Dirt! The Movie explores the vital importance of soil and why we must do everything possible to preserve and protect it

Saturday, March 05, 2011 by: Ethan A. Huff, staff writer
Tags: Dirt, movie, health news

(NaturalNews) Life on earth depends on the health and vitality of a seemingly simple and often overlooked natural element -- dirt. Ignorance, greed, and plain lack of appreciation has led to the widespread decimation of this precious resource throughout at least the last century. A documentary Dirt! The Movie tells the important story of soil and why it is absolutely essential that we start treating the soil right, not only to preserve the integrity of the environment but also to simply maintain life on the planet.

Narrated by actress Jamie Lee Curtis, Dirt! offers insight into the environmental, economic, social, and political impact that soil has around the world. Packed with countless billions of microscopic organisms, soil ultimately provides life and fertility to plants, animals, and humans. It also purifies and heals the very systems that sustain us, without which nothing could survive.

Many modern interventions, including industrialized and pesticide-based farming methods, have all but depleted the health of much of the world's soil. One expert in the film explains that one-third of the world's topsoil has been depleted just within the past century. Topsoil, of course, is the outermost layer of soil that contains the highest concentration of organic matter, including the microorganisms that convert waste and replenish vital nutrients. Without it, life could not be sustained.

Far from just a dire tale of the way things are, Dirt! provides a lens through which to view the situation as an opportunity to reverse it and restore proper soil health to much of the world. By starting to replant and bio-diversify agriculture now, the system can be largely repaired within ten years, says one film expert. And by bringing back the organic agricultural methods that utilize natural systems of soil regeneration from year to year, the world's soils can be raised from dead to life.

To learn more about Dirt! The Movie, check out:
http://www.dirtthemovie.org/