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Temple Beth El Blog

A World Without Soil

04/01/2024 02:04:46 PM

Apr1

By Marta Karlov and Beth Kaplan

On February 25, the second Joel Pedersen Lecture in Tikkun Olam and the Environment featured author Jo Handelsman talking about her book, “A World Without Soil: The Past, Present, and Precarious Future of the Earth Beneath Our Feet” (view the recording).

Dr. Handelsman served as the associate director for science at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy for three years, and her book begins with her letter to President Obama, telling him that the pace of fertile soil loss in this country was an emerging crisis that threatened soil across the U.S., especially in the Midwest. President Obama also awarded her a presidential award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring. She now serves as the director of the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery at UW–Madison, and is a Vilas Research Professor and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Professor.

The lecture series honors Joel Pedersen, who passed away in June 2022 after a battle with brain cancer. Joel was a vital member of the Torah Study group and the Environment and Climate Change Action Team at TBE. Dr. Handelman’s father, Irv Handelsman, was also an active participant in the Torah Study group.

Before the lecture, a book discussion took place with members of these groups and the Men’s Club Book Group. To guide their book discussion, they used questions provided by the author, as well as mentions of soil in the Torah, beginning with Genesis 2: “The first human is made from the soil itself.”

One of the striking facts Dr. Handelsman shared is the USDA estimate that soil is eroding at about 5 tons per acre each year, while less than .5 tons is produced per acre per year. Over time, this erosion could mean fewer crops, more floods and droughts, loss of the most powerful water filter on Earth, loss of microbes that lead to life-saving medications, and waterways polluted by eroded soil.

Why is soil eroding? Reasons include plowing techniques, annual crops with small root systems, and a lack of cover crops to protect the soil. Thankfully, there are solutions, including “no-till” planting, planting cover crops to avoid bare soil and increase organic matter, and rotating plantings. Dr. Handelsman also stressed policy changes that can help, such as changing crop insurance policies to reward farmers who build soil health, developing a food label for “soil-safe food,” subsidizing the right foods at the national level, and more.

On the home front, we can all consider local solutions like composting our own food waste or using a composting service, asking farmers at the local markets about their soil practices, lobbying Madison officials to conduct municipal food composting—as Middleton is now doing— and planting trees and perennial plants that nourish the soil in our own yards.

More than 40 people attended Dr. Handelsman’s lecture, in person and online. The presentation was eye-opening for attendees, and they asked many insightful questions. We hope it will inspire all of us to take action.

April 29, 2024 21 Nisan 5784