Chipotle's "Real Foodprint" will tell you the ecological footprint of each menu item compared to the industry standard. Joe Raedle / Getty Images
How does your burrito impact the environment? If you ordered it from Chipotle, there is now a way to find out.
<p>The chain on Monday launched a first-of-its kind <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/sustainability" target="_self">sustainability</a> tool called the <a href="https://realfoodprint.chipotle.com/" target="_blank">Real Foodprint</a>, which allows customers to see how each of its 53 intentionally sourced ingredients compares to the industry average when it comes to key environmental metrics like <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/carbon-emissions" target="_self">carbon emissions</a> and <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/water" target="_self">water</a> use.</p><p>"Just by eating real, responsibly raised <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/food/" target="_self">food</a>, you can do a little something to help cultivate a better world," Bill Nye of Science Guy fame said in a video promoting the feature.</p>
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="edb1a1f60298c73efc6d7f5193a64a50"><iframe lazy-loadable="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fqWINfwdP_A?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span>
<p>The Real Foodprint works like this, as <a href="https://retailleader.com/chipotle-sets-higher-bar-sustainability" target="_blank">Retail Leader explained</a>. When you place an order on the Chipotle app or on the website, the tracker will show you the environmental impact of each ingredient you select compared to the conventional equivalent. The ingredients are assessed according to five metrics:</p><ol><li>Less carbon emitted (measured in grams)</li><li>Water saved (in gallons)</li><li>Improved <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/soil-health" target="_self">soil health</a> (in square feet)</li><li>Organic land supported (in square feet)</li><li>Antibiotics avoided (in milligrams)</li></ol><p>So, for example, Nye's chicken bowl emits 0.8 fewer grams of carbon dioxide, saves 0.4 gallons of water, supports 1.7 square feet of improved soil health, supports 0.9 square feet of organic land and avoids 42.3 milligrams of antibiotics compared to a similar order made with conventional ingredients.</p>
<div id="e2a10" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="ba6130b414a0ff5ec3fbe005c4232d31"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1320698022594920453" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">*wheels tv into classroom*
@BillNye wants to show you how Chipotle ingredients can help reduce the impact on the… https://t.co/Ddedz1FdeO</div> — Chi-vote-le (@Chi-vote-le)<a href="https://twitter.com/ChipotleTweets/statuses/1320698022594920453">1603713920.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>The data points are provided by HowGood, an independent research company that draws on more than 450 peer-reviewed and scientific studies to compare Chipotle's ingredients to conventional options, the website explained. Chipotle is the first restaurant to partner with HowGood, the company said in a <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/chipotle-launches-real-foodprint-introduces-sustainability-impact-trackers-for-digital-orders-301159499.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">press release</a>. The data points will be updated on a regular basis, so customers can see if Chipotle's environmental impact lessens or increases over time, <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/90567802/is-your-burrito-bad-for-the-environment-chipotle-has-a-tool-for-that" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Fast Company reported</a>.</p><p>"Beyond asking people to make the right choice for the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/" target="_self">climate</a> based on a carbon label, we are demonstrating the impact of our sourcing practices through data computed based on the ingredients in our guests' orders," Chipotle's head of sustainability Caitlin Leibert said in the press release. "While our guests can make good choices for the planet by simply eating at Chipotle, the radical transparency provided by Real Foodprint also holds us accountable to improve our practices and source more sustainably over time. It is the combination of transparency for our guests and Chipotle's commitment to higher standards that make Real Foodprint so impactful."</p>
<p>Other restaurant brands have taken steps to provide environmental information to their customers, Fast Company pointed out. Meat alternative brand Quorn prints the carbon footprint of its products next to the nutrition label. And, two weeks ago, Panera started pointing out the "Cool Food Meals" on its menu, meals that have a lower carbon footprint. But Chipotle's Foodprint is the most specific and detailed Fast Company has encountered, writer Mark Wilson pointed out.</p><p>"You can literally measure the impact of adding pinto beans or a scoop of pico de gallo," Wilson wrote. "(Btw, order those beans! They capture carbon and fertilize soil with nitrogen naturally!)"</p><p>One downside to the Chipotle tool is the fact that it compares its own ingredients specifically to the industry standard, Wilson noted. This means that it tells you that choosing Chipotle-sourced steak saves 150 milligrams of antibiotics, while choosing tofu saves none, because conventional tofu requires none. The impact of the beef is compared to the industry standard for beef, but does not account for the huge environmental difference between choosing meat and choosing <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/vegetarian" target="_self">vegetarian</a> options.</p><p>Chipotle chief marketing officer Chris Brandt said this was done to avoid passing a value judgement on individual foods.</p><p>"There's a lot of other metrics that say meat is bad, vegetarian is good. If you wanna live your life that way that's great ... everything is relevant to an industry average rather than a value judgment as to whether you eat meat or not," Brandt said.</p>
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'Regenerative Agriculture and the Soil Carbon Solution': New Paper Outlines Vision for Climate Action
28 September
Climate
A new white paper explains how to transform current widespread agricultural practices to regenerative agriculture. PickPik
By Andrea Germanos
A white paper out Friday declares that "there is hope right beneath our feet" to address the climate crisis as it touts regenerative agriculture as a "win-win-win" solution to tackling runaway carbon emissions.
<p>"Humans broke the planet with grave agricultural malpractice," Tom Newmark, chairman of <a href="https://thecarbonunderground.org/" target="_blank">The Carbon Underground</a> and a contributor to the research, said in a <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2020/09/25/new-white-paper-shows-shift-regenerative-ag-could-sequester-100-percent-annual" target="_blank">statement</a>. "With this white paper, Rodale Institute shows us how regenerative agriculture has the potential to repair that damage and actually reverse some of the threatening impacts of our climate crisis."</p><p>"This is a compelling call to action!" he added.</p><p>Released by the Rodale Institute and entitled <em><a href="https://rodaleinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/Rodale-Soil-Carbon-White-Paper_v8.pdf" target="_blank">Regenerative Agriculture and the Soil Carbon Solution</a></em>, the white paper discusses how a transformation of current widespread agricultural practices—which now contribute indirectly and directly to the climate crisis—"can be rolled out tomorrow providing multiple benefits beyond climate stabilization."</p><p>The findings are based on Rodale's own trials, research data, and interviews with experts, and build upon the institute's 2014 <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2014/10/09/solution-soil-how-organic-farming-can-feed-world-and-save-planet" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">paper</a> <em>Regenerative Organic Agriculture and Climate Change: A Down-to-Earth Solution to Global Warming</em>.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDQ0MzM2NS9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyNzczMDk0M30.g3bMMcdsxChGxcYN8onbvkGVHEJUwfLJZTIcX_tPZQk/img.png?width=980" id="1290a" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="89e0122fc2627a2a88dfe53a7c0aa395" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Graph from Rodale Institute's new white paper "Regenerative Agriculture and the Soil Carbon Solution."
