Playing in dirt not good for climate

[Jflem1983]

If farming is responsible for warming. It can only be a good thing. Think about it. Every mile of canada north that opens up. Is. 3500 sq miles of new farmland across the country. Farming is the mother industry. It brought us out of the ice age and out of the dark ages. Please show respect to farmers.

[Keith Duhaime]

A recently-released federal report has finally credited humans with causing climate change, but we might have more to worry about than fossil fuel emissions. While we knew bacteria in earth's soil releases almost a third of the carbon dioxide that reaches the atmosphere every year, a portion of this population has gone overlooked. A new study has found that bacteria which don't require oxygen to produce CO2 occur in more areas than previously thought. And while its production is far lower than normal (aerobic) processes, that rate will likely increase if the surrounding soil was exposed to air or when the global climate warms up.



https://www.engadget.com/2017/11/25/une ... te-change/

About zero new here. I was involved with the Parkland Agricultural Research Initiative (lead by Agriculture and Agri-food Canada) over 20 years ago to promote zero-tillage in the prairie parkland precisely for this reason. HIt Agricola, CSIRO, or CABI and search for people like Drs. Wayne Lindwall, Guy Lafond, Doug Derksen etc. - especially Guy's work at Indian Head. There is advice that consumers could be advised to follow though, For example, avoid 'certified organic' food,

[Queen K]

I could fall asleep waiting for someone else to bite, so okay, why avoid "certified organic" food?

[Jflem1983]

Well queen. Certified organic. Just like made in canada. Is nothing but a brand name . The sooner u realize this the more money u will likely save

[Keith Duhaime]

I could fall asleep waiting for someone else to bite, so okay, why avoid "certified organic" food?

A couple reasons but the two leaders...

1. Generally organic almost always = lower yields = more land has to be disturbed to produce a given amount of food.

2. They don't permit the use of varieties that have been genetically altered to resist herbicides, for example Round-Up Ready corn, soybean, and canola varieties. This makes zero-tillage very impractical.

As a side note, zero-tillage has a number of other benefits. Tillage is very diesel intensive. On the couple of thousand acres one of my cousins runs, he realized about $40,000/year in diesel savings by eliminating it and of course all the GHGs that go with burning diesel. Also, getting rid of tillage also means no plough pan over time, better soil structure and drainage, reduced soil erosion, and less contamination of surface water sources from nutrient and pesticide migration.

Remember that there is no natural process analogous to tillage.

[Keith Duhaime]

Well queen. Certified organic. Just like made in canada. Is nothing but a brand name . The sooner u realize this the more money u will likely save

Money that can be spent on things that actually benefit one's health like a gym membership or another pair of runners.

[jimmy4321]

Almost anything on a large scale will probably involve chemicals, any illegal activity where production and cash is priority one will have chemicals and unsafe conditions.

For those who grow actual vegetable for their own consumption usually are knowlegable when it comes to compost concoctions which are nasty but are free and outworks anything you buy at the store.

[The Green Barbarian]

As a side note, zero-tillage has a number of other benefits. Tillage is very diesel intensive. On the couple of thousand acres one of my cousins runs, he realized about $40,000/year in diesel savings by eliminating it and of course all the GHGs that go with burning diesel. .

If I was a farmer, I'd definitely do this to save the money, wouldn't care about the GHG's, whatever those are.

[Queen K]

JFlem knows this from the gardening thread, but all my produce is grown organically. Now is that always possible for large scale farming? Some are doing it, some gave up on the punishing government red tape hoops thrown in their path and others just use what they have to use.

Keith what you find interesting to buy with your saved money is not what I'd find interesting.

[Keith Duhaime]

JFlem knows this from the gardening thread, but all my produce is grown organically. Now is that always possible for large scale farming? Some are doing it, some gave up on the punishing government red tape hoops thrown in their path and others just use what they have to use.

Keith what you find interesting to buy with your saved money is not what I'd find interesting.

1. Be careful of what you define as 'large scale' farming. Likewise 'organic' or 'conventional'. In the minds of many of my professional colleagues, these terms are totally meaningless. They have no scientific validity. They are marketing hype. In reality, farming exists on broad spectrums.

2, a) I never said that I was 'interested' in spending my money on a gym membership or a new pair of runners. That's kind of like saying I am really interested in paying for insurance on my car, house, etc. IOW, you may not like doing something, but that is irrelevant. Some things we do because as adults we recognize we have responsibilities to society and our fellow citizens.

b) If your problem is spending money on a gym membership, runners whatever because you don't want to get in some decent exercise, fine! Simply open your wallet and pay a higher MSP premium to be fair to your fellow citizens. IOW, contain the externality of your decision by covering your share of the contingent liability. Unlike the current tyranny that is the financing of healthcare in Canada, that would be far more fair as well as democratic.

[Queen K]

You know that there are all kinds of ways to get in "decent exercise" right? I like swimming because it has low impact on my left knee. I've also done xc skiing and hiking and garden work is not for the faint of heart. Gym memberships have their place I'm sure, and I may just sign up one day, but it's not the end all, be all.

How did you work all that into "playing in the dirt" anyways?

[Keith Duhaime]

You know that there are all kinds of ways to get in "decent exercise" right? I like swimming because it has low impact on my left knee. I've also done xc skiing and hiking and garden work is not for the faint of heart. Gym memberships have their place I'm sure, and I may just sign up one day, but it's not the end all, be all.

How did you work all that into "playing in the dirt" anyways?

Yes, there are many different ways of getting exercise as long as you push it as per the old saying,'no pain, no gain'.

How did we get there? - The point being that organic food is a waste of money, and if it's your health you are thinking about, there are better things to do with your money and time; join a gym, get out for a 10k couple times a week, xc skiing, cycling, etc. etc.

[Queen K]

A recently-released federal report has finally credited humans with causing climate change, but we might have more to worry about than fossil fuel emissions. While we knew bacteria in earth's soil releases almost a third of the carbon dioxide that reaches the atmosphere every year, a portion of this population has gone overlooked. A new study has found that bacteria which don't require oxygen to produce CO2 occur in more areas than previously thought. And while its production is far lower than normal (aerobic) processes, that rate will likely increase if the surrounding soil was exposed to air or when the global climate warms up.



https://www.engadget.com/2017/11/25/une ... te-change/

Global warming, more farmland, exposing more soil and more C02 being released into the atmosphere. That's where it all began and went from there, devolving into "get your exercise' somehow.

[Jflem1983]

A recently-released federal report has finally credited humans with causing climate change, but we might have more to worry about than fossil fuel emissions. While we knew bacteria in earth's soil releases almost a third of the carbon dioxide that reaches the atmosphere every year, a portion of this population has gone overlooked. A new study has found that bacteria which don't require oxygen to produce CO2 occur in more areas than previously thought. And while its production is far lower than normal (aerobic) processes, that rate will likely increase if the surrounding soil was exposed to air or when the global climate warms up.



https://www.engadget.com/2017/11/25/une ... te-change/

Global warming, more farmland, exposing more soil and more C02 being released into the atmosphere. That's where it all began and went from there, devolving into "get your exercise' somehow.

Well if it were to warm up in winter. You could spend more time out gardening. There now its all linked together

[Queen K]

Jflem, I have pansies blooming right now, fresh blooms, so I am sorta still gardening out there.

I did raking, compost turning and all kinds of other stuff for four hours once I managed to get out the door.