Another environmental problem we face worldwide is poor soil quality. Soil health is negatively impacted by climate change AND can actually make climate change worse since unhealthy soils release CO2 rather than absorb it. Add this to a worsening food security problem and the need to improve the health of our DIRT is obvious.
This is where something called “enhanced weathering” comes in. Essentially, this takes a part of the Earth’s natural carbon cycle and speeds it up. Crushed volcanic rock (which is plentiful) is added to soil in croplands. These rocks then react with rainwater and absorb CO2 from the atmosphere on a large scale. The health of the soil improves and the CO2 is locked up for 100,000 - a million years. Sounds good.
BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE. Adding this rock to agricultural lands can also increase crop yields, improve plant health, and lead to a decreased usage of fertilizers and pesticides.
More research is being done to figure out how this can be done effectively and efficiently on a large scale.