<p>The claim made in the new paper is bold: "Data from farming and grazing studies show the power of exemplary regenerative systems that, if achieved globally, would drawdown more than 100% of current annual CO2 emissions.</p><p>"Regenerative agriculture, as the researchers describe, represents "a system of farming principles that rehabilitates the entire ecosystem and enhances natural resources, rather than depleting them."</p><p>In contrast to industrial practices dependent upon monocultures, extensive tillage, pesticides, and synthetic fertilizers, a regenerative approach uses, at minimum, seven practices which aim to boost biodiversity both above and underground and make possible carbon sequestration in soil.</p><ul><li>Diversifying crop rotations</li><li>Planting cover crops, green manures, and perennials</li><li>Retaining crop residues</li><li>Using natural sources of fertilizer, such as compost</li><li>Employing highly managed grazing and/or integrating crops and livestock</li><li>Reducing tillage frequency and depth</li><li>Eliminating synthetic chemicals</li></ul><p>While passers-by may easily spot visual differences above ground between the divergent agricultural approaches, what's happening below ground is also vital. From the paper:</p><blockquote>Contrary to previous thought, it's not the recalcitrant plant material that persists and creates long-term soil carbon stores, instead it's the microbes who process this plant matter that are most responsible for soil carbon sequestration. Stable soil carbon is formed mostly by microbial necromass (dead biomass) bonded to minerals (silt and clay) in the soil. Long term carbon storage is dependent on the protection of the microbially-derived carbon from decomposition.<br></blockquote><p>As for claims such as agricultural transformation wouldn't be able to produce enough food, the paper counters: "Actual yields in well-designed regenerative organic systems, rather than agglomerated averages, have been shown to outcompete conventional yields for almost all food crops including corn, wheat, rice, soybean, and sunflower."</p><p>But that is far from the only benefit. "When compared to conventional industrial agriculture," the authors write, "regenerative systems improve":</p><ul><li>Biodiversity abundance and species richness</li><li>Soil health, including soil carbon</li><li>Pesticide impacts on food and ecosystems</li><li>Total farm outputs</li><li>Nutrient density of outputs</li><li>Resilience to climate shocks</li><li>Provision of ecosystem services</li><li>Resource use efficiency</li><li>Job creation and farmworker welfare</li><li>Farm profitability</li><li>Rural community revitalization</li></ul>
<p>Rather than framing it as a "wake-up call," the institute says the paper should be seen as an "invitation to journey in a new direction."</p><p>"It is intended to be both a road map to change and a call to action to follow a new path," the authors write. "One led by science and blazed by farmers and ranchers across the globe."</p><p>"Together we both sound the alarm and proclaim the regenerative farming solution: It's time to start our journey with a brighter future for our planet and ourselves as the destination," the paper states.</p><p>Resources accompanying the white paper include a sample letter to members of Congress to urge support for the Agriculture Resilience Act (H.R. 5861), <a href="https://blog.ucsusa.org/mike-lavender/a-resilience-roadmap-fulfilling-agricultures-role-as-a-climate-solution" target="_blank">introduced</a> in February by Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine), and a "buyer's guide to regenerative food" to help decipher food labels and questions to ask suppliers at farmers' markets.</p><p>"A vast amount of data on the carbon sequestration potential of agricultural soils has been published, including from Rodale Institute, and recent findings are starting to reinforce the benefits of regenerative agricultural practices in the fight against the climate crisis," said Dr. Andrew Smith, COO and chief scientist of Rodale Institute.</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/09/26/regenerative-agriculture-and-soil-carbon-solution-new-paper-outlines-vision-climate?cd-origin=rss" target="_blank">Common Dreams</a>.</em></p>
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Like many other plant-based foods and products, CBD oil is one dietary supplement where "organic" labels are very important to consumers. However, there are little to no regulations within the hemp industry when it comes to deeming a product as organic, which makes it increasingly difficult for shoppers to find the best CBD oil products available on the market.
<p>Here you can learn about the importance of organic hemp oil, why it's better for the environment, and which CBD companies actually make trustworthy products with sustainable farming processes. origins which weigh heavily on many consumers who want to buy a product that's produced in the best way possible for not only themselves to ingest, but for the environment as well through sustainable farming methods. </p><h2>What Is CBD Oil?</h2><p>First things first, CBD stands for cannabidiol, and it's a cannabinoid found within cannabis sativa plants. This plant compound is believed to have many potential benefits, and it is primarily derived from hemp plants via a CO2 extraction process. </p><p>Since CBD is extracted from industrial hemp, which contains only trace amounts of THC (the psychoactive component in cannabis plants), this means that CBD won't make you feel high like marijuana, which has much higher levels of THC that causes psychoactive effects. Instead, the effects of CBD are much more subtle and promote a general sense of calm and relaxation in most users.</p><h2>What Makes a CBD Oil Organic?</h2><p>In terms of organic labels, perhaps the most important (and prominent) certification comes from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). This government organization has been labeling foods as "organic" for many years, but what exactly does this certification entail? Essentially, a label indicating that a product is "USDA Organic" or "Certified Organic" means that at least 95% of the ingredients are obtained from organic sources.</p><p>For a crop to be considered organic by the USDA, it must be grown without the use of industrial solvents, irradiation, genetic engineering (GMOs), synthetic pesticides, or chemical fertilizer. Instead, farmers rely on natural substances and <a href="https://www.usda.gov/media/blog/2012/03/22/organic-101-what-usda-organic-label-means" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">mechanical, physical, or biologically based farming</a> techniques to cultivate healthy and organic crops.</p><p>Before the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill, no hemp-derived products could be dubbed as "certified organic" since the hemp plant and its extracts were still categorized as a Schedule I Controlled Substance. However, it's still difficult for CBD companies to obtain a USDA certified organic label for their products due to the legal grey area that still surrounds CBD extracts. </p><p>Because of these challenges, and due to the fact that industrial hemp has only recently become an agricultural crop, very few CBD oils are USDA certified organic. Rather, many CBD products contain hemp extracts from plants that were grown in organic conditions but may not be federally certified.</p><h2>What are the Best Organic CBD Oil Brands?</h2><p><em>Each product featured here has been independently selected. If you make a purchase using the links included, we may earn commission.</em></p>
<h2>Why Organic Hemp Oil Matters</h2><p>Hemp is a unique plant, not only for its rich cannabinoid content, but also for its ability to absorb a wide variety of components in soil. But this trait poses great risks when it comes to the creation of CBD products derived from hemp.</p><p>Because hemp has a high capacity for compound uptake, this means that the plants can retain <a href="https://www.remedyreview.com/industry/lab-test-results/" target="_blank">harmful chemicals like pesticides</a>, heavy metals, and other residual solvents. This is especially true when it comes to synthetic chemicals that are more toxic to humans, and difficult to remove once they have been absorbed by the hemp plant.</p><p>Organic farming practices help reduce the risk of hemp crops absorbing harsh chemicals that may later end up in CBD oil after extraction. When you're taking CBD as a wellness supplement to help alleviate your symptoms or improve your overall well-being, the last thing you want is to ingest compounds that might negatively outweigh the benefits of CBD. This is an important reason to look for third party lab test results when shopping for CBD products since these certificates of analysis can show the full cannabinoid and terpene profile of a hemp extract, as well as test results that search for the presence of any residual solvents.</p><p>In addition to creating a better end product, organic farming practices are also better for the environment. Sustainable and organic farming methods may <a href="https://www.helpguide.org/articles/healthy-eating/organic-foods.htm" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">reduce pollution, conserve water, reduce soil erosion, increase soil fertility, and use less energy</a>. The use of natural pest deterrents as opposed to chemical pesticides is also better for nearby animal populations and ecosystems.</p><h3>Organic vs. Natural</h3><p>While there are only a select few companies offering certified organic ingredients in their products, almost every brand in the CBD market creates "natural" products. The term "all-natural" or "plant-based" does not mean that a product is organic, and since hemp oil is a natural derivative of hemp plants, these products are often referred to as all-natural. However, there are some synthetic CBD oils that should be avoided because they are chemically constructed and may produce unwanted side effects that are not caused by naturally derived CBD extracts.</p><h2>What are the Benefits of Organic CBD Oil?</h2><p>There's a long list of potential CBD oil health benefits, and some of the most common wellness advantages include:</p><ul class="ee-ul"><li><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2503660/" target="_blank">Chronic pain relief</a></li><li><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4604171/" target="_blank">Anti-anxiety effects</a></li><li>Better sleep</li><li><a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/inner-source/201901/cbd-oil-mental-health-should-you-take-it-too" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Improvements in mood</a></li><li>Internal balance and regulation</li></ul><p>When dealing with pain, inflammation, sleep issues, and mental health struggles, it can be hard to find sufficient treatment options. The use of certain prescriptions can cause unwanted side effects, yet they are often the only solution for patients with these medical conditions. In search of other therapies, people have started to flock towards CBD oil as an alternative remedy for a variety of conditions. However, it should be noted that CBD products are not approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and you should seek your doctor's advice before using CBD if you have a serious medical condition.</p><h2>Look at the Labels Before You Buy CBD Oil</h2><p>When you go online to buy CBD oil, you'll quickly realize there is an overwhelming number of brands that are saturating the market. It can be difficult to determine which products are truly as good as they make themselves out to be. Always look for up-to-date third-party lab tests so you know you are getting a great product, and don't hesitate to contact the brand if you have any additional questions. And if you're intent on purchasing 100% organic CBD oil, it's best to look for certified products or brands that are held to strict regulatory standards.</p><p><strong>Melena Gurganus </strong>is the Reviews Editor at EcoWatch. She is passionate health and wellness and her writing aims to help others find products they can trust. Her work has been featured in publications such as Health, Shape, Huffington Post, Cannabis Business Times, and Bustle.<br></p>
