SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our More Ways to Give page.
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
While nutritious diets, healthy populations, pollution remediation, and even climate change mitigation all depend, at least in part, on soil biodiversity, society is not doing enough to preserve this crucial resource, the U.N. warned. (Photo: Jonas Gratzer/LightRocket via Getty Images)
While nutritious diets, healthy populations, pollution remediation, and even climate change mitigation all depend, at least in part, on soil biodiversity, society is not doing enough to protect "the variety of life below ground."
That's according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, which published a new report (pdf) Friday on "The State of Knowledge of Soil Biodiversity" in anticipation of World Soil Day this weekend.
"Policies that minimize soil degradation and protect soil biodiversity should be a component of biodiversity protection at all levels."
--FAO
"Soil biodiversity and sustainable soil management is a prerequisite for the achievement of many of the Sustainable Development Goals," said FAO deputy director-general Maria Helena Semedo. "Therefore, data and information on soil biodiversity, from the national to the global level, are necessary in order to efficiently plan management strategies on a subject that is still poorly known."
The loss of "above-ground biodiversity" is a well-understood problem, researchers say, but the loss of "biodiversity beneath our feet" is equally important and a crisis on par with the climate emergency, considering how soil forms the basis for food production, medical breakthroughs, carbon retention, and thus the foundation for human well-being.
The report, compiled by 300 scientists, notes that soil is home to more than 25% of the world's biological diversity, and more than 40% of living organisms in terrestrial ecosystems are connected to soils during their life cycle.
Biodiverse organisms in the soil are essential to the creation and maintenance of the conditions for sustainable agri-food systems, researchers point out. "Few things matter more to humans [than the] vast reservoir of biodiversity living in the soil that is out of sight and is generally out of mind," Richard Bardgett, a professor at the University of Manchester and a lead author of the report, told The Guardian.
Despite the critical role played by healthy soil in improving food production, dominant patterns of agricultural intensification--including the overuse and misuse of pesticides and fertilizers--are major drivers of biodiversity loss, thus undermining soil's potential contributions.
People should be worried about the loss of "topsoil through bad treatment and then erosion," said Nico Eisenhauer, a professor at Leipzig University and another lead author of the report.
"Scientists describe soils as like the skin of the living world, vital but thin and fragile," The Guardian reported Friday. "It takes thousands of years for soils to form, meaning urgent protection and restoration of the soils that remain is needed."
Soil biodiversity is essential to sustaining life on Earth, which is why we need to "protect this precious resource," tweeted the FAO.
\u201cMost of the \ud83c\udf0f's biodiversity lies beneath our feet! \n\n#SoilBiodiversity helps \ud83d\udc47\n\n\ud83c\udf31grow our food\n\ud83d\udc8adevelop new medicines \n\ud83c\udf0ffight climate change\n\nWe need to protect this precious resource. \n\n#WorldSoilDay\u201d— Food and Agriculture Organization (@Food and Agriculture Organization) 1607075843
Without biodiverse soil, ecosystems would cease to function. But "the essential contributions of soil organisms are threatened by soil-degrading practices" such as deforestation, droughts and wildfires, monocropping and other intensive agricultural activities, as well as unsustainable forms of urbanization, the report notes.
For this reason, the FAO says that "policies that minimize soil degradation and protect soil biodiversity should be a component of biodiversity protection at all levels."
The report states:
While above-ground biodiversity is familiar to most people, and its protection is managed under national and global laws and regulations, there are few comparable activities that focus on the protection of soil biodiversity. Protecting above-ground biodiversity is not always sufficient to protect soil biodiversity. Above-ground and below-ground biodiversity are shaped by different environmental drivers, and are not necessarily linked to one another. Above and below-ground biodiversity requires tailored protection, conservation, and restoration considerations because they are connected but at the same time very distinct.
It's in humanity's best interest to promote soil health, researchers say, since it will shape the quality of our future. According to the report, soil organisms could help mitigate climate change by sequestering carbon--absorbing and therefore reducing the emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
"The most important action is to protect existing healthy soils from damage," The Guardian reported, "while degraded soils can be restored by growing a diverse range of plants."
To enhance soil biodiversity, the adoption of sustainable management and restoration practices in agricultural and urban settings "needs to be scaled up," the FAO stressed.
"It's time we stopped treating soil like dirt," The Guardian explained in a video:
"If things carry on as they are, the outlook is bleak, unquestionably," Bardgett warned. "But I think it's not too late to introduce measures now."
