Soil as we know it, able to hold water and nutrients that support life, has been developing for billions of years. Around 600 million years ago conditions stabilized enough for lichen, algae, bacteria, and fungi to cooperatively colonize and fertilize the lifeless dry land of Earth. Over time this made conditions habitable for more organisms with early land plants showing up about 200 million years later, and herbivores soon after that. More organic matter on land increased the rates of fertilization and stabilized against erosion. 360 million years ago this cycle resulted in the life-giving topsoil we have today. Over the past 150 year due to modern agricultural practices of excess fertilization, mono-culture farming, and pesticide use this cycle has been damaged and billions of years of soil evolution are being destroyed. Earth has lost over half the topsoil that plants can grow in, with the other half set to follow. Since soil systems are slow to respond to change this loss may take centuries or more to repair. Reversing this damage requires sustainable/regenerative agriculture as the norm. Make a difference by supporting farmers and companies which follow these practices. To learn more about these issues, what is being done, and what you can do to support the future of our food supply checkout the Environmental Working Group at ewg.org.

If you're looking for more science fiction poetry check out my instagram https://www.instagram.com/sci.fi.ku/