Spruce
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDY4NjI3OC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyOTM2NzgzOX0.axY0HjeqRctJsR_KmDLctzDpUBLBN-oNIdqaXDb4caQ/img.jpg?width=980" id="774be" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="8379f35b1ca8a86d0e61b7d4bfc8b46e" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="spruce organic cbd oil" /><p>As one of the best brands in the business, Spruce CBD is well-known for its potent CBD oils that feature many additional beneficial phytocannabinoids. This brand works with two family-owned, sustainably focused farms in the USA (one located in Kentucky and one in North Carolina) to create its organic, small product batches. The max potency Spruce CBD oil contains 2400mg of full-spectrum CBD extract, but the brand also offers a lower strength tincture with 750mg of CBD in total.</p>
$89
CBDistillery
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDcwMjkzNC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyMTU4OTM4Nn0.ypRdeDSBcE87slYrFfVrRwtJ2qGIK6FD5jBB4pndTMo/img.jpg?width=980" id="b473b" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="9930b53c9d58cb49774640a61c3e3e75" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="cbdistillery cbd oil" /><p>All of the products from CBDistillery are <a href="https://ushempauthority.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">U.S. Hemp Authority Certified</a>, and for good reason. The company only uses non-GMO and pesticide-free industrial hemp that's grown organically on Colorado farms. Its hemp oils are some of the most affordable CBD products on the market, yet they still maintain a high standard of quality. CBDistillery has a wide variety of CBD potencies across its product line (ranging from 500mg to 5000mg per bottle) and offers both full-spectrum and broad-spectrum CBD oils to give customers a completely thc-free option.</p>
$35
FAB CBD
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDY4NjIyNS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY2NDIwOTEyMn0.MlTjz096FJ0ev_-soK7_Z-FeQeJczWoeh9Qi9SSkHsY/img.jpg?width=980" id="04b26" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="76aa4862f44603242e318982acea6646" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="fab cbd oil" /><p>For an organic CBD oil that has it all, FAB CBD offers plenty of variety for any type of consumer. All of its products are made with zero pesticides and extracted from organically grown Colorado industrial hemp. FAB CBD oil comes in five all-natural flavors (mint, vanilla, berry, citrus, and natural) and is also available in four strengths (300, 600, 1200, and 2400mg per bottle).</p>
$39
NuLeaf Naturals
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDY4NjIxOS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1NzExNTgyMX0.D6qMGYllKTsVhEkQ-L_GzpDHVu60a-tJKcio7M1Ssmc/img.jpg?width=980" id="94e4a" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="3609a52479675730893a45a82a03c71d" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="nuleaf naturals organic cbd oil" /><p>As an industry-leading brand, it comes as no surprise that NuLeaf Naturals sources its CBD extract from organic hemp plants grown on licensed farms in Colorado. The comany's CBD oils only contain two ingredients: USDA certified organic hemp seed oil and full spectrum hemp extract.</p><p>NuLeaf Naturals uses one proprietary CBD oil formula for all of its products, so you will get the same CBD potency in each tincture (60mg per mL), but can purchase different bottle sizes depending on how much you intend to use.</p>
$38.50
Charlotte's Web
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDcwMjk3NS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0MzQ0NjM4N30.SaQ85SK10-MWjN3PwHo2RqpiUBdjhD0IRnHKTqKaU7Q/img.jpg?width=980" id="84700" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="a2174067dcc0c4094be25b3472ce08c8" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="charlottes web cbd oil" /><p>Perhaps one of the most well-known brands in the CBD landscape, Charlotte's Web has been growing sustainable hemp plants for several years. The company is currently in the process of achieving official USDA Organic Certification, but it already practices organic and sustainable cultivation techniques to enhance the overall health of the soil and the hemp plants themselves, which creates some of the highest quality CBD extracts. Charlotte's Web offers CBD oils in a range of different concentration options, and some even come in a few flavor options such as chocolate mint, orange blossom, and lemon twist.</p>
$60
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Climate Crisis Could Change Permafrost Soil Microbes, With ‘Unknown Consequences’ for Arctic Ecosystems, Scientists Say
31 August
Climate
A University of Alberta researcher collects a soil sample from Arctic permafrost. University of Alberta
Can the past predict the future?
In the case of communities of microbes living in the Arctic permafrost, researchers at the University of Alberta think it might. The scientists discovered that the microbes and chemistry of Arctic soil changed dramatically following the end of the last Ice Age, and the same thing could happen again due to the climate crisis.
<p>"Since soils are where plants grow and where nearly all terrestrial life lives, this could have big impacts on the entire Arctic ecosystem," study coauthor and University of Alberta associate professor Brian Lanoi said in a <a href="https://www.folio.ca/how-changes-in-ancient-soil-microbes-could-predict-the-future-of-the-arctic/" target="_blank">university press release</a>. "Our work shows this happened before, and it is possible that this could happen again as the result of current climate change."</p>
<div id="58f7f" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="21e5ec4df105b9dcba0b067081eb65d2"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1299029042025369601" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">How changes in ancient soil microbes could predict the future of the Arctic: https://t.co/bXBDfEeMFd #UAlberta… https://t.co/qj9PQShzDX</div> — University of Alberta (@University of Alberta)<a href="https://twitter.com/UAlberta/statuses/1299029042025369601">1598547633.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>The study, <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2020.00133/full?&utm_source=Email_to_authors_&utm_medium=Email&utm_content=T1_11.5e1_author&utm_campaign=Email_publication&field=&journalName=Frontiers_in_Environmental_Science&id=548929" target="_blank">published in </a><em><a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2020.00133/full?&utm_source=Email_to_authors_&utm_medium=Email&utm_content=T1_11.5e1_author&utm_campaign=Email_publication&field=&journalName=Frontiers_in_Environmental_Science&id=548929" target="_blank">Frontiers in Environmental Science</a> </em>this month, helped fill a gap in scientists' understanding of how the end of the Ice Age impacted soil communities. The shift between the Ice Age (the Pleistocene) and the current era (the Holocene) led to dramatic and well-documented changes in plant and animal life, but, until now, it had not been clear if it caused equally dramatic changes to the communities of microbes living in the Arctic soil.</p><p>However, previous studies had looked at permafrost sediments dating from either the Pleistocene or Holocene. To better understand the transition, the University of Alberta researchers looked at sediment that showed the transition between the two geological epochs. They then analyzed the samples under sterile conditions for both their genetic makeup and chemical composition, and found that both markers were very different before and after the transitional period.</p>
<p>"We found that both the microbial communities and the chemical parameters are stable within each era until they cross a threshold, driven by the change in climate," Lanoil explained in the press release. "After that threshold, there is an abrupt switch to a new microbial community and new soil chemistry. We argue that modern climate change could lead to a similar transition in state for soils in Arctic ecosystems, with unknown consequences."</p><p>Because current Arctic soil microbes help process carbon and nitrogen, a change in their makeup could impact the carbon and nitrogen cycles, the press release explained. However, Lanoil pointed out that more research is needed to understand how a change in soil microbes impacts the surrounding ecosystem.</p>
<p>The researchers did note that warming in the Western Arctic is now much greater than at the end of the last Ice Age, and the region may be reaching its highest temperatures in the last 14,000 years.</p><p>Previous research has shown that warming might not only change the composition of Arctic soil, it might also release microbes that have been frozen there. Scientists have <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/bacteria-permafrost-climate-change-2398848353.html" target="_self">warned</a> that the climate crisis could cause deadly bacteria long trapped in frozen soil to reemerge.</p><p>"Permafrost is a very good preserver of microbes and viruses, because it is cold, there is no oxygen, and it is dark," evolutionary biologist <a href="https://www.igs.cnrs-mrs.fr/spip.php?article39&lang=fr" target="_blank">Jean-Michel Claverie</a> <a href="http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20170504-there-are-diseases-hidden-in-ice-and-they-are-waking-up" target="_blank">told BBC</a> in 2017. "Pathogenic viruses that can infect humans or animals might be preserved in old permafrost layers, including some that have caused global epidemics in the past."</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzU5ODMyNi9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY2NDM3NzM2OX0.oy9-cb0zf52Eb4mSxt_W1lSvs8rpqN9YZ7wY1a5AKKU/img.png?width=980" id="d213b" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="c5c0759fa6030271db49b507211ce4d8" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
A block of thawing permafrost topples off the Alaska coast. U.S. Geological Survey
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From raising livestock to growing vegetables, farmers help put food on our plates. But agriculture also creates emissions that warm the climate. And the most warming is caused by nitrous oxide, an especially potent global warming gas.
