On January 30, the Massachusetts Senate approved a net-zero carbon emissions limit for the year 2050. That means the amount of carbon we emit does not exceed the amount of carbon we capture from the air.
To quell the Climate Crisis, we must take more CO2 out of the air than is being emitted — a whole lot more because carbon stays in the atmosphere for a very long time.
Our living planet is quite complicated. Between 65% and 80% of CO2 in the air dissolves into the ocean over a period of 20-200 years. Much is removed by slower geologic processes that take up to several hundreds of thousands of years.
And then there is the natural process of photosynthesis on land, taking in carbon dioxide, creating plant matter (black carbon), and releasing oxygen.
Most remarkable is that with only about 7.5% of the Earth's surface covered with soil suitable for healthy plant growth, more carbon is stored than the 40 trillion tons in the world's atmosphere. Remove from the atmosphere ten trillion tons CO2, and the carbon load will fall from more than 400 parts per million to close to 300 parts per million. Suffer extreme weather events no more when dissipated with the energy inputs from the greenhouse effect.
Massachusetts residents are instructed to fertilize their lawns, according to what's printed on the bag, on Easter, Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day, and in the Fall. We are told to spread one pound per thousand square feet of lawn. Any more than that will burn the grass.
But we must stop the spread of fertilizer on established lawns – and we can fight the Climate Crisis from home.
When we stop using fertilizer, our lawns are no longer swimming in nitrogen and phosphorus, meaning our grassroots go deeper into the soil. When grass goes deeper, it comes out greener. It becomes more resilient and the soil becomes healthier.
Meanwhile, we are instructed to apply herbicides and pesticides.
However, a non-fertilized lawn is healthier with deeper roots, thicker stems, and more blades, capturing more carbon. Your lawn is now much more resistant to weeds and pests. For the wayward weed, there are eco-friendly herbicides.
Simply stopping the use of Roundup, will increase the carbon sequestered by fungal mycorrhizae during the growing season by a third!
In Greenland, when the abandoned Viking settlements were rediscovered 400 years after they had been abandoned by people and their livestock, the carefully built grass fields were still green.
What's good for the grass in Greenland is good for the lawns of Massachusetts
For your lawn to capture more carbon from the air, do not spread quick-release fertilizer.
Let nature do the capturing work of photosynthesis.
You may even save money on lawn care while saving the planet.
Rob
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