The Real Dirt

Soil is the least appreciated aspect of the holy trinity of life on this planet. In fact, soil suffers abuse as well because, unlike air and water, its value to us is not readily apparent. First there’s our common name for it. Dirt is supposed to be on the ground, and when it shows up anywhere else, that place or object is said to be "dirty" and unacceptable until it has been "cleaned". Most of us also know that dirt is a medium in which things grow and that it is made of sand, clay and some black stuff. Dirt holds water and the nutrients we put in it around the roots and supports a plant so it can grow toward the sun. Many of us think that dirt could be replaced by just about anything that has the same general physical characteristics, as hydroponics has shown.

The idea that there is more to soil "than meets the eye" is literally true. As soil scientist Elaine Ingham states in the new film, "The Symphony of the Soil," "It’s Times Square on New Years Eve in the soil, all the time". There is a huge complex, living world in every teaspoon of soil that we are naturally oblivious to because we can’t see it. In fact, we still don’t know what 70-80% of it is.

A good argument can be made that the primary phalanx of the evolution of life on this planet is and always has been occurring at the microscopic level. Life first appeared on Earth about 3.5 to 3.9 billion years ago. It wasn’t until about 600 million years ago, that any single organism big enough for humans to see evolved. You could think of larger organisms as just a more sophisticated way for microbes to survive and thrive.

One of the big breakthroughs for developing those organisms was the evolution of mitochondria. These are bacteria that somehow survived being consumed by another cell; they developed a symbiotic relationship with the host. They convert chemicals to energy and can be increased or decreased in population as the needs of the cell requires. They carry instructions from the nucleic DNA for the growth and differentiation of new cells. In other words, they greatly expand the abilities of cells, and might possibly have been the key to the evolution of multicellular organisms.

Those mitochondria exist in every one of our cells. They are not us (!); they have their own DNA. That means that about half of you is not you, i.e., the cells in our bodies are more like colonies. When you add in all the beneficial, symbiotic intestinal flora, considerably less than half of you is really you, that is, has your DNA. What really defines the essence of ME? I’ve talked to people that have had a very visceral negative reaction to the idea that something other than "them" intimately inhabited their body.

So, what does all this have to do with soil? It shows that the scale at which things are really happening on this planet is beyond the range of our senses. It also shows that the fact that we are talking about this at all means that this "organism" we call us has developed a mind that was able to extend the range of our senses. We had best heed the information given to us by our minds to understand and respect just how our bread gets buttered.

It is important to remind ourselves often that there is more to be aware of "than meets the eye". Such an opportunity is coming this Monday night. "The Symphony of the Soil," an epic feature documentary about the complexity and mystery of soil, will be shown at the Vashon Theater, Oct 1, at 7 pm. According to a synopsis, "…the film portrays soil as a protagonist of our planetary story. Using a captivating mix of art and science, the film shows that soil is a complex living organism, the foundation of life on earth."

The "Symphony of the Soil" was filmed on four continents, featuring a who’s who of soil scientists. Deborah Koons Garcia, the maker of this film and the groundbreaking documentary "The Future of Food," will be present to discuss the film and answer questions. There has been only one other showing of this film in our area: at Seattle Town Hall. So it is a real coup for us to have the opportunity to see it and meet the filmmaker right here on Vashon! We have her friend and ours, Emily MacRae, to thank for that. Admission is $9, $8 for seniors. Let’s not pass up this opportunity to expand our understanding and appreciation of soil.

Thanks for attending the first Vashon Ingenuity Tour last Saturday! It was so successful, I’m sure that it will become an annual event.

Comments? terry@vashonloop.com