Donald Trump’s attacks on democracy, justice, and a free press are escalating — putting everything we stand for at risk. We believe a better world is possible, but we can’t get there without your support. Common Dreams stands apart. We answer only to you — our readers, activists, and changemakers — not to billionaires or corporations. Our independence allows us to cover the vital stories that others won’t, spotlighting movements for peace, equality, and human rights. Right now, our work faces unprecedented challenges. Misinformation is spreading, journalists are under attack, and financial pressures are mounting. As a reader-supported, nonprofit newsroom, your support is crucial to keep this journalism alive. Whatever you can give — $10, $25, or $100 — helps us stay strong and responsive when the world needs us most. Together, we’ll continue to build the independent, courageous journalism our movement relies on. Thank you for being part of this community. |
While nutritious diets, healthy populations, pollution remediation, and even climate change mitigation all depend, at least in part, on soil biodiversity, society is not doing enough to protect "the variety of life below ground."
That's according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, which published a new report (pdf) Friday on "The State of Knowledge of Soil Biodiversity" in anticipation of World Soil Day this weekend.
"Policies that minimize soil degradation and protect soil biodiversity should be a component of biodiversity protection at all levels."
--FAO
"Soil biodiversity and sustainable soil management is a prerequisite for the achievement of many of the Sustainable Development Goals," said FAO deputy director-general Maria Helena Semedo. "Therefore, data and information on soil biodiversity, from the national to the global level, are necessary in order to efficiently plan management strategies on a subject that is still poorly known."
The loss of "above-ground biodiversity" is a well-understood problem, researchers say, but the loss of "biodiversity beneath our feet" is equally important and a crisis on par with the climate emergency, considering how soil forms the basis for food production, medical breakthroughs, carbon retention, and thus the foundation for human well-being.
The report, compiled by 300 scientists, notes that soil is home to more than 25% of the world's biological diversity, and more than 40% of living organisms in terrestrial ecosystems are connected to soils during their life cycle.
Biodiverse organisms in the soil are essential to the creation and maintenance of the conditions for sustainable agri-food systems, researchers point out. "Few things matter more to humans [than the] vast reservoir of biodiversity living in the soil that is out of sight and is generally out of mind," Richard Bardgett, a professor at the University of Manchester and a lead author of the report, told The Guardian.
Despite the critical role played by healthy soil in improving food production, dominant patterns of agricultural intensification--including the overuse and misuse of pesticides and fertilizers--are major drivers of biodiversity loss, thus undermining soil's potential contributions.
People should be worried about the loss of "topsoil through bad treatment and then erosion," said Nico Eisenhauer, a professor at Leipzig University and another lead author of the report.
"Scientists describe soils as like the skin of the living world, vital but thin and fragile," The Guardian reported Friday. "It takes thousands of years for soils to form, meaning urgent protection and restoration of the soils that remain is needed."
Soil biodiversity is essential to sustaining life on Earth, which is why we need to "protect this precious resource," tweeted the FAO.
\u201cMost of the \ud83c\udf0f's biodiversity lies beneath our feet! \n\n#SoilBiodiversity helps \ud83d\udc47\n\n\ud83c\udf31grow our food\n\ud83d\udc8adevelop new medicines \n\ud83c\udf0ffight climate change\n\nWe need to protect this precious resource. \n\n#WorldSoilDay\u201d— Food and Agriculture Organization (@Food and Agriculture Organization) 1607075843
Without biodiverse soil, ecosystems would cease to function. But "the essential contributions of soil organisms are threatened by soil-degrading practices" such as deforestation, droughts and wildfires, monocropping and other intensive agricultural activities, as well as unsustainable forms of urbanization, the report notes.
For this reason, the FAO says that "policies that minimize soil degradation and protect soil biodiversity should be a component of biodiversity protection at all levels."
The report states:
While above-ground biodiversity is familiar to most people, and its protection is managed under national and global laws and regulations, there are few comparable activities that focus on the protection of soil biodiversity. Protecting above-ground biodiversity is not always sufficient to protect soil biodiversity. Above-ground and below-ground biodiversity are shaped by different environmental drivers, and are not necessarily linked to one another. Above and below-ground biodiversity requires tailored protection, conservation, and restoration considerations because they are connected but at the same time very distinct.
It's in humanity's best interest to promote soil health, researchers say, since it will shape the quality of our future. According to the report, soil organisms could help mitigate climate change by sequestering carbon--absorbing and therefore reducing the emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
"The most important action is to protect existing healthy soils from damage," The Guardian reported, "while degraded soils can be restored by growing a diverse range of plants."