<p>"The use of synthetic fertilizers is the biggest source of nitrous oxide emissions," said Lauren Snyder, an education and research program manager with the <a href="https://ofrf.org/" target="_blank">Organic Farming Research Foundation</a>.</p>
<iframe style="border: none" src="//html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/15458795/height/45/theme/standard/thumbnail/yes/direction/backward/" height="45" width="100%" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen></iframe>
<p>"Fertilizers are basically providing a form of nitrogen to the plant," she said. "And so when you add that to the soil, a lot of it is lost to the atmosphere as nitrous oxide."</p><p>But she says that farmers can reduce those emissions by changing some of their practices.</p><p>For example, she recommends planting cover crops in the offseason instead of leaving fields bare. Some cover crops can reduce the need for fertilizer because they naturally fix nitrogen in the soil.</p><p>"Legume cover crops are excellent at taking atmospheric nitrogen and putting it in the soil in the form that plants can use. And so that's another way that we can provide fertility to plants," Synder said. "And it doesn't result in the same kind of pulse of nitrous oxide into the atmosphere."</p><p>So by enriching soil naturally, farmers can also help reduce global warming.</p><p><span></span><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2020/08/synthetic-fertilizers-are-heating-the-planet-but-theres-an-alternative/" target="_blank">Yale Climate Connections</a>.<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/r/entryeditor/2647065829#/" target="_self"></a></em></p>
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By Douglas Broom
"Forests are the lungs of our land, purifying the air and giving fresh strength to our people," said former U.S. president, Franklin Roosevelt.
<p>Covering <a href="http://www.fao.org/state-of-forests/en/" target="_blank">almost a third of the Earth's surface</a>, forests are home to <a href="https://www.worldwildlife.org/habitats/forest-habitat#:~:text=Forests%20are%20home%20to%2080,%2C%20animals%2C%20fungi%20and%20bacteria." target="_blank">eight in 10 animal and plant species</a>. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) says the world's forests include over 60,000 species of tree, all of which absorb CO2 as they grow.</p>
<p>But all is not well in Earth's woodlands. Only <a href="http://www.fao.org/state-of-forests/en/" target="_blank">half of all forests are still intact and only a third are primary forest </a>– naturally occurring woodland composed of native species where human activities have not disturbed the natural ecology.</p><p>Over 20,000 tree species are at risk and over 1,400 of them are on the critical list, according to the FAO. Estimates suggest 420 million hectares of forest have been lost since 1990 and although the rate of loss has slowed, 10 million hectares were lost between 2015 and this year.</p><p>So the FAO is <a href="https://twitter.com/FAO/status/1286164178819047424?s=20" target="_blank">using Twitter</a> to remind the world of these five hidden benefits of forests.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzU2MDM3Ni9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0NjI4NjI2M30.iT-XMYV52oZPXZ_0Z2R1XGRdtPHToar1Im4vID3k-1g/img.png?width=980" id="cedaf" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="28dcdfb8445c616888d229ee657f0901" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
So the FAO is using Twitter to remind the world of these five hidden benefits of forests.
<p><strong>1. Forests Nurture the Soil</strong></p><p>As well as stabilizing soils and preventing erosion – which <a href="https://www.worldwildlife.org/threats/soil-erosion-and-degradation" target="_blank">quickly occurs where trees are felled </a>– <a href="http://www.fao.org/state-of-forests/en/" target="_blank">forests are home to soil microbes</a>, which together with insects, birds and mammals, play a crucial role in enriching and maintaining soil quality.</p><p><strong>2. Forests Absorb Carbon</strong></p><p>Forests act as 'carbon sinks', trapping and storing CO2. NASA estimates that <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/jpl/nasa-finds-good-news-on-forests-and-carbon-dioxide" target="_blank">tropical forests absorb 1.4 billion tonnes of CO2 every year</a>, while a study in 2017 estimated that forests would <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/114/44/11645" target="_blank">absorb a third of the atmospheric carbon </a>needed to keep global warming below 2C by 2030.</p><p><strong>3. Forests Provide Food for Millions</strong></p><p>More than <a href="http://www.fao.org/state-of-forests/en/" target="_blank">86 million people depend on forests for their livelihoods</a>. Globally, 1 billion people rely on wild foods including meat, insects, plants, mushrooms and fish. As well as <a href="http://www.fao.org/state-of-forests/en/" target="_blank">providing edible plants</a> and <a href="http://www.fao.org/forestry/food-security/en/" target="_blank">protecting water sources</a>, forests also provide shelter for animals kept by forest dwellers.</p><p><strong>4. Forests Are Natural Aqueducts</strong></p><p>Forests provide "relatively pure water", not just for indigenous peoples, but also for <a href="http://www.fao.org/3/a1598e/a1598e10.htm" target="_blank">some of the world's largest cities</a>, according to the FAO. One-third of the world's metropolises get all or part of their drinking water from forest-protected areas, including Bogotá, Jakarta, Karachi, Madrid, Mumbai and Singapore.</p><p><strong>5. Forests Host 80% of Earth's Biodiversity</strong></p><p>Forests are home to <a href="https://www.worldwildlife.org/habitats/forest-habitat#:~:text=Forests%20are%20home%20to%2080,%2C%20animals%2C%20fungi%20and%20bacteria." target="_blank">80% of the world's animals, plants, fungi and bacteria.</a> They include <a href="http://www.fao.org/state-of-forests/en/" target="_blank">almost two-thirds of all plants,</a> three-quarters of all birds, 80% of amphibians and 68% of mammals. The most biologically diverse and complex forests are tropical rainforests, according to the World Wide Fund for Nature, because rainfall is abundant and temperatures are consistently high.</p><p><strong>One Trillion Trees</strong></p><p>The World Economic Forum has launched <a href="https://www.1t.org/" target="_blank">an initiative to conserve, restore and grow 1 trillion trees</a> to help curb climate change. Research has shown the importance of nature-based solutions, such as conservation, restoration and reforestation, in tackling climate change and biodiversity loss. But, these must take place alongside other measures, particularly decarbonizing industry.</p><p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/08/five-hidden-benefits-forests-climate-change/" target="_blank">World Economic Forum</a>.</em></p>
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Aerial view of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Gamboa, Panama, where a new soil study was held, on Sept. 11, 2019. LUIS ACOSTA / AFP via Getty Images
One of the concerns about a warming planet is the feedback loop that will emerge. That is, as the planet warms, it will melt permafrost, which will release trapped carbon and lead to more warming and more melting. Now, a new study has shown that the feedback loop won't only happen in the nether regions of the north and south, but in the tropics as well, according to a new paper in Nature.
<p>Scientists warmed tropical <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/soil">soil</a> to a level that was consistent with projections for how much the planet will warm up by the end of the century. When they heated the soil 4 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, they found that the soil released 55 percent more carbon dioxide than the control soil, according to the paper, as <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/20200812-global-warming-makes-tropical-soils-leak-co2-study" target="_blank">Agence-France Presse</a> (AFP) reported.</p><p>The takeaway is that tropical soils are far more sensitive to global heating than researchers had previously thought. It turns out that experimental evidence to confirm that long-held belief was missing.</p>
<p>"Soils form a living skin around the Earth," said Andrew Nottingham, the paper's lead author and a researcher at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, as <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/earth/climate/tropical-soils-linked-to-carbon-emissions/" target="_blank">Cosmos Magazine</a> reported. "They contain vast amounts of organic matter – more carbon is held in soils than is held in plants and the atmosphere put together."</p><p>The complex carbon cycle has traditionally been held in balance by the earth's soil, which contains a teeming ecosystem of microorganisms, bacteria, fungi and insects that counterbalance the carbon released by the dead leaves and decaying plants. However, at warmer temperatures, the microbes speed up their rate of digestion and respiration, which kicks more carbon into the atmosphere and away from the soil, according to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/12/climate/tropical-soils-climate-change.html" target="_blank">The New York Times</a>.</p>
<p>"The inputs of carbon to soils from plant detritus (dead wood, leaves and roots) roughly balance the losses to the atmosphere produced by the respiration of soil microorganisms that feed on that material," wrote Eric Davidson, a researcher at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, in a <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-02266-9" target="_blank">comment in <em>Nature</em></a> accompanying the study. "However, just a 1 percent imbalance of global soil-carbon effluxes over influxes would equal about 10 percent of global anthropogenic carbon emissions."</p><p>The finding "is another example of why we need to worry more," said Davidson, as The New York Times reported.</p>
<p>To conduct the experiment, Nottingham created a series of circular plots with electrical wires that he buried four-feet deep on a small island in Panama that houses the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. Over the course of two years, Nottingham used the wires to heat the soil by 6 degrees Fahrenheit, which is how much the tropics are projected to warm by 2100, according to current climate projections, as The New York Times reported.</p><p>That's when Nottingham found that over the course of two years, the warming soil emitted 55 percent more carbon dioxide than the control soil. From there, the extrapolations begin. The researchers calculated that if a similar rise in temperature happened in the tropics around the globe in a two-year period between now and 2100, it would release the equivalent of 240 billion tons of CO2 into the atmosphere, according to <a href="https://phys.org/news/2020-08-global-tropical-soils-leak-carbon.html" target="_blank">Phys.org</a>.</p><p>"That is more than six times the current annual emissions from human-related sources," said Nottingham, as Phys.org reported. "This could be an underestimation, because we might see large continued loss beyond the two years in our experiment."</p><p>"This is a very large response," said Margaret Torn, an ecologist at Lawrence Berkeley Lab in California, who was not involved in the study and who runs a similar warming experiment in a California forest that reported a roughly 35 percent increase in carbon emissions after two years, to The New York Times. "It's one of the largest I've heard of."</p>
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A resident works in the vegetable garden of the Favela Nova Esperanca – a "green favela" which reuses everything and is subject to the ethics of permaculture – in the outskirts of Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Feb. 14, 2020. NELSON ALMEIDA / AFP via Getty Images
Farmers are the stewards of our planet's precious soil, one of the least understood and untapped defenses against climate change. Because of its massive potential to store carbon and foundational role in growing our food supply, soil makes farming a solution for both climate change and food security.
