Perched on a tiny speck of soil on the tip of Farmer Brown’s left boot, Millie and Milford Microbe watched the film “Kiss the Ground” with a thousand or so of their friends. Afterwards, they felt somewhat smug. And why shouldn’t they? The movie portrayed them as heroes who could save the Earth.
“Kiss the Ground” explains how farming practices such as no-till planting, cover cropping and wise grazing techniques can lower farm costs, enrich the soil, grow healthier food and draw excessive carbon out of the air then lock it into the soil. All that by simply capitalizing on processes Mother Nature initiated millions of years ago.
Milford excitedly explained all this to his nephew, Mikey, who had missed the show. “Carbon is the central building block of all life on Earth. Remember how plants draw in carbon dioxide from the air and expel oxygen? Using sunlight and chlorophyll, plants manufacture carbon sugars so they can grow. You know – photosynthesis!
“But get this! (And here’s the part where we come in.) Plants leak some of their juicy carbon sugars! And when they do we’re there to gobble them up. Then we microbes, as part of the food chain, get gobbled by fungi, protozoa and tiny worms called nematodes who all gobble up each other too,” Milford paused.
“I want to tell the part about being heroes!” Millie interrupted. “Burning carbon-based fuels, like coal and oil, has resulted in way too much carbon in the air – almost twice the millennials-old average. The whole carbon cycle is out of whack and causing a climate crisis. Luckily - Ta-Da! - when we and the other critters in the soil eat the carbon sugars (and each other) the carbon gets imbedded in the soil making it healthier and more productive. The trick for farmers is to keep it there by using the wise farming practices described in the film.”
“Wow! I want to see ‘Kiss the Ground!’” Mikey cried. “You’re in luck,” Milford said. “’Kiss the Ground’ is on Netflix anytime. Or you can watch it on-line for FREE through Monday, April 26 by going to: https://tinyurl.com/f6tz374 .”
“Hey guys, today is Earth Day!” cried Millie. “What da ya say we partner with farmers across the planet to rebalance the carbon cycle and build a better world right here on our only home where we’re all forever… Earthbound.”
“Kiss the Ground” explains how farming practices such as no-till planting, cover cropping and wise grazing techniques can lower farm costs, enrich the soil, grow healthier food and draw excessive carbon out of the air then lock it into the soil. All that by simply capitalizing on processes Mother Nature initiated millions of years ago.
Milford excitedly explained all this to his nephew, Mikey, who had missed the show. “Carbon is the central building block of all life on Earth. Remember how plants draw in carbon dioxide from the air and expel oxygen? Using sunlight and chlorophyll, plants manufacture carbon sugars so they can grow. You know – photosynthesis!
“But get this! (And here’s the part where we come in.) Plants leak some of their juicy carbon sugars! And when they do we’re there to gobble them up. Then we microbes, as part of the food chain, get gobbled by fungi, protozoa and tiny worms called nematodes who all gobble up each other too,” Milford paused.
“I want to tell the part about being heroes!” Millie interrupted. “Burning carbon-based fuels, like coal and oil, has resulted in way too much carbon in the air – almost twice the millennials-old average. The whole carbon cycle is out of whack and causing a climate crisis. Luckily - Ta-Da! - when we and the other critters in the soil eat the carbon sugars (and each other) the carbon gets imbedded in the soil making it healthier and more productive. The trick for farmers is to keep it there by using the wise farming practices described in the film.”
“Wow! I want to see ‘Kiss the Ground!’” Mikey cried. “You’re in luck,” Milford said. “’Kiss the Ground’ is on Netflix anytime. Or you can watch it on-line for FREE through Monday, April 26 by going to: https://tinyurl.com/f6tz374 .”
“Hey guys, today is Earth Day!” cried Millie. “What da ya say we partner with farmers across the planet to rebalance the carbon cycle and build a better world right here on our only home where we’re all forever… Earthbound.”
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