
Soil - A Living Support For Plants & Climate! With Dr Christo Miliotis
04/07/22 • 66 min
Tiny microorganisms inhabit every place upon this planet and for much of human society we have at best dismissed them, and at worse waged war against them.
In this interview I'm joined by Dr Christo Miliotis, scientist and & entrepreneur, for an insightful talk that sheds light on the significance of the microbes and multitude of organisms that live within the soil beneath our feet, and their incredible role in supporting life on this planet.
We cover their role in feeding plants and their ability to transfer gases from the atmosphere.
We learn why current practices of using chemicals in agriculture cause damage to this essential life.
We understand the building and value of a 'soil carbon sponge' and its significance in being able to draw down not just carbon, but also water vapour from the atmosphere.
And we gain a broad picture of the impact of how we to treat our soil connects to the health of everything from the climate, to the oceans, to the microbiome within our own guts.
00:00:00 - Intro
00:01:38 - Start of Interview
00:03:55 - The Wrong Way To Feed Plants!
00:14:05 - Let Nature Feed The Plants!
00:17:32 - Greenhouse Gases as Plant Food!
00:21:45 - Plants & Microbes Work Together
00:27:04 - Build the Soil Carbon Sponge!
00:31:44 - Draw Down Water to Cool the Planet!
00:39:22 - Keep the Soil Covered!
00:41:37 - Big Leaps When We Work With Nature!
00:48:17 - Super Bugs & Super Weeds!
00:51:47 - Respecting the Life Within Soil!
00:52:53 - Healthy Soil / Healthy Gut!
00:57:57 - Motivation From Linked Benefits!
01:01:38 - Insights to Our Gut Health
Find additional resources related to the information covered over on the website.
Watch the animations from 'We Are Carbon'.
Follow on Instagram: @wearecarbon.earth
Tiny microorganisms inhabit every place upon this planet and for much of human society we have at best dismissed them, and at worse waged war against them.
In this interview I'm joined by Dr Christo Miliotis, scientist and & entrepreneur, for an insightful talk that sheds light on the significance of the microbes and multitude of organisms that live within the soil beneath our feet, and their incredible role in supporting life on this planet.
We cover their role in feeding plants and their ability to transfer gases from the atmosphere.
We learn why current practices of using chemicals in agriculture cause damage to this essential life.
We understand the building and value of a 'soil carbon sponge' and its significance in being able to draw down not just carbon, but also water vapour from the atmosphere.
And we gain a broad picture of the impact of how we to treat our soil connects to the health of everything from the climate, to the oceans, to the microbiome within our own guts.
00:00:00 - Intro
00:01:38 - Start of Interview
00:03:55 - The Wrong Way To Feed Plants!
00:14:05 - Let Nature Feed The Plants!
00:17:32 - Greenhouse Gases as Plant Food!
00:21:45 - Plants & Microbes Work Together
00:27:04 - Build the Soil Carbon Sponge!
00:31:44 - Draw Down Water to Cool the Planet!
00:39:22 - Keep the Soil Covered!
00:41:37 - Big Leaps When We Work With Nature!
00:48:17 - Super Bugs & Super Weeds!
00:51:47 - Respecting the Life Within Soil!
00:52:53 - Healthy Soil / Healthy Gut!
00:57:57 - Motivation From Linked Benefits!
01:01:38 - Insights to Our Gut Health
Find additional resources related to the information covered over on the website.
Watch the animations from 'We Are Carbon'.
Follow on Instagram: @wearecarbon.earth
Previous Episode

Fighting Poverty with Regenerative Agriculture. Determination From Devastation - With Jackson Buzingo
The link between soil health and food security is becoming undeniable. And in regions where the climate is brittle and people's livelihoods depend upon the land, declining soil health means increasing poverty.
The connection between soil health and poverty becomes a vicious cycle. Chemical fertilisers are adopted to increase outputs in the short term but they damage the soil further and so more chemicals are needed every year. As the soil rapidly declines the cost of fertilisers rapidly increases.
This is becoming an alarming and escalating concern in many parts of the world. I'm joined by Jackson Buzingo, an advocate for regenerative agriculture in Tanzania, East Africa. After experiencing first hand a rapid decline in the outputs of the land in his community, Jackson brought his attention to the soil health. He has taken numerous opportunities for study and learning about regenerative agriculture and practices including syntropic agroforestry & food forests. He has now taught over 800 small holder farmers about regenerative approaches to their land and is filled with hope at how these methods will be able to transform the entire outlook of his community's future due to their ability to produce an abundance of food without dependency on expensive chemical inputs.
Find details of the organisations that Jackson has been involved with over on the website.
00:00 - Intro
02:33 - A Struggling Community
08:43 - Rapidly Degraded Land
11:13 - Declining Soil Equals Increasing Poverty
13:10 - How Has Water Been Affected?
16:30 - Learning A New Approach
20:36 - Principles Of Regenerating
22:57 - Will Farmers Adapt?
24:56 - Any Resistance From Big Companies?
28:05 - Working With Others?
29:26 - Dependency on the Land
32:22 - Variety & Abundance
36:23 - Connecting With Organisations
42:22 - A Prosperous Future?
Watch the animations from 'We Are Carbon'.
Follow on Instagram: @wearecarbon.earth
Next Episode

Let's Value Biodiversity & Standing Carbon! With Nicola Peel
The world is taking a heavy focus on offsetting carbon emissions at this time and we see plenty of support for projects that involve the planting of new trees. However whilst new saplings are being planted, there are vast areas of the world with dense and established rainforests that are being cut down everyday.
In this episode I'm joined by Nicola Peel, a 'solutionist' who has spent over twenty years working in the Ecuadorian Amazon initiating a number of social and environmental projects.
Nicola has first hand experience seeing the rapid declines within the Amazon and I ask her to help us to understand the reasoning behind the extraordinary scale of deforestation that is occurring.
We discuss the immeasurable value of biodiversity and what it means for both people and planet to ensure protection of dense and established forests.
And we cover the agroforestry projects that are becoming part of the solution, along with the need for the carbon market to find a way to better support initiatives that are helping to prevent deforestation.
If you have any insights that you would like to discuss with Nicola then you can find her contact details HERE.
Use the time stamps below to get a sense of what's included:
00:00 - Intro
01:52 - Nicola's background
02:50 - Protect What We Have
08:06 - Support Where it Counts
15:56 - Biodiversity - It Doesn't Form Overnight!
17:37 - Directing Finance?
22:32 - Power in our Purchasing?
25:24 - Agroforestry is Helping
31:00 - Crop Benefits from Relationships
37:49 - Expanding the Agroforestry Projects?
40:08 - Redirecting Carbon Offsets?
45:06 - Learn More, Get Involved!
Watch the animations from 'We Are Carbon'.
Follow on Instagram: @wearecarbon.earth
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