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Remineralizing the Soil 


From The Journal of Borderland Research, Nov.-Dec 1989 


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Most of us are aware that the greenhouse effect is rapidly becoming a
serious threat to our climate. There is widespread agreement that it
is the reason we lost almost one-third of all our grains in 1988, and
were not able to produce enough wheat, corn, etc. to feed ourselves.
The greenhouse effect is caused partly by human activities-burning
fossil fuels, cutting down the rainforests, etc., which put into the
atmosphere carbon dioxide and other gases that trap additional heat
from the sun, creating a kind of greenhouse. It is also happening
because many of the earth's forests are dying from both man-made
(pollution, acid rain) and natural causes.


Much of the minerals in the earth's soil have been gradually eroded
away since the last ice age. Since minerals (iron, calcium, etc.) are
essential nutrients for every form of life, the world's forests have
been weakening and dying for hundreds of years. When the glaciers
build up during each ice age, they grind up the rocks in their path
into a fine dust called "loess." This rock dust is then carried by
water and wind to many parts of the earth. Since rocks are made of
minerals, this is how the essential minerals are returned to the soil,
and the forests become revitalized once again. Experimental studies
have shown that remineralizing the soil with finely ground gravel dust
triples or quadruples the growth rate of plants! By grinding up mixed
gravels (which contain the full spectrum of minerals) into a dust as
fine as talcum powder so they can be made use of quickly by the
plants, and by spreading this dust by airplane, blower-truck and every
conceivable means over most of the world's remaining forests, the
forests will become rejuvenated.


We also need to plant vast quantities of new, fast-growing species of
trees on remineralized soil. As the revitalized forests thrive and
spread, they will consume much of the excess carbon dioxide in the
atmosphere, reducing the green house effect substantially. This will
decrease the threat of a global food emergency which is now
threatening us, and give us time to develop ways of conserving energy,
much more efficient machines, and nonpolluting energy sources.


Remineralizing agricultural soils will enable us to grow much more
food, enough to stockpile to get us through the coming climate crisis.
It will also replace all the chemical fertilizers and pesticides which
are poisoning the earth, the rivers, the farmers and ourselves.
Remineralizing the soil produces plants so well nourished and hardy
they can resist most insects all by themselves. They are also better
able to withstand climatic extremes, including heat, cold and drought,
all the things which now threaten our ability to grow enough food.


Remineralizing most of the forests of the world and planting billions
of new trees is obviously a major project, but it is well within our
industrial capabilities. It will cost about what the world spends on
weapons and military activities every two years. There is evidence
that it must be done quickly if we want to maximize our chances of
stabilizing the climate before millions more of us starve to death,
this time in every region of the earth. We know what to do, and we can
afford it. Have we got the will to live? -Reprinted from The Journal
of Borderland Research

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Borderland Sciences' official quarterly publication originated 
as Meade Layne's Round Robin in 1945, and was changed to
The Journal of Borderland Research in 1959. 

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"We have actually touched the Borderland where Matter and Force seem
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Unknown ... I venture to think that the greatest scientific problems
of the future will find their solution in this Borderland, and even
beyond; here, it seems to me, lie Ultimate Realities, subtle,
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� Sir William Crookes, 1879