I learnt al lot of interesting facts in this reading. Its incredible to think that over 9 billion organisms can be in one table spoon of dirt, which is more then human population of earth. I was aware that only a small percentage of the earth was suitable for humans to live on but I had no idea that only 18% of earth has arable soil. This seems a miniscule faction for our growing global population. I read about nitrogen fixing organisms and how they help change the nitrogen into a usable form for plants and about how carbon holds everything together. I thought it was surprising that there is twice as much carbon in the soil as in the air. Humus is greatly responsible for fertile soil and a lack of this organic material can lead to lower qualities of soil. I thought the part about the fall of ancient civilizations due to quality depletion of soil was interesting. I have read about the Fertile Crescent (or not so fertile crescent as it ended up) before. This path seems to be the destiny of the whole world if changes aren't made soon. I didn't realized erosion was such a huge issue; not only to farm-able lands but the fun off in the oceans as-well. The idea of "dead rivers"because of pesticides collected in erosion is very scary. Worst still was the part about farmers getting cancer and other diseases due to toxins. It was nice that this article ended on a positive note; wind barriers seem like a logical solution to wind erosion, as well as organic fertilizers to improve soil and reduce toxins. In conclusion it seemed like the most important solution was the interest of the average person in buying organic food and growing their own food responsibly.
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