Terms: soil
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- Water and Soil Conservation (USDA)
- Trees, Water, and Soil (Journey to Forever)
Shows how loss of trees destroys the topsoil and how the topsoil can be built again. 12-00
- Irrigation on Saline Soils (International Atomic Energy Agency)
Provides new methods to extract agricultural products from brackish water and saline soils. 12-01
- Saving Soil and Trees While Fighting Hunger (Washington Post)
"Dr. Pedro Sanchez loves dirt. The prize-winning soil scientist says that poor quality soil is the cause of many of the evils that plague poor countries, from hunger and poverty to environmental devastation caused by slash-and-burn farming."
"...Sanchez has helped teach 150,000 small-scale African farmers how to boost grain production by bettering their dirt — that is, by replenishing soil nutrients with nitrogen from native vegetation and phosphates from rocks."
"As a result, those farmers can feed their families without having to burn more forests to get fertile land." 8-02
- -04-30-07 Cancer-Fighting Drug Found in Soil (Live Science)
"The bark of certain yew trees can yield a medicine that fights cancer. Now scientists find the dirt that yew trees grow in can supply the drug as well, suggesting a new way to commercially harvest the medicine."
"Scientists originally isolated the drug paclitaxel—now commonly known as Taxol—in 1967 from the bark of Pacific yew trees (Taxus brevifolia) in a forest near the Mount St. Helens in Washington. This yew also yields related compounds known as taxanes that can be converted to paclitaxel. Research since then has revealed other yew species generate paclitaxel and taxanes as well, as do some fungi and certain hazelnut varieties." 04-07
- -06-07-08 "Carbon-Neutral" Won't Be Enough (SoilCarbonCoalition.org)
"What this means is that our current widespread advocacy of CO2 emissions reduction has little leverage on what most scientists regard as the cause of global warming—the highest atmospheric CO2 levels in hundreds of thousands of years. The assumption that CO2 emissions reductions will do the trick has become popular groupthink, not subject to scrutiny because it's what we all know, and may seem like the only available option. Once again, we are goading ourselves into a gallant cavalry charge into the barbed wire."
"Carbon-neutral won't be enough. We have to be carbon-negative, to be pulling carbon out of the atmosphere into some safe, stable place. Various technologies have been proposed for this, but so far they haven't succeeded in solving the immense storage or disposal issues, and they require energy. The oxidation or burning of carbon compounds yields energy, and the reverse reactions require energy. Reversing the Keeling curve will require enormous amounts of energy." 06-08
- Proposed Legislation to Encourage Soil Carbon Opportunities (Brownback.Senate.gov)
" 'This legislation will provide a conservation payment for farmers who voluntarily increase their soil carbon conservation efforts,' Brownback said." 06-08
- Activities to Encourage Soil Carbon Opportunities (Big Sky Carbon Sequestration Partnership)
"Activities in forestry and agriculture can reduce and divert the atmospheric buildup of the three most important GHGs directly emitted by human actions: carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N20). Adoption of recommended management practices can enhance soil carbon, and improve soil quality and productivity. The opportunities to enhance soil carbon include: increasing the soil organic carbon concentration, improving water and nutrient use efficiencies and improving biomass productivity. Terrestrial sequestration is considered a near term approach to reducing GHGs because it can be implemented today. Moreover, soils provide a significant reservoir for organic carbon, storing twice as much as the atmosphere and three times as much as plants." 06-08
- Soil Carbon Sequestration Fundamentals (OSU.edu)
"Soil carbon sequestration is the process of transferring carbon dioxide from the atmosphere into the soil through crop residues and other organic solids, and in a form that is not immediately reemitted. This transfer or 'sequestering' of carbon helps off-set emissions from fossil fuel combustion and other carbon-emitting activities while enhancing soil quality and long-term agronomic productivity. Soil carbon sequestration can be accomplished by management systems that add high amounts of biomass to the soil, cause minimal soil disturbance, conserve soil and water, improve soil structure, and enhance soil fauna activity. Continuous no-till crop production is a prime example." 06-08
- 08-28-03 Arsenic Removal in the Soil (Science Daily)
"Planting ferns can be a cheaper, greener way to soak up poisons such as arsenic from the soil. Ferns absorb arsenic through their roots and store it in their leaves, which can then be cut off. Arsenic -- once used to treat wood -- can still lurk in old roofs, decks, and playgrounds." 09-08
- The Keeling Curve (SoilCarbonCoalition.org)
Displays the level of monthly average carbon dioxide concentration at Mauna Lao Observatory in Hawaii from 1960 to 2006. The parts per million changed from 315 to 385. 01-09
- Soil Carbon Sequestration
- Biochar for Soil Improvment and Long-Term Carbon Sequestration (Biochar.org)
"Biochar offers a strong link between the three Rio conventions as it simultaneously addresses climate change, soil degradation and biodiversity." 05-09
- Biochar for Soil Productivity: How Much Biochar? (BiomassMagazine.com)The research article found that an estimated 1.75 tons of biochar per acre yielded an average increase in crop productivity of 25 percent.
