"A thing, but a living one,
You see me everywhere
in 50 or so shades of brown.
I'm one of the life-giving things
that have fabricated everything you see.
I'm everywhere, outside your house
and also somewhere in."
Come on! Think. The answer is pretty obvious. A crucial part of the ecosystem and one of the five fundamental elements of nature that form everything in the world, SOIL.
Soil is not just the dirt beneath our feet or merely the ground we walk on. This is a non-renewable natural resource and home to billions of creatures. This is where our needs come from, our food, feed, fuel, and fiber source. The cycle of life starts and ends here.
Why are we talking about soil?
Everybody is focused on air, water, and noise pollution because we can see and feel their effect. But we don't realize something far more critical needs our attention right now.
For the past few months, whenever I water the plants at home, I also make sure to water the empty pots of plants filled only with soil and put some of the vegetable waste from the kitchen in them. Can you guess why? Stick till the end to know.
I live a sustainable life. I try to learn and understand how our ecosystem works and its current condition and share the acquired knowledge with the people around me.
A few months ago, I found an article titled "Save soil" posted on social media. I didn't understand what could happen to the ground. It's not like soil going anywhere.
I thought nothing could ever happen to soil because everything, no matter the form, comes from it and will eventually end up in it. Curious, I searched for more information on it to know more and realized that I'm not aware of a lot of things.
I learned that the soil is not healthy anymore. It is dying. Why? The reason is us, humans, our irresponsibility and greed. It always is, for everything, isn't it? We've misused natural resources and ruined the fertility of the soil.
According to consciousplanet.org, 52% of the agricultural soil has lost its capacity to function, and most of the population is oblivious.
So, a movement, 'Save soil' has been initiated by sadguru, a yoga, and spiritual guru, to spread awareness about the current state of the soil and encourage people from all over the world to bring back its organic content through eco-friendly practices.
I learned how important the role of microorganisms inhabiting the soil is. They provide more oxygen than the many forests combined. They are the life of soil that nourishes plants and trees. And we already know that trees provide for us.
What's happening?
Human activities are affecting the fertility of the soil, causing an increase and decrease in its pH level and disturbing the entire food chain. The primary reasons are industrialization, excessive farming, and poor waste management methods.
People are experiencing and complaining about climate change everywhere. They don't seem to realize those are the result of our actions. We are slowly sucking life out of the earth.
Instead of including nature in their design, people are still clearing a large part of the land by cutting off old and healthy trees to build new buildings and industries that release their chemical waste into the nearby river in many areas.
Farmers are using pesticides and chemical fertilizers on their crops for more food production and killing the insects that attack their crops. They are unaware that using anything that acts as a poison for insects is also indirectly poisoning us. The era of farming healthily and sustainably is long gone.
How can we help?
Well, the solution is quite simple. It starts at home. It's the combination of what to do and what not to do. Let's take a look.
Don't throw trash just anywhere on the ground. It’ll save the land from turning into a dump yard and soil contamination.
Use a separate dustbin for dry and wet waste for proper waste segregation.
Plant trees. Participate in plantation drives. To protect the surface of the soil from soil erosion.
Use dry leaves and vegetable waste to make compost and use it for gardening.
Grow your vegetables in your garden, if possible.
Do not use chemical substances on plants at home.
Feed the soil with water and organic substances even if there's no plant growing on it.
It's not okay to leave the soil bare. I water and put organic waste with some dry leaves in plant pots because of earthworms and billions of microorganisms living in them. After a certain period, they turn them into organic compost.
These tiny organisms are the ones that make the soil a living thing. Like us, they also need air, water, and nutrients to survive, don't they? They are the reason there's life on earth.
The environmental issues are global. And soil conservation is the solution to most of the problems. As an individual, I try to do as much as I can. I know that being aware and doing something little can help to make a big difference.
“The soil is the great connector of our lives, the source, and destination of all.”
- Wendell Berry, The Unsettling of America, 1977
Tags- save soil, soil conservation, solution of all problems, source and destination, the connector of lives, global issues, environmental problems, role of microorganisms.
It's distracting
An addiction I never want to cure
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