads north, increases ice caps, and we
go into another ice age very fast. And it starts again.

I may not have this all correct, but it may be a powerful argument for
mineralizing the soil or risk an ice age.

Toby
http://patternliteracy.com







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