- Biochar for Soil Productivity: How Much Biochar? (CascadiaBiochar.com)"Reducing Agricultural Greenhouse Emissions - adding up to 4 tons of biochar per acre will reduce field carbon dioxide loss, while increasing weight and biomass. Emissions of nitrous oxide, the more serious greenhouse gas, can be reduced five-fold."
- Biochar for Soil Productivity: How Much Biochar? (Reuters.com)" 'The average BioChar requires between 500 lbs and 1 ton per acre to be effective," states Amanda Knorr, Mantria`s Chief Operating Officer. "We`re thrilled to offer EternaGreen which with its high carbon yield is effective at only 25 to 50 lbs per acre.' "
- Problems With Soiling and Bowel Control (American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry)
Provides information for parents. 10-09
- Problems With Soiling and Bowel Control (American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry)
Provides basic suggestions. 10-09
- Soil Amendment
"TerraVive contains a broad and diverse population of live, naturally occurring beneficial soil microbes that work to aerate the soil and break down toxins, making the food already in the soil more easily absorbed by plants. The microbes are also beneficial to help plants and turfs fight disease." 08-07
- Elements (Rader New Media)
"As far as we know there are only so many basic elements. Up to this point in time we have discovered/created over 100. While there may be more out there to discover, the basic elements remain the same. Iron atoms found on Earth are identical to Iron atoms found on meteorites. The Iron atoms on Mars that make the soil red are the same too." 12-02
- Tree Planting (American Forests)
Provides information on tree planting. Research suggests that urban areas need at least 40 percent coverage of trees for good quality of life. Trees reduce pollution, keep water in the soil, provide oxygen to the air, and provide shade from the sun during the summer to reduce air conditioning costs. 9-01
- Muslim Rage (Christian Science Monitor - Ford)
There can be no justification for killing innocent civilians, such as on September 11th. However, it is important for the citizens of the USA to understand how people in the Middle East regard the United States as the USA works to fight terrorism globally.
Provides personal stories of Muslim families in the Middle East affected by American foreign policies and military interventions. "Trying to root out terrorism without re-plowing the soil in which it grows - which means rethinking the policies that breed anti-American sentiment - is unlikely to succeed, say ordinary Middle Easterners and some of their leaders." ''There is only one way for America to be a friend of Islam,' says Ahmed. 'And that is if they consider our lives to be as precious as their own.' 10-01
- Wetlands (Environmental Protection Agency)
Describes the characteristics of wetlands. "Wetlands are areas where water covers the soil, or is present either at or near the surface of the soil all year or for varying periods of time during the year, including during the growing season." 12-01
- Water - Reaching Water Below the Surface on Mars (Urquhart)
"In this activity, students will record and graph temperature data to learn about the search for water on Mars. Students will use a model of an ice-rich and ice-free near-surface on Mars to examine how the ice content of the martian soil will affect the rate at which a warm probe will cool." 3-02
- Fighting Hunger Globally - World Food Prize (WorldFoodPrize.org)
"By pioneering ways to restore fertility to the poorest and most degraded soils in Latin America and Africa, the 2002 World Food Prize Laureate, Dr. Pedro A. Sanchez, has made a major contribution to preserving our delicate ecosystem, while at the same time offering great hope to all those struggling to survive on marginal lands around the world." 8-02
- Bioremediation of Oil Spills (Science Education - Paustian)
"Bioremediation is a method used to treat environments polluted with organic or inorganic substances. Research has been conducted on the possible uses of bioremediation since the 1940s. Bioremediation was used in the 1970s for the in situ (in place) clean up of fuel contaminated soil and groundwater." 2-03
- Blix : "Odd" Iraq Cannot Prove Weapons Destruction (Yahoo - Mroue)
"Amin repeated Iraq's claims that it is 'clean' of weapons of mass destruction, and said Iraq is cooperating with the inspectors in an attempt to prove it."