<h3>The Threat to Food Security</h3><p>Farming is capital-intensive and farmers are at the mercy of volatile global commodity markets, trade disputes, regulatory changes, weather, pests and disease. Factor in climate change and you can include droughts, floods and temperature shifts.</p><p>We need to change how we grow our food because:</p><ul><li>climate change will increasingly impact farm yields</li><li>how we farm can help mitigate climate change</li><li>helping our farmers unlock the full potential of soil will help them meet growing food demands while remaining profitable</li><li>restoring the carbon-holding potential of our soil combats climate change.</li></ul>
<h3>Soil and Climate Change</h3><p>The last few years have been among the hottest on <a href="https://www.statista.com/topics/1148/global-climate-change/" target="_blank">record</a>. As of May 2020, the concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in our atmosphere has been the highest it's been in human<a href="https://www.conservation.org/stories/11-climate-change-facts-you-need-to-know" target="_blank"> history</a>.</p><p>Studies show that soil removes about <a href="https://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2018/02/21/can-soil-help-combat-climate-change/" target="_blank">25% </a>of the world's fossil-fuel emissions each year. This is done through carbon sequestration, a natural way of removing CO2 from the atmosphere through the soil with fewer impacts on land and water, less need for energy, and lower costs.</p><p>Soil can take in more CO2 from the atmosphere than it releases, making it a carbon sink. The carbon sink <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/304/5677/1623" target="_blank">capacity </a>of the world's agricultural and degraded soils is 50 to 66% of what it has been historically. This means our soil can hold 42 to 78 gigatonnes more carbon. Increasing the amount of carbon in soil also makes it more productive for farmers.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzU1NDA2NS9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxNzQ1MDM3Nn0.iOtj5yyGSYAolZLt_qNlyAogrmplnXt80n6X29_FAtc/img.png?width=980" id="21e06" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="ce0c4641f16e22ee3ed042d4906a7683" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Soil can act as a natural "carbon sink." Climate Central, 2019
<p>Soil is also a method for water retention and purification, and returns oxygen to the atmosphere through plants. A single tablespoon of soil contains billions of microorganisms. In other words, the soil is alive. If we care for the soil on our farms it will greatly return the favor by providing us with the fibre, fuel and food we need, all while removing CO2 from the atmosphere.</p><h3>Farming With Attention to the Soil<br></h3><ul> <li>Carbon-smart farming: The amount of carbon sequestered in our soils can be increased by adopting the right management practices. Reducing tillage, planting cover crops and using organic matter amendments such as compost have been shown to increase the amount of carbon stored in the soil. Soil carbon also performs double duty as a resource in ensuring food security. Farmers can harness the power of carbon stored as soil organic matter, which is the fraction of soil composed of anything that once lived, such as decomposed plant and animal matter. Soil organic matter makes farmland more productive, reduces erosion and improves soil structure, which improves the quality of groundwater and surface waters. All of this reduces the negative impact of climate change across the entire ecosystem.<br></li><li>Reducing food waste at the farm level: <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/food-waste">Food waste</a> is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions, contributing 8% of total global emissions and at least 2.6% of all U.S. emissions. Specifically, a total of one-third of edible produce, or 33.7%, remains unharvested in fields only to get buried under. Furthermore, a significant amount of food waste is attributed to loss in crop production due to diseases – a loss of $U.S.200 billion globally per year.</li></ul><ul><li>Where Science & Technology can help: Our lack of understanding of our soil is hurting us. We need help from cutting-edge science and technology to measure and interpret the physical, chemical and biological properties of soil, which is collectively referred to as soil intelligence. Soil intelligence uncovers information such as which pathogens are lurking. It quantifies beneficial nutrients and determines the carbon-holding potential of soil. This information allows farmers to diagnose the health of the soil prior to planting their crops, enabling cost-saving decisions about what types of compost, fertilizers, pesticides, or other treatments to put in their soil, how to irrigate, or whether or not to switch crops entirely and prevent waste.<br></li><p>Every farm is unique and there is no one-size-fits-all approach. There is more biodiversity below ground than above ground. Carbon-smart farming yields comprehensive soil intelligence, which can help farmers and farm advisors "read their soil," make the right decisions for maximizing profits, and reduce waste. This information can help us better understand what the soil needs to feed our planet while continuing to sequester carbon.</p><p>Agriculture can significantly decrease humanity's carbon footprint. We must aid, nurture and care for our soil so that it can play this pivotal role in our fight against <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/07/200707140929.htm" target="_blank">climate change</a>. An investment in our soil now is an investment in the livelihood and health of generations to come.</p></ul><div></div>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/08/how-carbon-smart-farming-tackles-climate-change/" target="_blank">World Economic Forum</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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Smoke rises above wrecked buildings following a deadly explosion on Aug. 4, 2020 in Beirut, Lebanon. Marwan Tahtah / Getty Images
By Alexander Freund
Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab says he believes Tuesday's explosion in Beirut could have been caused by large quantities of ammonium nitrate stored in the port.
<p>The ammonium nitrate in question was said to have been brought to the Lebanese capital on a freight ship that was impounded for safety reasons in 2013. It had been en route from Georgia to Mozambique.</p><p>Diab said about 2,750 metric tons (3,025 short tons) of the highly explosive chemical had been stored at the port since then without the necessary safety precautions in place.</p><p>The blast was so powerful that it could be heard in Cyprus, about 200 kilometers (120 miles) to the west, media reported.</p>
What Is Ammonium Nitrate?
<p>Ammonium nitrate is a white crystalline salt that can be fairly cheaply produced from ammonia and nitric acid. It is soluble and often used as fertilizer, as nitrogen is needed for healthy plant development.</p><p>Ammonium nitrate in its pure form is not dangerous. It is, however, heat sensitive. At 32.2 degrees Celsius (89.96 degrees Fahrenheit), ammonium nitrate changes its atomic structure, which in turn changes its chemical properties.</p><p>When large quantities of ammonium nitrate are stored in one place, heat is generated. If the amount is sufficiently vast, it can cause the chemical to ignite. Once a temperature of 170 C is reached, ammonium nitrate starts breaking down, emitting nitrous oxide, better known as laughing gas. Any sudden ignition causes ammonium nitrate to decompose directly into water, nitrogen and oxygen, which explains the enormous explosive power of the salt.</p>Deadly Disasters
<p>As ammonium nitrate is a highly explosive chemical, many countries strictly regulate its use. Over the past 100 years, there have been several disasters involving the chemical.</p><p>In 1921, for example, a massive blast occurred at a BASF chemical plant in Ludwigshafen in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. About 400 metric tons of a mixture of ammonium sulfate and ammonium nitrate exploded, killing 559 people and injuring 1,977. The plant was largely destroyed in the blast, which could be heard as far away as Munich, some 300 kilometers (186 miles) distant.</p><p>In 2015, explosions caused by ammonium nitrate ripped through the <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/china-convicts-dozens-for-last-years-giant-explosions-in-tianjin/a-36324321" target="_blank">Chinese port city of Tianjin</a>. Eight hundred metric tons of the chemical were said to have been stored along with other substances in a warehouse for hazardous materials. The blasts killed 173 people and destroyed an entire city district.</p><p>Two years earlier, in 2013, an ammonium nitrate explosion occurred at the West Fertilizer Company site in Texas, killing 14 people. And in 2001, 31 people died in Toulouse, France, in an explosion caused by the chemical.</p>Terrorist Favorite
<p>In Germany, the purchase and use of ammonium nitrate is regulated by the explosives act. This is because the cheap, highly explosive and relatively easily obtainable material has in the past been used by terrorists to carry out attacks.</p><p>For example, in 1995, U.S. conspiracy theorist and gun enthusiast Timothy McVeigh used a mixture of ammonium nitrate and other substances to bomb the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. Norwegian far-right extremist Anders Behring Breivik also used ammonium nitrate in a car bomb attack in Oslo in 2011.</p>From Your Site Articles
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Local women water newly planted saxaul in the desert at Mingqin county on March 27th, 2019 in Wuwei, Gansu Province, China. The trees were planted as part of Ant Forest, a green initiative on the Alipay app. Wang HE / Getty Images
By Harry Kretchmer
Since its launch in 2016, over half a billion people have used Ant Forest to convert lower-carbon activities such as using public transport into real trees.
