2 ms·

To stop the carbon in the atmosphere from increasing, we only need to grow the biomass in the soil by a hundredth of an inch per year. Good topsoil contains abo

To stop the carbon in the atmosphere from increasing, we only need to grow the biomass in the soil by a hundredth of an inch per year. Good topsoil contains about ten percent biomass, [Schlesinger, 1977], so a hundredth of an inch of biomass growth means about a tenth of an inch of topsoil. Changes in farming practices such as no-till farming, avoiding the use of the plow, cause biomass to grow at least as fast as this. If we plant crops without plowing the soil, more of the biomass goes into roots which stay in the soil, and less returns to the atmosphere. If we use genetic engineering to put more biomass into roots, we can probably achieve much more rapid growth of topsoil. I conclude from this calculation that the problem of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is a problem of land management, not a problem of meteorology. -- Freeman Dyson

defrost 2y ago
Freeman Dyson, very smart physicist and he did indeed say that. Was that a correct back of the envolope estimate though? Was it off by an order, was it ever turned into a peer reviewed paper with parallel independent computational confirmation? FWiW I'm in the AGW is real and we must do something about it camp, I'm also in the old titans of physics were often out in their rough estimates and sometimes hot takes on things. Dyson disagreed with the scientific consensus on climate change, and he largely went with his gut on his pronouncements rather than worked them through in detail.
iamthemonster 2y ago
I think we haven't yet recognised, as a society, that our deep emotional connection to meat-eating is not some innate caveman instinct but is mainly the result of marketing by a powerful industry. Of course it helps that meat is delicious. But grazing livestock has grown to inhabit all the marginal land simply because that marginal land is a cheap resource that has not historically been much use for anything else. If we actually accounted properly for the emissions impact of meat production AND the carbon uptake of soils then we would shift significantly in the direction of normalising a vegan diet and considering meat as an occasional luxury. The market is currently distorted in overproduction and overconsumption of meat, but there are very powerful interests protecting that status quo. The opposition to a more rational approach to meat consumption is deeply visceral, emotional and tribal. https://ourworldindata.org/images/published/Global-land-use-breakdown_850.png https://ourworldindata.org/images/published/Global-land-use-...

defrost 2y ago

Freeman Dyson, very smart physicist and he did indeed say that. Was that a correct back of the envolope estimate though? Was it off by an order, was it ever turned into a peer reviewed paper with parallel independent computational confirmation? FWiW I'm in the AGW is real and we must do something about it camp, I'm also in the old titans of physics were often out in their rough estimates and sometimes hot takes on things. Dyson disagreed with the scientific consensus on climate change, and he largely went with his gut on his pronouncements rather than worked them through in detail.

iamthemonster 2y ago

I think we haven't yet recognised, as a society, that our deep emotional connection to meat-eating is not some innate caveman instinct but is mainly the result of marketing by a powerful industry. Of course it helps that meat is delicious. But grazing livestock has grown to inhabit all the marginal land simply because that marginal land is a cheap resource that has not historically been much use for anything else. If we actually accounted properly for the emissions impact of meat production AND the carbon uptake of soils then we would shift significantly in the direction of normalising a vegan diet and considering meat as an occasional luxury. The market is currently distorted in overproduction and overconsumption of meat, but there are very powerful interests protecting that status quo. The opposition to a more rational approach to meat consumption is deeply visceral, emotional and tribal. https://ourworldindata.org/images/published/Global-land-use-breakdown_850.png https://ourworldindata.org/images/published/Global-land-use-...