"An example, he said, can be seen in trenches Iraqi has begun to dig at sites where it says it unilaterally destroyed chemical and biological weapons. He said a U.N. team will come to Iraq on March 2 to check the soil for proof of the weapons' destruction."
"Blix expressed skepticism over Iraq's claims to have destroyed the stocks of anthrax and VX nerve agent. Blix told Time magazine in an interview to be published Monday that he found it "a bit odd" that Baghdad, with 'one of the best-organized regimes in the Arab world,' would claim to have no records of the substances' destruction." 2-03
- 08-28-03 Superbugs Digest Pollution (Salon.com - Mieszkowski)
"The genetically modified mutant plants suck heavy metals, such as lead and arsenic, out of the soil into their roots, stems and leaves, cleansing the contaminated soil. It's an intoxicating vision: Imagine fields of these valiant plants fighting part of the $700 billion battle that the United States faces in mopping up polluted Superfund sites." 8-03
- Lewis and Clark Expedition - A History (LewisandClark.org)
"On February 28, 1803, the Congress appropriated funds for a small U.S. Army unit to explore the Missouri and Columbia rivers and tell the western Indian tribes that traders would soon come to buy their furs. The explorers were to make a detailed report on western geography, climate, plants and animals, and to study the customs and languages of the Indians. Plans for the expedition were almost complete when the President learned that France offered to sell all of Louisiana Territory to the United States. This transfer, which was completed within a year, doubled the area of the United States. It meant that Jefferson's Army expedition could travel all the way to the crest of the Rockies on American soil, no longer needing permission from the former French owners."
Editor's Note: It could be argued that the French never bought the land and really did not have the moral authority to sell it. The Indigenous people who had been on the land for centuries never sold the land to the French and were still there. What the Americans bought was the agreement for the French to provide no military resistance to Americans as the Americans took the land from the Indigenous people. 01-07
- Editorial - Pro-Bush from Lowell, Massachusetts (LowellSun.com)
Provides an editorial explaining why a newspaper from where Senator Kerry began his political career endorsed President Bush.
"In the ashes of ground zero, where nearly 3,000 innocent Americans perished, President Bush vowed to find the perpetrators, in domestic cells and distant lands, and bring them to justice. He said he will do all that is humanly possible and necessary to make certain that terrorists never strike again on U.S. soil."
"Can anyone deny that President Bush has not delivered? America the terrorists' No. 1 target has recovered from its tragic wounds and rebounded. It remains safe to this day."
"What might a lesser leader have done, faced with the daunting task of deciding America's course against withering, partisan attacks from Democrats, media propagandists, disingenuous U.N. officials and disloyal White House operatives selling their souls for profit during a time of war?"
"A lesser leader might have caved in. President Bush has stood his ground."
"In this year's election, the question isn't whether we are safer now than we were four years ago. We already know the answer. Sure we are and that's because of President Bush. The critical question is: Four years from now, will America be safer than it is today?"
"In our book, Americans have to place their trust in President Bush. He's proven to be as sturdy as a mighty oak when it comes to saying what he means, meaning what he says and acting decisively." 10-04
- Sac and Fox Nation History (the Pages of Shades)
"The Asakiwaki (Sauk) and Meshkwahkihaki (Mesquakie/Fox) belong to the Woodland and Plains Cultures. They are are Algonquin-speaking peoples."
"In the valley the soil was rich and fertile. Using the shoulder bone of a buffalo or deer, the women broke the land and turned over the soil. They grew corn, beans, squash, pumpkin and tobacco. Of all the crops corn was the most important. It could be boiled, roasted, or made into soup or dumplings. After the kernels were stripped from the cob it could be dried and pounded into meal or stored away for further use. When kernels were laid out on a hot rock they would pop into fluffy morsels. Corn provided its own seed for the next year's planting. As long as the Sauk and Fox had a good harvest of corn, they knew they would not go hungry." 10-04
- Least Shrews (FCPS)
"Least Shrews are one of our smallest mammals, growing only up to three inches long."
"This animal lives in forests, or weedy fields. They are active during the day, but most active at night."