<p>The game is helping China <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/144540/china-and-india-lead-the-way-in-greening" target="_blank">lead the way</a> in re-greening the planet and is serving as a model for <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/tree-planting">tree-planting</a> schemes elsewhere.</p><p>It's the kind of innovation the World Economic Forum is seeking through <a href="https://www.weforum.org/uplink" target="_blank">UpLink</a>, a platform for crowdsourcing sustainable development solutions to challenges including how to plant <a href="https://uplink.weforum.org/uplink/s/uplink-issue/a002o00000vOf09AAC/trillion-trees" target="_blank">a trillion trees.</a></p>
<h3>The Ant Forest Model</h3><p>"Ant Forest taps into the best of human ingenuity and innovation to create a better world," said Inger Andersen, executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme – which in 2019 gave <a href="https://www.unenvironment.org/news-and-stories/press-release/chinese-initiative-ant-forest-wins-un-champions-earth-award" target="_blank">the project the UN's top environmental award</a>.</p><p>So how does it work?</p><p>To start with, Ant Forest has plenty of potential players, being part of China's Alipay mobile payments app, which is used by more than a billion people.</p><p>Each time a user performs a lower-carbon activity, such as paying a utility bill online or cycling to work, they are rewarded with "green energy points."</p><p>However, rather than immediately spending those points on a real tree, Ant Forest turns its users <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2019-06-25/the-chinese-gaming-app-that-lets-users-plant-real-trees-video" target="_blank">into game players</a>. The green energy points "grow" into a virtual tree on the user's app. And users can share green energy with friends and see how their virtual forests compare with others.</p><p>For every virtual tree grown, Ant Forest donates – and plants – a real one. And this gamification has had real-world impacts.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzUwMzEzNy9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxNDgxNTEwMn0.KkxASSTCUOVTTgBQJ5ZYi8ccAvOlPRYHntlcE02um8Q/img.png?width=980" id="93ade" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="4cb6504d3b3d13bbbf2f4d1e0900dd3b" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
The world is getting greener, with China and India leading the way. NASA / Nature Sustainability
<h3>A Greening China</h3><p>According to a study in Nature Sustainability, NASA satellites have revealed a 5% increase in global green leaf cover since the early 2000s – <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-019-0220-7" target="_blank">with China leading that growth</a>.</p><p>While a third of Chinese greening is due to the expansion of agriculture, <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/144540/china-and-india-lead-the-way-in-greening" target="_blank">42% comes from projects to plant forests</a>. According to the UN, Ant Forest has become the country's largest private sector tree-planting scheme – so the game is a big part of China's greening.</p><p>And the locations for planting are ambitious: arid areas of Northern China like parts of Inner Mongolia, Gansu and Shanxi. Many of the 122 million Ant Forest trees have been planted in areas that have become deserts.</p><p>There has been some criticism. In 2019, the journal <em>Nature</em> reported concerns that holding back deserts with trees <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-02789-w" target="_blank">could put pressure on water supplies</a>. Scientists in China responded that local conditions are taken into account. <a href="https://medium.com/alipay-and-the-world/alipay-gallery-ant-forest-tree-planting-spring-2019-dc4e0578cc7c" target="_blank">Drought-resistant varieties, such as the "saxaul" shrub,</a> are used by Ant Forest.</p><p>The project is certainly ambitious. In 2019, Alipay's parent company, Ant Financial Group, said the trees covered some 112,000 hectares. And there are sizable spillover benefits, too.</p>
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="bb7267189f67a13b4a39eefe23cd4297"><iframe lazy-loadable="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZHHlWUPoppM?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span>
<h3>Environment and People</h3><p>The young trees maintain and repair eroded <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/soil">soils</a>, as well as reduce global CO2 levels.</p><p>Another major gain from the project has been employment. Ant Financial Group said 400,000 job opportunities have been created through Ant Forest, many for local farmers.</p><p>But if the trees are donated by Ant Financial, why not simply plant the trees and cut out the virtual ones?</p><p>The reason, as the UN puts it, is "<a href="https://unfccc.int/climate-action/momentum-for-change/planetary-health/alipay-ant-forest" target="_blank">significant behavioural change</a>." Gamification has encouraged millions of people to adopt lower-carbon lifestyles.</p><p>The success of the project has now led to <a href="https://www.gcash.com/gforest" target="_blank">a similar initiative in the Philippines</a>, launched by the mobile payments provider GCash.</p><p>The project is an encouraging step, according to the UN's Andersen.</p><p>"Although the environmental challenges we face are daunting," she said, "we have the technology and the knowledge to overcome them and fundamentally redesign how we interact with the planet."</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/07/china-ant-forest-app-carbon-emissions-trees/" target="_blank">World Economic Forum</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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A truck spreads lime on a meadow to increase the soil's fertility in Yorkshire Dales, UK. Farm Images / Universal Images Group via Getty Images
As we look for advanced technology to replace our dependence on fossil fuels and to rid the oceans of plastic, one solution to the climate crisis might simply be found in rocks. New research found that dispersing rock dust over farmland could suck billions of tons of carbon dioxide from the air every year, according to the first detailed large scale analysis of the technique, as The Guardian reported.
<p>The <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2448-9" target="_blank">study</a>, published Wednesday in the journal <em>Nature,</em> found the technique could pull enough carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to remove about half of the amount of that greenhouse gas currently produced by Europe. To put it another way, that would mean pulling more CO2 from the atmosphere than the current total emissions from global aviation and shipping combined, according to a <a href="https://www.newswise.com/articles/applying-rock-dust-to-croplands-could-absorb-up-to-2-billion-tonnes-of-co2-from-the-atmosphere-research-shows" target="_blank">press release</a> from the University of Sheffield where the study was conducted.</p><p>"Spreading rock dust on agricultural land is a straightforward, practical CO2 drawdown approach with the potential to boost soil health and food production, said David Beerling, director of the Leverhulme Center for Climate Change Mitigation at the University of Sheffield and lead author of the study. "Our analyses reveal the big emitting nations – China, the US, India – have the greatest potential to do this, emphasizing their need to step up to the challenge."</p>
<p>The research showed that if the world's three largest emitters of CO2 — China, the U.S. and India — adopted the practice on a large scale, they could collectively clear about 1 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide from the air, as <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-solutions/2020/07/08/spreading-rock-dust-ground-could-pull-carbon-air-researchers-say/" target="_blank">The Washington Post</a> reported.</p><p>The technique of spreading rock on the ground is known as enhanced rock weathering. The researchers took a realistic approach to perform a global analysis of the technique. The researchers say their modeling of enhanced rock weathering is the most realistic yet because it factors in how much rock is available and the energy countries would be willing to use for grinding it up, as <a href="https://www.newscientist.com/article/2248222-a-sprinkle-of-rock-dust-could-help-avoid-catastrophic-climate-change/" target="_blank">The New Scientist</a> reported.</p>
<p>Looking at each country's climate, farmland and energy infrastructure, they found that rock dust could remove between 0.5 and 2 gigatons of CO2 annually by 2050. Right now, global dependence on fossil fuels emits around 35 gigatons of CO2 each year, according to The New Scientist.</p><p>Enhanced rock weathering is a system where crushed rock is layered into the soil. As The Washington Post explained, when silicate or carbonate minerals in the dust dissolve in rain, carbon dioxide is drawn from the atmosphere into the solution to form bicarbonate ions. The bicarbonate ions then run off into the ocean, where they form carbonate minerals and store their carbon indefinitely.</p><p>The Guardian noted that while researchers are clear that the most important step to fighting the climate crisis is drastically reducing emissions, a reduction in emissions won't be enough to keep the world from breaking the targets of the Paris agreement keeping global temperature rise below 2 degrees Celsius. In order to achieve lasting success, the excess carbon in the atmosphere also needs to be removed.</p>
<p>"We have passed the safe level of greenhouse gases. Cutting fossil fuel emissions is crucial, but we must also extract atmospheric CO2 with safe, secure and scalable carbon dioxide removal strategies to bend the global CO2 curve and limit future climate change," said James Hansen, a partner in the study and director of the Climate Science, Awareness and Solutions Program at Columbia University's Earth Institute, in a press release. "The advantage of CO2 removal with crushed silicate rocks is that it could restore deteriorating top-soils, which underpin food security for billions of people, thereby incentivizing deployment."</p><p>The researchers say that enhanced rock weathering has several advantages, according to The Guardian. First, many farmers already add limestone dust to <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/soil">soils</a> to reduce acidification, and adding other rock dust improves fertility and crop yields, meaning the application could be both routine and desirable.</p><p>"CO2 drawdown strategies that can scale up and are compatible with existing land uses are urgently required to combat climate change, alongside deep emissions cuts," said Beerling. "Enhanced rock weathering is a straightforward, practical approach."</p>
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Plant pathologist Carolee Bull works in her home garden in State College, Pennsylvania. Carolee Bull, CC BY-ND
By Matt Kasson, Brian Lovett and Carolee Bull
Home gardening is having a boom year across the U.S. Whether they're growing their own food in response to pandemic shortages or just looking for a diversion, numerous aspiring gardeners have constructed their first raised beds, and seeds are flying off suppliers' shelves. Now that gardens are largely planted, much of the work for the next several months revolves around keeping them healthy.
