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Where Does Soil Fit into Climate Change?
Since the Copenhagen climate talks are in the news this month, it seemed like a good idea to give an overview of the soil aspect of climate change. This is a very general discussion for those people looking for a starting point. If you are looking for a more technical discussion, this will not be it. [read more]

5 Soil-Based Gifts for Gardeners
Have you been trying to think of a gift for a gardener who is always talking about improving their soil or conserving their soil? Is your gift recipient a sustainable gardener? Here are a few gift ideas for that gardener that is striving for healthy soil. [read more]

Current Soil-Related Articles in the News

These are a few recent news articles mentioning soil and environment-related topics that currently appear online.  I try to pick one article each day to highlight. Sometimes I will select two articles. Sometimes it will be a slow news day and I won't find any to highlight.  Each one has a short description to clarify the subject of the article. If you are interested in the subject, clicking on the title will take you to the entire article, outside this website.

Rwanda: Population Growth Threat to Environment-REMA (AllAfrica.com, 8 Feb 10)

Environmenal Management Committees in Rwanda are being asked to curb activities leading to environmental destruction. Because of the high population rate, residents are being asked to fight soil erosion, stop illegally cutting down trees, brush burning, and cultivating in the swamps.

Changing History: Four new ways to write the story of the world (Boston Globe, 7 Feb 10)

This article discusses new, non-traditional ways that history is being studied. It's a long article and you have to get to page 3 or 4 before you get to the soil and environmental aspects. The author discusses studying the soil from an ancient Roman town to determine its fate. Later he talks about environmental changes that destabilized societies and threatened food stocks.

Rain gardens are easy on the environment (The Vicksburg Post, 6 Feb 10)

This article summarizes the book Rain Gardening in the South: Ecologically Designed Gardens for Drought, Deluge and Everything in Between. Rain gardens capture rain runoff in your yard, store the water for plant growth, and remove pollutants that the runoff carries with it. Rain gardens are becoming more popular as communities try to establish more environmentally friendly landscapes. Rain gardens are easy and inexpensive to create in your home garden.

Topsoil could vanish in 60 years, says study (Business Green, 4 Feb 10)

A study at the University of Sydney reports that fertile soil is being lost faster than it can be replenished. A combination of soil mismanagement, climate change and rising populations are leading to a decline in suitable farming soil. It is estimated that 75 billion tons of soil is lost every year and 80 percent of the world's farmland is moderately to severely eroded.

All News Articles

If you are looking for Howard Garrett's web site for his radio show, the correct address is http://www.dirtdoctor.com/.

Soil Science Resources
Internet resources and educational materials on soils, soil minerals, agricultural, and environmental subjects. [read more]

Soil Facts
I put together some facts about soil for another purpose and thought they might interest others. [read more]

Soil Science Books
Soil science books on Amazon