"Least Shrews have poor sight and hearing, so they hunt by smell and touch. They dig through loose soil and leaf litter for prey." 4-05
- Permafrost Disappearing (Scientific American)
"The top 11 feet of soil in the Arctic continues to thaw. Sinkholes are opening, highways buckling, houses and forests tilting, all of which is wreaking havoc on landscapes, wildlife and cities from Murmansk to Juneau. This permafrost layer--defined as soil that remains icy cold for more than two years--covers nearly a quarter of the land in the Northern Hemisphere. But that total is shrinking and new models show that it may nearly disappear by the end of this century."
"Even more troubling, this permafrost layer contains anywhere from 20 to 60 percent of the carbon trapped in soils in the world." 12-05
- -01-10-06 New Toyota Camry Announced (HybridCars.com)
"Hybrid cars will soon become as American as hot dogs and apple pie. On May 18, 2005, Toyota announced that a hybrid version of America's best selling car model, the Camry, will be built on America soil." 01-06
- -Editorial: Spreading Cancer by Bob Koehler (CommonWonders.com)
"As we 'protected ourselves,' in the words of the president, from Iraq’s non-existent weapons of mass destruction, we opened our own arsenal of WMD on them, contaminating the country’s soil and polluting its air — indeed, unleashing a nuclear dust into the troposphere and contaminating the whole world." 10-06
- 01-30-07 A Test of the Legal Rights of U.S. Residents (Christian Science Monitor)
"The open-ended detention of an Arab student suspected of being an Al Qaeda sleeper agent is setting the stage for the next major showdown over the scope of President Bush's authority to fight terrorism on American soil." 02-07
- Switchgrass (Wikipedia.org)
"Switchgrass is often considered a good candidate for biofuel — especially ethanol fuel — production due to its hardiness against poor soil and climate conditions, rapid growth and low fertilization and herbicide requirements. Switchgrass is also perennial, unlike corn and sugarcane, and has a huge biomass output, the raw plant material used to make biofuel, of 6-10 tons per acre."
"Switchgrass has the potential to produce the biomass required for production of up to 100 gallons (380 liters) of ethanol per metric ton.[4] This gives switchgrass the potential to produce 1000 gallons of ethanol per acre, compared to 665 gallons for sugarcane and 400 gallons for corn." 07-06
- Rain Barrels (RainBarrelGuide.com)
"To illustrate how important and how limited a resource freshwater is in our world, consider the following. More than 70 percent of the Earth's surface is covered by water, but only 2.5% of this supply is considered fresh water. The rest is found in the form of salt water in the oceans. Of the fresh water that exists, most is locked up in glaciers and ice caps. Water can also be found in the form of clouds and humidity in the soil. That leaves us 3/10 of 1 percent found in the form of lakes, rivers and streams. Unfortunately, much of this small amount of freshwater is in danger of drying up through desertification or becoming so contaminated that it cannot be used for human consumption. Changing our habits of water use can help to abate this growing problem." 08-07
- Rain Barrels (RainSaver.usa)
"To illustrate how important and how limited a resource freshwater is in our world, consider the following. More than 70 percent of the Earth's surface is covered by water, but only 2.5% of this supply is considered fresh water. The rest is found in the form of salt water in the oceans. Of the fresh water that exists, most is locked up in glaciers and ice caps. Water can also be found in the form of clouds and humidity in the soil. That leaves us 3/10 of 1 percent found in the form of lakes, rivers and streams. Unfortunately, much of this small amount of freshwater is in danger of drying up through desertification or becoming so contaminated that it cannot be used for human consumption. Changing our habits of water use can help to abate this growing problem."
Provides information to compute the yield of rainwater from a roof or other catchment. 08-07
- LED Lighting (AlphaSolar.net)
"The SoiLED LED Lamp is a 12 volt light emitting diode lamp that is three times brighter than a halogen lamp. It has a long life with power consumption of less than 1 watt. Operating temperature range is -4 to 122 degrees F. Installs in any standard socket." 11-07
- Sludge Used to Combat Lead Toxins (Time.com)
"Scientists using federal grants spread fertilizer made from human and industrial wastes on yards in poor, black neighborhoods to test whether it might protect children from lead poisoning in the soil. Families were assured the sludge was safe and were never told about any harmful ingredients."