<p>Contrary to the <a href="https://biblehub.com/galatians/6-7.htm" target="_blank">Biblical adage</a>, we do not necessarily reap what we sow. As researchers specializing in <a href="https://www.davis.wvu.edu/faculty-staff/directory/matthew-kasson" target="_blank">plant</a> <a href="https://plantpath.psu.edu/directory/ctb14" target="_blank">pathology</a> and <a href="https://www.lovettbr.com/about" target="_blank">entomology</a>, we have devoted our careers to understanding and managing plant pests and pathogens. We are also gardeners with varying levels of experience and have seen firsthand the damage these insects and disease-causing agents can inflict.</p><p>Plant health is essential for seeing your garden succeed all the way to harvest. The United Nations General Assembly has declared 2020 as the <a href="https://www.apsnet.org/members/engagement/IYPH2020/Pages/default.aspx" target="_blank">International Year of Plant Health</a> to help bring needed attention to pests and diseases that threaten global food production.</p><p>Thousands of pests and pathogens are known to target commercial crops, but a few usual suspects are routinely responsible for havoc in gardens across the U.S. Although each organism's preferences vary, a few common tactics can help you detect them and protect your plants.</p>
Start With Prevention
<p>Just as preventive steps like maintaining a balanced diet help keep humans healthy, home growers can take many actions to help their gardens thrive.</p><p>One key step is assessing soil fertility – the ability of soil to sustain plant growth – which can vary widely depending on your location and soil type. Low soil fertility limits food production and predisposes plants to disease and pests. University extension <a href="https://soiltesting.wvu.edu/" target="_blank">soil testing labs</a> can help evaluate the quality of garden soil and identify nutrient deficiencies and acidic soils, often at no charge.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzQzNzU0Ni9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0NzE2MTA4MX0.TMP1j2YhGRmeSglNZ3bYQd-4ckRdv6WVB0yC0D48eus/img.jpg?width=980" id="e50c3" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="d73f4dd41b07cd5c3451a01298aabc76" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Using weed barrier landscape cloth for planting rows and mulching between rows is an effective way to suppress weeds. Matt Kasson, CC BY-ND
<p>Suppressing weeds, either through mulching or weeding by hand each week, increases air flow and reduces humidity around garden plants, making it harder for pests and pathogens to thrive. Weed control ensures that nutrients are available for the plants you want to grow.</p><p>Proper spacing between plants is also important. Crowding can contribute to disease and pest outbreaks, so check and follow recommendations on seed packs or online as you add and move plants throughout the season. You can always cull plants after they come up to help with spacing. In small gardens, fewer plants that are properly supported can produce a bigger harvest than many overcrowded plants.</p><p>And then there's the weather. Frost, hail, drought and flooding all pose unique risks to plants. Inconsistent rainfall can kill thirsty plants more quickly than infertile soils. Both too little and too much water will stress plants and can make them more vulnerable to severe pest and pathogen outbreaks.</p><p>A general rule of thumb is to follow a consistent daily watering regimen – preferably first thing in the morning – and to avoid over-watering, which can encourage root pathogens in soil.</p>
Diagnosing Problems
<p>Common plant pathogens include <a href="https://www.apsnet.org/edcenter/disandpath/viral/introduction/Pages/PlantViruses.aspx" target="_blank">viruses</a>, <a href="https://www.apsnet.org/edcenter/disandpath/prokaryote/intro/Pages/Bacteria.aspx" target="_blank">bacteria</a>, <a href="https://www.apsnet.org/edcenter/disandpath/nematode/intro/Pages/IntroNematodes.aspx" target="_blank">nematodes</a>, <a href="https://www.apsnet.org/edcenter/disandpath/oomycete/introduction/Pages/IntroOomycetes.aspx#:%7E:text=The%20oomycetes%2C%20also%20known%20as,foliar%20blights%20and%20downy%20mildews." target="_blank">oomycetes</a> and <a href="https://www.apsnet.org/edcenter/disandpath/fungalasco/intro/Pages/IntroFungi.aspx" target="_blank">fungi</a>. All of these microorganisms, especially at an early stage of infection, are too small to see. But when they proliferate, they cause changes in plants that we can recognize.</p><p>Unlike insects, which move around on six legs or on wings through the air, pathogens can move unseen and unchecked from leaf to leaf on the wind, through the soil or in droplets of water. Some microbes have even formed intimate relationships with insects and use them as vehicles to move from plant to plant, which makes these pathogens even more challenging to manage. Unfortunately, by the time some pathogens make their presence known, the damage is already done.</p><p>We recently conducted a <a href="https://twitter.com/kasson_wvu/status/1265989041725624323" target="_blank">Twitter poll</a> of gardeners nationwide to find out which culprits plagued their gardens. People named <a href="https://ento.psu.edu/extension/factsheets/aphids" target="_blank">aphids</a>, <a href="https://ento.psu.edu/extension/factsheets/squash-vine-borer" target="_blank">squash vine borers</a>, <a href="https://ento.psu.edu/extension/factsheets/squash-bug" target="_blank">squash bugs</a> and <a href="https://ento.psu.edu/extension/factsheets/flea-beetle" target="_blank">flea beetles</a> as the most problematic insect pests. Their most troublesome pathogens included <a href="https://extension.wvu.edu/lawn-gardening-pests/plant-disease/fruit-vegetable-diseases/powdery-mildew" target="_blank">powdery mildew</a>, <a href="https://plantpath.ifas.ufl.edu/rsol/Trainingmodules/BWTomato_Module.html" target="_blank">tomato bacterial wilt</a> and <a href="https://extension.wvu.edu/lawn-gardening-pests/plant-disease/fruit-vegetable-diseases/downy-mildew" target="_blank">cucurbit downy mildew</a>.</p><p>To manage such perennial challenges, the first step is to spend time closely looking at your plants. Do you notice any insects consistently hanging around, or molds colonizing leaves or other plant parts? How about symptoms such as blight, stunting, or leaves that are yellowing, browning or wilting?</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzQzNzU1MS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1NzAzNjI3NX0.YMze8ypLJeMta1zj22z2Ol0gLeOaKPzuJUXAJDGMkWw/img.jpg?width=980" id="a7f6e" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="21b23fe729f14504c8177a38ae257301" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
This white fungal growth is an early sign of powdery mildew on a leaf of susceptible summer squash. Matt Kasson, CC BY-ND
<p>There are countless resources online for keen-eyed and curious gardeners looking to identify and manage pests and diseases. Try uploading a photo to the <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/" target="_blank">iNaturalist app</a> or a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/StateCollegeGardens/?multi_permalinks=600704970572066%2C600705577238672%2C600746833901213%2C600249863950910%2C599671614008735&notif_id=1593225594524195&notif_t=group_activity&ref=notif" target="_blank">Facebook gardeners group</a> that can offer a community-sourced ID. Plant disease clinics in your state will also diagnose plant damage from diseases and pests <a href="https://www.npdn.org/home" target="_blank">for free or at low cost</a>.</p><p>Once you've identified a problem serious enough to intervene, the land grant extension system can provide solutions. Extension programs at land grant schools like <a href="https://extension.wvu.edu/lawn-gardening-pests" target="_blank">West Virginia University</a> and <a href="https://extension.psu.edu/insects-pests-and-diseases" target="_blank">Penn State University</a> offer critical information on agriculture and management of pests and diseases in multiple languages for commercial and home growers.</p><p>Their resources include information on safe and proper use of <a href="https://extension.wvu.edu/agriculture/farm-management/pesticide-education" target="_blank">pesticides</a> as part of <a href="https://www.entsoc.org/sites/default/files/files/Science-Policy/ESA-Factsheet-IPM.pdf" target="_blank">integrated pest management</a> strategies. This approach employs pesticides in a targeted way along with non-chemical control methods and <a href="https://landscapeipm.tamu.edu/what-is-ipm/ipm-practices/cultural-practices/#:%7E:text=In%20IPM%2C%20cultural%20and%20physical,watering%2C%20nutrient%20management%2C%20etc." target="_blank">cultural practices</a>, such as choosing native plants. Our professional societies, including the <a href="https://www.apsnet.org/Pages/default.aspx" target="_blank">American Phytopathological Society</a>, also offer <a href="https://www.apsnet.org/apsstore/pages/oncompendia.aspx" target="_blank">a compendium series</a> to help users diagnose and treat pests and diseases.</p>
