My Biggest Passion: Dirt by Beckett Smith

What's The Best Type of Soil For Plants?

I really like dirt. It goes back to when I was a kid, and I’d rather play outside in the mud then with toys. I like gardening because there’s something so soothing about getting your hands in dark, damp soil. This summer, when my depression was the worst it’s ever been, sometimes I would go outside and just stand barefoot in the flowerbeds. It always lifted my spirits a little bit.

Beyond that, the science that goes into soil is endlessly fascinating. From the plants growing in it, to the organisms that live in it, everything plays a role. It’s such a delicate system, and as I learn more about it, the more I learn about how we’re destroying it, which is where the part of this being my passion comes in.

The way that we do agriculture is killing us. It was the underlying cause of the downfall of every major civilization before us. We’re leeching fertility from the soil on a global scale, and as the population increases, our ability to produce enough food is decreasing. Like any environmental problem, the solution won’t make the people who currently run the agricultural world any more money, so you can imagine how invested people are in fixing this issue.

Anyway, I firmly believe that the end of the world is coming, and it’s starting on farms. Don’t freak out too much though, I doubt the full effects will happen in our lifetime. Who knows though. Sustainable agriculture methods are getting more attention, and people areĀ  calling out GMO’s, pesticides, and all those other things that are destroying the earth. So maybe we’ll be able to stop it before it gets bad enough to end the world.

6 thoughts on “My Biggest Passion: Dirt by Beckett Smith

  1. I’m glad that there are people like you going into fields like Enviro and Biology and Botany…you are tasked with saving us! No biggie, right?

  2. When my enviro teacher said we have 60 harvests left, I gasped. That’s like within our lifetime? And now I’m realizing there is a lot a lot more that is going to run out within our lifetime (like petroleum?!?!). Scary.

  3. Being in nature is the most soothing thing ever. It hurts my heart to watch the Earth be hurt by careless decisions.

  4. This was the topic of the enviro unit we just did. It is so sad to know there are ways we can protect the planet and dirt that we just aren’t doing.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *