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You may only think about dirt when you’re trying to get it off your clothes or your floor. But think of it as beneficial instead of bothersome: healthy, fertile soil is vital for healthy, well-fed people.
Soil is eroding at an alarming rate—some 37,000 square miles every year. In only the last four decades, almost one-third of the world’s arable land has been rendered unproductive. The problem isn’t limited to impoverished countries, although the consequences of soil erosion are generally intensified for the poor. In the United States, soil erodes 10 times faster than it can be naturally replenished, leaving less for cropland, less to support plant and animal life, and more washed into our lakes and rivers.
Dirt can even be measured in dollars. The economic impact of soil erosion is tremendous: soil erosion costs the United States some $37 billion a year.
What The Nature Conservancy is doing.
The Cache River Wetlands in Illinois once boasted lush hardwood forests and many large mammal species. Logging and agriculture have resulted in forest loss, and water quality has suffered due to massive soil erosion—150 tons of soil per acre every year. The Nature Conservancy has partnered with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services, and Ducks Unlimited. Together we are working to protect and restore a 60,000-acre wetland corridor along 50 miles of the Cache River.
Action starts when people talk.
Change the way you think about dirt. First, start a conversation about the issue with friends, family and colleagues. Take a look at our Conversation Starters for relevant and compelling facts.
