Soil Carbon Method

From Holistic Management Listserv

The real question is , What can be done?

I disavow any solution that has no chance of working. What can be done? What will

work? This does have to be answered from a social and economic point of view also. So far , the only opportunity that I see is a great redistribution of wealth with wars and more social struggles brought on by claims that one thing will fix our problems such as a system of carbon credits which simply lines the pockets of certain groups while giving dirty businesses credits to keep polluting. These types of things are never successful especially coming from the government.

Here are some questions that need some answers.

Dick Richardson replies

Now, this is where the rubber meets the road! Have you heard of Amory Lovins at the Rocky Mountain Institute? He's an engineer that creates solutions that make a profit as well as are realistic today. This is the way I like to see change happen, and it's by seeing opportunity instead of disaster.

To see the opportunities, however, implies a realistic understanding of the causes and solutions that address them. No, it's not too late, but it will become increasingly problematic the longer we wait. "Greening the planet" means plants need to be healthy, and this means having water, good soil, etc., not JUST more carbon dioxide. A holistic perspective is the way to begin, AND proceed.

For example, the less we plow topsoil, the more carbon we can sequester. The best of these directions is with perennial deep rooted plants, which include trees in some places, grasses in

others. Fuel seems to be the current distraction, but seeing opportunities in increasing efficiency, whether it is in present technologies or potential new ones, opens up human creativity. Fear does not, denial does not.

If humans are the cause, I see this as likely offering us more opportunities to change our "life as usual," giving us a much better playing field than if we had no way of changing things we can't control. But, creative thinking and acting need to have reasons to proceed in new directions. This is why I consider it equally important that we (humans) recognize we are the problem so we can become the solution.

Wes Jackson at The Land Institute in Salina, Kansas, is moving along with perennial grain crops, which don't need plowing and can be part of a diverse source of carbon in the soil and useful productivity above ground. You can Google both Lovins and Jackson and their

establishments to see excellent examples of where we are already heading, and can increase the progress if we begin to use our heads.

Dick

Dick Richardson

Professor

The University of Texas at Austin Phone 512-471-4128

Integrative

Biology FAX 512-232-3402

Biology Labs, 114A

1 University Station, MS A6700

205 W. 24th Street

Austin, Texas 78712-0253