Spiritual Aspects of Sustainable Soil Management - Principles of Sustainable Soil Management in Agroecosystems - page 281

From oil to soil
Free oil
Drilling down
and gushing forth
Stored sunlight from ancient earth
Who needs soil when you've got all that oil
Flying free, driving on, population exploding in oil
Artificial fertilizers, plastics, synthetics, tar, cement, and spirits abound
Peak oil, who cares when there's still half left below, deep oil
Gas fracking,* open cast, tarry sand, rip it out as it lasts
It's OK to plunder the ancient landscapes below
Who needs soil when you've got tough oil †
Not our problem, business as usual
Technology always advances
Can we make it
digging down
with soil?
Oil free
Although I am not sure what the future would look like, I am sure that when
we reach the renewed world, we will be standing on soil that is resilient, dark and
porous, and rich and deep with organic matter, wisdom, and love. There will be
smooth transitions between topsoil, subsoil, and parent material helped by deep,
wide-spreading roots. Beauty that is soil deep. We can start toward this now by
walking with respect to the Earth and to all its creatures with joy from within. When
we respect the Earth, we tread lightly on it. This is my great hope for the renewal of
the Earth, of you and me, and of everyone. Look to the small and the simple, look to
the beautiful, look below. From there springs peace.
REFERENCES
Abram, D. 1995. The ecology of magic. In Ecopsychology: Restoring the Earth, Healing the
Mind , eds. T. Roszak, M.E. Gomes, and A.D. Kanner, 301-315. California: Sierra Club.
Azadi, H., S. Schoonbeek, H. Mahmoudi et al. 2011. Organic agriculture and sustainable food
production system: main potentials. Agric Ecosyst Environ 144:92-94.
Ball, B.C., T. Batey, and L. Munkholm. 2007. Field assessment of soil structural quality—
a development of the Peerlkamp test. Soil Use Manag 23:329-337.
Ball, B.C. and C.E. Crawford. 2009. Mechanical weeding effects on soil structure under
organic carrots and beans. Soil Use Manag 25:303-310.
Batey, T. 1988. Soil Husbandry: A Practical Guide to the Use and Management of Soils. UK:
Soil and Land Use Consultants Ltd.
Berry, W. 2009. Bringing it to the Table: On Farming and Food. Berkeley, USA: Counterpoint.
* Gas fracking is a controversial process of extracting gas and oil from shale by hydraulic fracturing
of rocks. The chemicals used can pollute water supplies underground, and gas may be released into
drinking water supplies.
† Tough oil describes much of our remaining oil, which is difficult, risky, and damaging to extract.