"There is no evidence there was ever any medical follow-up." 04-08
- No-Till Farming (Wikipedia.org)
"No-till farming is considered a kind of conservation tillage system and is sometimes called zero tillage. It is a way of growing crops from year to year without disturbing the soil through tillage. Once called chemical farming, the terminology was changed[who?] in order to promote the idea of no-till farming being more natural. It is becoming more common as researchers study its effects and farmers uncover its economic benefits." 06-08
- No-Till Farming (Grist.org)
"In essentially all cases where conservation tillage was found to sequester C[arbon], soils were only sampled to a depth of 30 cm or less, even though crop roots often extend much deeper. In the few studies where sampling extended deeper than 30 cm, conservation tillage has shown no consistent accrual of SOC [soil organic carbon], instead showing a difference in the distribution of SOC, with higher concentrations near the surface in conservation tillage and higher concentrations in deeper layers under conventional tillage ... Long-term, continuous gas exchange measurements have also been unable to detect C gain due to reduced tillage." 06-08
- No-Till Farming (Conservation Agriculture Systems Alliance)
"Across North America voluntary producer organizations work hard to promote no-till systems and other practices that provide economic benefits as well as environmental benefits to their regions. These organizations share similar missions and goals, encounter similar challenges and struggle with all too common problems." 06-08
- No-Till Farming (ReducedTillage.ca)
"The RTL Agronomy Library contains hundreds of articles from getting started in direct seeding to fine tuning no till systems. Topics include seeding equipment, residue management, weed control, crop rotations, soil quality and much more." 06-08
- Carbon Dioxide Contributions (Woods Hole Research Center)
"Most of the increase in atmospheric CO2 concentrations came from and will continue to come from the use of fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas) for energy, but about 25% of the increase over the last 150 years came from changes in land use, for example, the clearing of forests and the cultivation of soils for food production [Figure 1]."
"The concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere has already increased by about 30% since the start of the industrial revolution sometime around the middle of the 19th century and will continue to increase unless societies choose to change their ways." 07-08
- Plant a Tree...the Right Kind (ABC News)
"Syracuse researchers found that if they could replant their city with trees that are great at sequestering carbon compounds, especially carbon dioxide, they could increase the removal of carbon by more than 300 percent. But they also found that air quality would actually suffer from an increase in volatile compounds."
"So they looked at mixing the forest, emphasizing trees that are good performers when it comes to carbon sequestration and don't emit a lot of junk. They came up with a list of 31 species, including American basswood, dogwood, Eastern white pine, Eastern red cedar, gray birch, red maple and river birch. That combination, they found, would increase carbon sequestration by 86 percent, and reduce the emission of volatile compounds by 88 percent." 12-06
- Basics of Carbon Sequestration (EPA.gov)
"There are three general means by which agricultural and forestry practices can reduce greenhouse gases:"
" (1) avoiding emissions by maintaining existing carbon storage in trees and soils;"
" (2) increasing carbon storage by, e.g., tree planting, conversion from conventional to conservation tillage practices on agricultural lands;"
" (3) substituting bio-based fuels and products for fossil fuels, such as coal and oil, and energy-intensive products that generate greater quantities of CO2 when used."
"Forests and soils have a large influence on atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide (CO2)—the most important global warming gas emitted by human activities. Tropical deforestation is responsible for about 20% of the world's annual CO2 emissions (IPCC Special Report on LULUCF (2000)." 07-08
- Water Footprints (Waterfootprint.org)
"People use lots of water for drinking, cooking and washing, but even more for producing things such as food, paper, cotton clothes, etc. The water footprint of an individual, business or nation is defined as the total volume of freshwater that is used to produce the goods and services consumed by the individual, business or nation."
"The water footprint of a nation shows the total volume of water that is used to produce the goods and services consumed by the inhabitants of the nation. Since not all goods consumed in one particular country are produced in that country, the water footprint consists of two parts: use of domestic water resources and use of water outside the borders of the country. The water footprint includes both the water withdrawn from surface and groundwater and the use of soil water (in agricultural production)." 08-08
- Microbials for Carbon Sequestration (Chemilizer.com)
"Their ability to store light as sugar requires that the organisms consume carbon dioxide (CO2). This means that in addition to improving plant growth and overall health, Inoculaid® is also a powerful tool for reducing the greenhouse effect, the mechanism responsible for global warming." 08-08
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[Dr. Jerry Adams at jadams@awesomelibrary.org.]
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