SOIL--Giver of Life--Happy Earth Day 2015

"Healthy soil brings vigorous plants, stronger and smarter people, cultural empowerment, and the wealth of a nation. Bad soil, in short, threatens civilization. We cannot have good food- healthy, sustainable or delicious-without soil filled with life." pg 77 The Third Plate by Dan Barber  

photo/text by Janice McGuigan

There is no single element of greater importance to overall well being than our soil, yet we ignore and destroy it as readily as we do air and water. Have we forgotten our utter dependence on these elements for our survival? What of the countless number of silent species which also require clean air, clean water and living soil for life as well?

April 22 is Earth Day and 2015 is the International Year of Soils as declared by the UN. We are  midway through a Provincial Election on an Island of tremendous potential but are currently experiencing a social, environmental and economic downturn of epic proportions. What demands can we bring to our politicians to ensure that our topsoil be allowed to regenerate itself? That our waters not be condemned to ever increasing levels of pollution? That clean air becomes a real priority?  That all Islanders have a right to a healthy environment?

We all play a role in shaping where we live. Choices we make in our daily lives impact the world as a whole and are intimately reflected in our local environment. How we make use of our land and waters will impact those elements either positively or negatively. The quality of soil is directly related to how it is fed. We as a people are no different. The well being of a civilization  is intimately tied to the health of the natural environment that supports that civilization. Why can we not see this? We would do well to look to the Wheat Belt in the US to see what wrath a lack of understanding of the importance of bio-diverse soil has on culture.

"...biological complexity has direct implications for social and cultural robustness...the Wheat Belt's cultural decline is a reflection of its denuded landscape- the product of  'what nature has made of us and what we have made of nature.'" pg 51 The Third Plate by Dan Barber

Prince Edward Island has many gifts yet we do not honour them. As Island historian David Weale has pointed out, we have lost our sense of ourselves and with that we have forgotten our interconnectedness with each other and with all things. I ask, how else could we have allowed our Island to reach a state where fish kills are normalized as something that happens after heavy rains, where topsoil is allowed to be blown to kingdom come in windstorms, where alarmingly high levels of nitrates in our well waters is quietly accepted as an aspect of rural living? How could we have become food insecure in a land that should be able to feed us all without question and why are we seeing the exodus of young Islanders  in droves to try and earn a living elsewhere? Our vitality as Islanders depends upon our reacquainting ourselves with a deep sense of our own identity as well as a respect for the well being of our land and waters.

   "Our vitality as Islanders depends upon our reacquainting ourselves with a deep sense of our own identity as well as a respect for the well being of our land and waters."

Be willing to ask  difficult questions. What is our precious land being used for? Those French fries that North Americans, many Islanders included, so readily eat? GMO crops whose long term safety is still in question? What choices do we make in our daily lives that support such systems of farming? Why, despite our knowing better, are we still swayed by agri-business and the land development interests of corporations? High capacity water wells, hydraulic fracturing, storm water runoff, the burning and burying of our household waste products and chemical spraying of our land are all things that impact the well being of both our soil and waters and issues that all Islanders should be deeply concerned about. We must create a new way of thinking about and relating to our natural environment. We must speak for the silent majority; those microorganisms that inhabit the very ground beneath our feet and upon which the well being of so much depends.

 "We must speak for the silent majority; those microorganisms that inhabit the very ground beneath our feet and upon which the well being of so much depends." 

Revitalization is not only possible, it is our only hope. But it requires that we be courageous enough to step outside the parameters of how we have been governing things for the past very long while. We must safeguard our land and waters through the implementation of good process in order to achieve comprehensive laws which ensure their long term well being. And we must act as watchdogs of those laws we help to formulate such as the upcoming development of a comprehensive Water Act to govern how Islanders utilize this vital resource.

Solutions are all around us but they require that we move away from idle chatter and return to  listening to the land. The Earth has a language too (pg 57 The Third Plate by Dan Barber) and our Island soil  and waters have much to say to a willing listener. It's time we all became better listeners and advocates for these silent elements of our Island. One way to do this is to use  your hard earned money to support those whose farming methods promote a living soil, clean air and water. Another way is to engage in meaningful dialogue with local farmers to hear their concerns and express your thoughts to your local candidate for MLA, and/or converse with fellow Islanders such as those involved with formulating a new Vision for PEI, called Vision PEI.

After all, we have come from soil and to soil we shall return. We must act now for the well being of future generations of life on this Island.

"Land then, is not merely soil; it is a fountain of  energy flowing through a circuit of soils, plants and animals...." pg 104 The Sacred Balance by David Suzuki 

Happy Earth Day 2015 --Love the Earth

Sincerely,                                                                                                                

Jill MacCormack