A climate change solution that's right under our feet

So one of the most important solutions

to the global challenge
posed by climate change

lies right under our foot every day.

It's soil.

Soil's just the thin veil that covers
the surface of land,

but it has the power to shape
our planet's destiny.

See, a six foot or so of soil

lose soil material that covers
the Earth's surface

represents the difference between life
and lifelessness in the Earth system,

and it can also help us
combat climate change

and if we can only stop
treating it like dirt.

Climate change is happening,

the Earth's atmosphere is warming,

because of an increasing amount
of greenhouse gases

we keep releasing into the atmosphere.

You all know that.

But what I assume you might not have heard

is that one of the most important things
our human society could do

to address climate change

lies right there in the soil.

I'm a soil scientist who has
been studying soil since I was 18

because I'm interested in unlocking
the secrets of soil

and helping people understand this
really important climate change solution.

So here are the facts about climate.

The concentration of carbon dioxide
in the Earth's atmosphere

has increased by 40 percent

just in the last 150 years or so.

Human actions are now releasing
9.4 billion metric tons of carbon

into the atmosphere

from activities such as
burning fossil fuels

and intensive agricultural practices

and other ways we change
the way we use land,

including deforestation.

But the concentration of carbon dioxide
that stays in the atmosphere

is only increasing by about half of that,

and that's because half of the carbon
we keep releasing into the atmosphere

is currently being taken up
by land and the seas

through a process we know
as carbon sequestration.

So in essence, whatever consequence
you think we're facing

from climate change right now,

we're only experiencing the consequence
of 50 percent of our pollution,

because the natural ecosystems
are bailing us out.

But don't get too comfortable,

because we have two major things
working against us right now.

One, unless we do something big

and then fast,

emissions will continue to rise.

And second, the ability
of these natural ecosystems

to take up carbon dioxide
from the atmosphere

and sequester it in the natural habitats

is currently getting compromised

as they're experiencing serious
degradation because of human actions.

So it's not entirely clear

that we will continue to get bailed out
by these natural ecosystems

if we continue on this
business-as-usual path that we've been.

Here's where the soil comes in:

there is about three thousand billion
metric tons of carbon in the soil.

That's roughly about 315 times
the amount of carbon

that we release into
the atmosphere currently,

and there's twice more carbon in soil
than there is in vegetation and air.

Think about that for a second.

There's more carbon in soil

than there is in all
of the world's vegetation,

including the lush tropical rainforests
and the giant sequoias,

the expansive grasslands,

all of the cultivated systems,

and every kind of flora you can imagine
on the face of the Earth,

plus all the carbon that's currently
up in the atmosphere combined

and then twice over.

Hence, a very small change
in the amount of carbon stored in soil

can make a big difference
in maintenance of the Earth's atmosphere.

But soil's not just simply
a storage box for carbon though.

It operates more like a bank account,

and the amount of carbon
that's in soil at any given time

is a function of the amount of carbon
coming in and out of the soil.

Carbon comes into the soil
through the process of photosynthesis

when green plants take carbon dioxide
from the atmosphere

and use it to make their bodies,

and upon death,
their bodies enter the soil.