In my last three posts, I’ve introduced the sharing vs sparing argument, given the context for the Green Revolution that set off the last 65 years of agricultural innovation and transformation, and the fundamental problems that agriculture causes itself.
Hi Neal our forestry practices could also be added to the list as on the surface much looks sustainable but a look under the hood shows many of these compounding problems. soil loss, habitat dehydration, habitat de-evolution.
On the solution side I argued about the necessity of multi billion dollar dam projects in our tropical north Australia to then transport water over the great divide mountain range to irrigate some of our monsoonal semi arid northland. My argument was that a slow release levee less than a meter high across such large flat areas could do the same for a fraction of the price . This is being currently trialed with some excellent results , much of this has been discussed on https://bioticregulation.substack.com/ in relation to the biotic pump and how vegetation and land use effect rainfall patterns
Many of our high risk degraded areas could see the same benefits Kenya. Somalia. The Sahal, the mid west USA. I love the video one farmer posted where he used an old tractor with a grading attachment to create a levee less that a foot high to rehabilitate thousands of acres of what were once wetlands in very little time. ironically the initial dam project was called the Hells gate dam.
I think the right scientific research could point to the possibility of the need for a new green belt up the north east coast of Africa to help revitalize the biotic pump in this region and coupled with this type of slow release levee could have a great effect.
Look forward to reading the next posts in the series.
Excellent outline on why the land-sparing argument is so fundamentally flawed. Thank you for taking the time to lay this out so clearly. Creating truly regenerative systems that welcome biodiversity in, and create lasting abundance that improves over time, is critical. And, I deeply believe, possible.
Hi Neal, been following your work on and off for years. This is a great series about a topic criminally misunderstood at large. Thanks for formulating such a succinct overview. 🙌
Buckle up, we're only halfway through the two foundational arguments, and then there's a third part on how to solve it all. There is a synthesis to this argument, one I find compelling and extremely hopeful, but to get there everyone needs to understand the foundational issues first and where both the sharing and sparing arguments have blind spots.
Hi Neal our forestry practices could also be added to the list as on the surface much looks sustainable but a look under the hood shows many of these compounding problems. soil loss, habitat dehydration, habitat de-evolution.
On the solution side I argued about the necessity of multi billion dollar dam projects in our tropical north Australia to then transport water over the great divide mountain range to irrigate some of our monsoonal semi arid northland. My argument was that a slow release levee less than a meter high across such large flat areas could do the same for a fraction of the price . This is being currently trialed with some excellent results , much of this has been discussed on https://bioticregulation.substack.com/ in relation to the biotic pump and how vegetation and land use effect rainfall patterns
Many of our high risk degraded areas could see the same benefits Kenya. Somalia. The Sahal, the mid west USA. I love the video one farmer posted where he used an old tractor with a grading attachment to create a levee less that a foot high to rehabilitate thousands of acres of what were once wetlands in very little time. ironically the initial dam project was called the Hells gate dam.
I think the right scientific research could point to the possibility of the need for a new green belt up the north east coast of Africa to help revitalize the biotic pump in this region and coupled with this type of slow release levee could have a great effect.
Look forward to reading the next posts in the series.
Excellent! I have made similar arguments against the pursuit of livestock efficiency.
I think efficiency is important, but when it comes with negative externalities the aggregate impact is worse, not better!
Excellent outline on why the land-sparing argument is so fundamentally flawed. Thank you for taking the time to lay this out so clearly. Creating truly regenerative systems that welcome biodiversity in, and create lasting abundance that improves over time, is critical. And, I deeply believe, possible.
Hi Neal, been following your work on and off for years. This is a great series about a topic criminally misunderstood at large. Thanks for formulating such a succinct overview. 🙌
Thank you for an interesting read. Can’t wait to see proposals to solve this Gordian knot.
Buckle up, we're only halfway through the two foundational arguments, and then there's a third part on how to solve it all. There is a synthesis to this argument, one I find compelling and extremely hopeful, but to get there everyone needs to understand the foundational issues first and where both the sharing and sparing arguments have blind spots.
Also, thanks for reading!
Thank you so much for this pragmatic, insightful article.