<div id="e9449" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="180afa5785eb73e78677137f4f7a6e44"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1278028757362790400" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Sow seed for fall transplants of broccoli, kale, turnip, and cauliflower in flats or containers by the 3rd to 4th w… https://t.co/i3chrkKCj0</div> — Montgomery County Master Gardeners - Maryland (@Montgomery County Master Gardeners - Maryland)<a href="https://twitter.com/mcmgmd/statuses/1278028757362790400">1593540775.0</a></blockquote></div><p>Those who are serious about learning and sharing their experience with others may want to consider <a href="https://mastergardener.extension.org/" target="_blank">Master Gardener programs</a>, which train and certify community members on the latest evidence-based gardening techniques, tailored to their growing area. Master Gardeners pay it forward by training new Master Gardeners and answering questions for any gardener.</p><p>Plant pests are a daily reminder that gardens do not exist in a vacuum, and gardeners shouldn't struggle alone either. Joining the gardening community takes attentiveness and time, but we believe the investment required to become an active member of your local gardening community is well worth it. With experience, the nervous tightrope act of keeping pests at bay and food on the table becomes a delicate dance that can help us appreciate where our food comes from – and ultimately, our place in the global ecosystem.</p>
<p>
<em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/matt-kasson-1024196" target="_blank">Matt Kasson</a> is an </em><em>Associate Professor of Plant Pathology and Mycology, West Virginia University.</em>
</p><p>
<em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/brian-lovett-1032419" target="_blank">Brian Lovett</a> is a </em><em>Postdoctoral Researcher in Mycology, West Virginia University.</em>
</p><p>
<em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/carolee-bull-1106097" target="_blank">Carolee Bull</a> is a </em><em><em>Professor of Plant Pathology and Systematic Bacteriology, Pennsylvania State University.</em></em>
</p><p>
<em><em></em>Disclosure statement: </em><em>Matt Kasson receives funding from USDA and The Ohrstrom Foundation. </em><em>Carolee Bull receives funding from the USDA and from the mushroom industry, and matching funds from seed companies for her research projects. </em><em><em>Brian Lovett does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</em></em>
</p><p>
<em><em></em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-manage-plant-pests-and-diseases-in-your-victory-garden-139545" target="_blank">The Conversation</a>.</em>
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Rattan Lal, distinguished university professor of soil science at The Ohio State University, speaks at an IFPRI policy seminar, "Economics of Land Degradation and Improvement," on Dec. 3, 2015. IFPRI / Milo Mitchell
The demands of feeding a planet rapidly careening toward 10 billion people, coupled with the environmental degradation that industry and development has caused, has left much of the world's soil depleted of nutrients. A professor who studies soil science and is looking to improve the dirt for farmers around the world has been awarded the 2020 World Food Prize for his work, as NPR reported.
<p><a href="https://senr.osu.edu/our-people/rattan-lal" target="_blank">Rattan Lal</a>, <a href="https://senr.osu.edu/our-people/rattan-lal" target="_blank">a professor of soil science</a> and the director of the Carbon Management and Sequestration Center at The Ohio State University, has pioneered <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/farming">farming</a> techniques that prevent soil from losing vital nutrients and even put nutrients back into soil, according to NPR. That work is incredibly important, since data from <a href="http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/357059/icode/" target="_blank">the Food and Agriculture Organization</a> of the United Nations show that about a third of the planet's soil is "moderately to highly degraded."</p><p>When the nutrients disappear, crop yields are lower and less healthy. That's troublesome for the growing demands placed on farmers.</p>
<p>As <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/06/22/880932230/soil-prof-hits-pay-dirt-250k-prize-for-helping-farmers-fighting-climate-change" target="_blank">NPR</a> reported. Lal believes sustainable <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/agriculture">agriculture</a> practices are the "win-win-win option" as the world struggles with the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-crisis">climate crisis</a> and food insecurity. "My philosophy has always been that the health of soil, plants, animal, people, and the environment is one indivisible," Lal said.</p><p>In addition to improving soil, Lal's work showed how plants could pull carbon from the atmosphere and sequester it in the soil to prevent it from combining with oxygen and creating carbon dioxide, which adds more greenhouse gases to an already warming planet, according to <a href="https://www.thehawkeye.com/news/20200614/pioneer-of-research-on-sequestering-carbon-in-soil-is-this-years-world-food-prize-laureate" target="_blank">The Hawk Eye</a> in Iowa.</p>
<p>"This breakthrough research transformed the way the world saw soils," the World Food Prize Foundation, a Des Moines nonprofit that sponsors the annual $250,000 prize, said in its announcement of the prize.</p><p>"As a result, soils are now not only the foundation for increasing the quality and quantity of food and preserving natural ecosystems, but an important part of mitigating climate change, as well," the foundation said in its release.</p><p>The World Food Prize is often described as the Nobel for research in <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/food">food</a>, according to <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/rattan-lal-2020-world-food-prize-soil-scientist-6471435/" target="_blank">The Indian Express</a>. It was even created by Nobel prize laureate Norman Borlaug in 1987.</p>
<p>Lal is no stranger to prizes, nor to altruism. Last year, he was awarded $450,000 for the Japan Prize, which is issued by the Japanese government, for his work on soil. He gave all of the prize money to Ohio State's <a href="https://cfaes.osu.edu/" target="_blank">College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences</a>, as <a href="https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2019/04/22/ohio-state-just-got-a-half-million-dollar-gift.html" target="_blank">Columbus Business First</a> in Ohio reported.</p><p>Lal's work built upon the tenets that farmers already knew about maintaining and building healthy soil. His work that focused on restoring nutrients had the added bonus of removing carbon from the atmosphere, according to the <a href="https://www.toledoblade.com/opinion/editorials/2020/06/20/feeding-the-world-ohio-state-university-rattan-lal/stories/20200618008" target="_blank">Toledo Blade</a>.</p><p>"He's helping the Earth's estimated 500 million small farmers be faithful stewards of their land through improved management, less soil degradation, and the recycling of nutrients," said U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, as the <a href="https://www.toledoblade.com/opinion/editorials/2020/06/20/feeding-the-world-ohio-state-university-rattan-lal/stories/20200618008" target="_blank">Toledo Blade</a> reported. "The billions of people who depend on these farms stand to benefit greatly from his work."</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.kff.org/news-summary/usaid-acting-administrator-provides-statement-congratulating-winner-of-2020-world-food-prize/" target="_blank">Kaiser Foundation</a> reported that USAID Acting Administrator John Barsa said, "The global demand for food is growing faster than the world's population. Agriculture and food systems face the challenge of producing more while using less land and water. Dr. Lal's work has advanced our ability to grow more food while minimizing the environmental impact for agriculture — essential for sustainable solutions to end hunger and malnutrition."</p><p>Lal's adventurous career has taken him to posts in Australia and Nigeria. He has led soil restoration projects in Asia, Africa and Latin America, integrating no-till farming and use of cover crops, mulching and agroforestry to protect soil, conserve water and return nutrients, carbon and organic matter in the soil, according to <a href="https://www.livemint.com/news/india/world-food-prize-rattan-lal-man-who-took-inspiration-from-shastras-puranas-to-help-500-million-farmers-11591935428304.html" target="_blank">LiveMint</a>.</p><p>"[Lal] was really the first person to put soil science on the map," said Marco Ferroni of <a href="https://www.cgiar.org/how-we-work/governance/system-organization/system-management-board/smb-composition/" target="_blank">CGIAR</a>, a global agricultural research group, to <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/06/22/880932230/soil-prof-hits-pay-dirt-250k-prize-for-helping-farmers-fighting-climate-change" target="_blank">NPR</a>.</p>
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