(Get Real intro music)
Munson Intro:
The carbon cycle is essential to all life on this Earth. Life can exist without
oxygen but not without carbon. There is a complex dance happening with
carbon from air, soil, plants, animals, oceans, and the Earth’s crust. The
cycle is a masterpiece of movement from the atmosphere to the Earth in an
automated and natural flow that goes unseen by the naked eye.
Interestingly, far more carbon exists in the soil than in the air, but it is a
balance that has been skewed by man reducing the soil’s carbon content
through bad practices. In farming, we have sadly seen the deterioration of
our soil as a result of mismanagement. A major reason CO₂ levels have
risen is the continuing expansion of the world’s deserts, reducing the
amount of carbon stored in the soil and plants. Not only are we losing our
fertile land by the day, but the downstream impact of the deterioration of
our minerals in the soil. Marine wetlands are huge sinks of carbon that are
being wiped out by man’s activities of dredging and filling. Restoration of
marine wetlands and shallow water areas is one part of the holistic solution
to rebalancing this cycle. The oceans occupy most of the Earth’s surface
and are also major players in the carbon cycle. Regardless of the beliefs
you may or may not have around the topic of climate change, it is important
to know that carbon is the key to advancing our way of life. There are
approaches to make carbon work for us and not against us.The cycle is
worldwide, but man can alter it by increasing photosynthesis and lowering
atmospheric CO2 levels dramatically. As such, the carbon cycle is not to be
feared but fine tuned to put the carbon where it will do the most good –
back in the soil and marine wetlands. Let’s Get Real about it!
(Get Real transition music)
Trevor:
Did you know carbon is born in the death of stars? Yep and it creates a real
puzzle for scientists. They can’t explain mathematically why there’s so
much of this amazing stuff hanging out in the universe. That’s because the
energy required to forge carbon must be within 2 frequencies of light, only
forming in an unbelievably precise condition called triple alpha. This
phenomenon is called Hoyle resonance, named in honor of astrophysicist
Fred Hoyle, who was the first to argue for carbon’s stellar origins. Hoyle
concluded after 28 years of research that the fine tuning of this triple alpha
resonance pointed to a ‘super intellect’. Yeah, ya guessed it, like, as in
God. Ok, so granted carbon is the basis of all organic life, but coulda God
woulda God really put their signature or hashtag on Carbon itself? Kinda
brings a whole new resonance to the idea that God is Life!
Anyhow, explosive food for thought and now back to David.
(Get Real transition music)
Coach Munson’s Climate Breakdown:
As the levels of CO2 increase and insulate the Earth, there is a concern for
increased temperatures, referred to as global warming. The truth is that
CO₂ levels fluctuate over time, and there is a significant impact of methane
from natural seeps and increasing water vapor levels. Curiously, the
growing deserts, although demineralized and lacking soil life, actually cool
the Earth, as they reflect much solar radiation back to space.
They are generally cloudless and have little water vapor to trap heat.
Converting a large desert to forest would not cool the Earth. Converting a
desert to forest or grassland would sharply lower CO₂ levels but would
increase average temperature due to increasing water vapor. This would
be a positive as we need a more moderate, stable climate. Carbon
emissions from the soil, a forest fire, or a volcano are harder to estimate or
pinpoint, unlike fossil fuel emissions. While man’s emissions definitely play
a role in the earth’s carbon cycle, there is real potential to cut our emissions
in half simply by phasing out coal plants. For this cycle in the long term, we
need to make greatly increased amounts and investments of renewable
biogas from waste of all types. As will be discussed later, biogas is an ideal
on demand backup for wind and solar photovoltaic, which are, by nature,
variable and intermittent. I believe there's greater potential for impact by
working with nature and rather than focusing solely on reducing man’s
emissions, or only playing defense, we can do so much more by playing
some offense. We have real tools to shift the course our planet's carbon
cycle and globally enhance natural carbon sequestration by implementing
better practices such as:
1. Carbonizing biomass from dying trees and crop waste residue into
bio charcoal or biochar. Biochar works like coal in reverse, meaning
nature mines the skies of CO2 by way of diverse plants, trees, even
algae, then we can carbonize that biomass to make useful eco-
friendly carbon that’s stable for millennia. Biochar creates a sponge
for water in the soil and holds nutrients, returning dead soil to life. It
can restore our national forests and create closed loop resources
within agriculture and many industries. We'll talk more on the
wonders of biochar in later episodes.
2. Harness the riches of rock dust to activate biology. Did you know the
rich topsoil of the Midwest was created from nothing but rock dust,
water, and photosynthesis after the last ice age? It is an amazing
thing that organisms can turn rock into soil. Combining rock dust
minerals with biochar is a powerful, practical way to prevent
desertification by restoring healthy soils, wetlands, oceans,
ecosystems, and economic returns.
3. Implement region specific reforestation and grassland revitalization
by integration of holistic grazing and other regenerative farming
practices like reduced tillage to increase carbon drawdown. This
increases soil organic matter, making more nutrient dense plants, as
well as animals for food. Managed and controlled grazing that works
in harmony with the grass can sequester many tons of carbon per
acre per year, whereas clean tillage grain farming is a net emitter of
carbon; more on this in our grasslands episode.
Combining and implementing these practices together we can GET REAL
in solving the CO2 issue measurably in a matter of a couple of decades by
changing the carbon cycle from increased emissions to major
sequestration. This will benefit man with improved soil productivity in the
near future, not decades from now. With billions of tons of soil lost and the
addition of a million new acres of desert each year, we can’t afford to wait.
Now let’s get real with experienced farmer and midwest biochar producer
Mr. Steve Gruhn on earth’s treasure -the carbon cycle. Steve, take it away!
(Get Real transition music)