28 results for tag: soil

Al Gore, Meet Soil4Climate – Spontaneous Soil Summit at Tufts University Reception

“Al Gore’s leadership on climate change has been second to none. The inclusion of soil carbon drawdown in his Climate Reality training of climate educators has helped spread awareness of soil’s role in climate mitigation.” - Dr. Bill Moomaw Vice President Al Gore recently spoke with two Soil4Climate representatives at a reception at Tufts University. Gore traveled to Tufts on February 7th to kick off the Spring 2018 Tisch College Distinguished Speaker Series. At the reception after Gore’s talk, William “Bill” Moomaw, Tufts University professor and Soil4Climate Advisory Board member, and Josephine “Josie” Watson, Tufts senior ...

Geotherapy: Can the Anthropocene Have a Second Restorative Phase?

  As proponents of remineralization since the  mid 1980s, we at Remineralize the Earth include ourselves as pioneers of regenerative agriculture. Dr. Tom Goreau always advocates on behalf of a combination of biochar and remineralization as part of a geotherapy strategy to sequester carbon and stabilize the climate. Joanna Campe   Super stable in terms of temperatures, the holocene era has allowed human civilizations to thrive for the last 10,000 years. But humanity’s massive greenhouse gas emissions, due in large part to agriculture and the industrial revolution, are threatening our own survival. Since the nineteen fifties, ...

Jon Frank and the Quest for Nutrient Dense Food

International AG Labs Farm in Fairmont, MN Recently, RTE’s Emily Schaefer conducted an interview with Jon Frank. He was excited to share his knowledge and experience with us. The following article is based on that interview.   As a four-year old, Jon Frank spent his days tending to his own garden. As a teen, he was an ardent student of soil-tending techniques and an avid reader of Acres U.S.A. magazine. Jon has always described himself as a man of the soil. Today, he is a co-owner of International AG Labs and the founder of Grow Your Own Nutrition, a project that helps gardeners mineralize their soil to grow nutrient dense foods. ...

High School Project with Aji Peppers Show Increased Growth with Rock Dust and Compost

In our previous article “Students Gain Hands-On Experience with Remineralization at Paulo Freire Social Justice Charter School,” RTE reported on a remineralization experiment carried out in part by high school students. Aji peppers were planted to test the effect of rock dust on plant growth. Now, the results of the experiment are in.   Background In 2014, Remineralize the Earth (RTE) received a grant of $5000 from the Judith Haskell Brewer Fund of the Community Foundation Serving Richmond and Central Virginia to coordinate several local projects and create a resilient remineralization network in the Pioneer Valley. These initiatives ...

Bread from Stones by Julius Hensel– Book Review

Bread from Stones   “Our most optimistic expectations are no less than the realization of an old dream: ‘What will fertilizing with stone dust accomplish? It will turn stones into bread, make barren regions fruitful, and feed the hungry.’” --Ward Chesworth and coauthors, quoting Julius Hensel [1]   Producing healthy, nutritious foods starts with creating fertile soils to support proper food growth. Dr. Alexis Carrel, a Nobel Prize winner, commented in 1912 that “minerals in the soil [...] control the metabolism of cells in plant, animal, and man [...] if soil is deficient in trace elements, food and water will be ...

Rochagem Congress Part 4: ‘Rocks for Crops’ in the World

Peter van Straaten and the Rocks for Crops multi-cultural collaboration with Lombok University, Indonesia.   Dr. Peter van Straaten spoke at the III Brazilian Rochagem Congress in November 2016 (which we have previously featured in a series of articles: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3). In his presentation, which was based on the article reprinted below, he challenged the audience to not only include geologists, soil scientists and agronomists in agrogeological research and development but also include farmers as equal stakeholders. Farmers are important as they can direct our efforts to a practical and sustainable ‘down to earth’ approach, so ...

Collaboration in the Caribbean – One Island’s Volcanic Ash Could Enrich Another Island’s Soil

Student and teacher John Mussington examining eggplant fruits to determine growth differences between plants grown in soil mixed with Monserrat volcanic ash vs the control.   A review of Chapter 19 from Geotherapy: Innovative Methods of Soil Fertility Restoration, Carbon Sequestration, and Reversing CO2 Increase.   In the Caribbean, two islands face economic and agricultural challenges due to their unique geology. Montserrat suffered a major eruption of the Soufrière Hills volcano in 1995, which covered much of the island in ash and rendered the land unavailable. Two thirds of the population fled the island, and to this day over ...

Good News from the North: Greenland’s Glacial Mud Could Remineralize the Tropics

Professor Minik Rosing speaking at TEDx Cannes on November 9, 2016   In 1979, Greenland ended a long history of political dependence on Denmark and began a new era as a self-governing entity. With this independence, Greenland faces several challenges. How can the small nation of less than 56,000 people create a sustainable economy with robust trade with the rest of the world? How can Greenland achieve economic self-sufficiency without sacrificing their values or their culture, including Inuit culture? How can citizens address climate change as Greenland’s glaciers continue to melt? International collaborations with universities and busine...

Rochagem Congress Part 3: Dr. Clenio Pillon on Agricultural Advances for Food Sovereignty in Brazil

Dr. Clenio Pillon, Lead Researcher at Embrapa’s Temperate Climate Center in Pelotas.   Miranda Chase, the director of RTE’s online research database, gave a presentation and represented us at the III Brazilian Rochagem Congress. You can read more about the conference in our previous articles here and here. “Brazil is one of the largest food producers in the world, but at the same time, it is highly dependent on the importation of fertilizers, with a direct implication on the costs and competitiveness of agriculture.” This is how The III Brazilian Rochagem Congress describes the issue it seeks to address. Remineralization offers a ...

Rochagem Congress Part 2: Professor Suzi Huff Theodoro on the Importance of Promoting Remineralization

Professor Suzi Huff Theodoro speaking at the III Brazilian Rochagem Congress.   V. Miranda Chase, the director of RTE’s online research database, gave a presentation and represented us at the III Brazilian Rochagem Congress. You can read more about the conference in our previous article.    The III Brazilian Rochagem Congress took place in November 2016 at the Embrapa Temperate Climate Research Center in Pelotas in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. The conference explored new technological developments in remineralization and identified channels for institutional partnerships between government sectors, academia, and the private ...