Washed Out: Soil Erosion is a Very Anthropocene Problem

STOP SOIL EROSION, SAVE OUR FUTURE. That’s the theme of 2019's World Soil Day, an awareness day held every year on December 5th to honor and commemorate all things dirt.

Since the theme of our next issue here at Silica Mag is dirt, we decided to take a moment to scream into the void about the importance of the topic, along with some advice on how you can address the problem of earth's disappearing crust.

Soil erosion happens when earth's top layer of soil is gradually worn away by things like water, wind, and other natural phenomena. Most of the time, it's an entirely natural process. But too much soil erosion can be a very bad thing –– causing flooding, drought, hunger and ecological turmoil over time.

Meanwhile, human activity over the past 4,000 years is stripping areas of vegetation and moving lots of water around, exacerbating the crisis. Warming global temperatures have led to more dry days interspersed by heavy rains, leading to conditions where soil is more easily washed away from the earth’s surface. And thus continues the cycle.

So, what can you do to help combat the crisis? You could go to your local seed store, pick out a native species, plant it somewhere and then pose with this crazy graphic made by the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization for the occasion. You could also patronize farms that employ regenerative agriculture techniques, add mulch or rocks to dry, barren areas in your community or add compost or manure to your garden.

To lend a meager click to the UN's World Soil Day website and get involved, click below:

Read more on FAO.