balducci+movie4

// Dirt! The Movie //

// Dirt! The Movie // produced and directed by Bill Benenson and Gene Rosow is an enjoyable film about the often overlooked and discarded part of the earth: dirt. The film is designed to engage educated people of all ages and show them how to take action in the struggle to spread the word that dirt is essential to life. The film stresses the importance of soil not to just nature, but human life as well. The problem is that humans are contaminating and using up all the life giving soil and not doing anything to sustain it.

It was interesting to learn that currently, one third of the land’s top soil is gone from farming. The ecosystem depends on dirt to break down trash into something life sustaining and lives depend on it to harbor transform a seed into food. Human intervention of this process introduces pesticides into the mix. Pesticides and fertilizer release nitrogen into the atmosphere and contribute to algae blooms and the ozone depleting nitrous oxide. Monoculture exhausts soil and leads to dried, desolate land like in the dust bowl, pest epidemics and the inability sustain any plant life. Farming families lose the ability to support their families and a crop shortage arises. It was eye opening to learn areas of the world are already experiencing this problem. There are food riots where people are living in slums and fighting wars over food because so many people are suffering from starvation.

The film was very informative and presented a lot of information on dirt. An unentertaining segment was on the origin of dirt and the scientific aspects like the microscopic organisms living in it. It did get interesting when it showed how microbial technology and dirt can be used to create energy to do things like power lawn lights.

There are many possibilities to help maintain the life of soil. In the commercial farming area a major difference can be made by growing perennials instead of annuals to reduce soil exhaustion. In lands experiencing food shortages, such as Ethiopia, organizations are teaching efficient farming methods. Sustainability groups in the Bronyx, are reconnecting city dwellers with dirt and teaching people how to grow roof top gardens that are pesticide free and watered only by the rain. In Maine, the reclaiming of soil is becoming a business. One farmer is combining fish waste and saw dust along with a few other ingredients and time to create dark, rich soil for growing crops.

By the end of the movie you may have the urge to get your hands dirty and start your own garden or compost pile. An herb garden is an easy starter. No yard necessary because herbs can be grown indoors and year round. A great source on how to grow your herbs is []. A beginning to soil is compost. Learn to make your own compost at [].