To enhance soil biodiversity, the adoption of sustainable management and restoration practices in agricultural and urban settings "needs to be scaled up," the FAO stressed.
"It's time we stopped treating soil like dirt," The Guardian explained in a video:
"If things carry on as they are, the outlook is bleak, unquestionably," Bardgett warned. "But I think it's not too late to introduce measures now."
While nutritious diets, healthy populations, pollution remediation, and even climate change mitigation all depend, at least in part, on soil biodiversity, society is not doing enough to protect "the variety of life below ground."
That's according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, which published a new report (pdf) Friday on "The State of Knowledge of Soil Biodiversity" in anticipation of World Soil Day this weekend.
"Policies that minimize soil degradation and protect soil biodiversity should be a component of biodiversity protection at all levels."
--FAO
"Soil biodiversity and sustainable soil management is a prerequisite for the achievement of many of the Sustainable Development Goals," said FAO deputy director-general Maria Helena Semedo. "Therefore, data and information on soil biodiversity, from the national to the global level, are necessary in order to efficiently plan management strategies on a subject that is still poorly known."
The loss of "above-ground biodiversity" is a well-understood problem, researchers say, but the loss of "biodiversity beneath our feet" is equally important and a crisis on par with the climate emergency, considering how soil forms the basis for food production, medical breakthroughs, carbon retention, and thus the foundation for human well-being.
The report, compiled by 300 scientists, notes that soil is home to more than 25% of the world's biological diversity, and more than 40% of living organisms in terrestrial ecosystems are connected to soils during their life cycle.
Biodiverse organisms in the soil are essential to the creation and maintenance of the conditions for sustainable agri-food systems, researchers point out. "Few things matter more to humans [than the] vast reservoir of biodiversity living in the soil that is out of sight and is generally out of mind," Richard Bardgett, a professor at the University of Manchester and a lead author of the report, told The Guardian.
Despite the critical role played by healthy soil in improving food production, dominant patterns of agricultural intensification--including the overuse and misuse of pesticides and fertilizers--are major drivers of biodiversity loss, thus undermining soil's potential contributions.
People should be worried about the loss of "topsoil through bad treatment and then erosion," said Nico Eisenhauer, a professor at Leipzig University and another lead author of the report.
"Scientists describe soils as like the skin of the living world, vital but thin and fragile," The Guardian reported Friday. "It takes thousands of years for soils to form, meaning urgent protection and restoration of the soils that remain is needed."
Soil biodiversity is essential to sustaining life on Earth, which is why we need to "protect this precious resource," tweeted the FAO.
\u201cMost of the \ud83c\udf0f's biodiversity lies beneath our feet! \n\n#SoilBiodiversity helps \ud83d\udc47\n\n\ud83c\udf31grow our food\n\ud83d\udc8adevelop new medicines \n\ud83c\udf0ffight climate change\n\nWe need to protect this precious resource. \n\n#WorldSoilDay\u201d— Food and Agriculture Organization (@Food and Agriculture Organization) 1607075843
Without biodiverse soil, ecosystems would cease to function. But "the essential contributions of soil organisms are threatened by soil-degrading practices" such as deforestation, droughts and wildfires, monocropping and other intensive agricultural activities, as well as unsustainable forms of urbanization, the report notes.
For this reason, the FAO says that "policies that minimize soil degradation and protect soil biodiversity should be a component of biodiversity protection at all levels."
The report states:
While above-ground biodiversity is familiar to most people, and its protection is managed under national and global laws and regulations, there are few comparable activities that focus on the protection of soil biodiversity. Protecting above-ground biodiversity is not always sufficient to protect soil biodiversity. Above-ground and below-ground biodiversity are shaped by different environmental drivers, and are not necessarily linked to one another. Above and below-ground biodiversity requires tailored protection, conservation, and restoration considerations because they are connected but at the same time very distinct.
It's in humanity's best interest to promote soil health, researchers say, since it will shape the quality of our future. According to the report, soil organisms could help mitigate climate change by sequestering carbon--absorbing and therefore reducing the emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
"The most important action is to protect existing healthy soils from damage," The Guardian reported, "while degraded soils can be restored by growing a diverse range of plants."
To enhance soil biodiversity, the adoption of sustainable management and restoration practices in agricultural and urban settings "needs to be scaled up," the FAO stressed.
"It's time we stopped treating soil like dirt," The Guardian explained in a video:
"If things carry on as they are, the outlook is bleak, unquestionably," Bardgett warned. "But I think it's not too late to introduce measures now."
"The antitrust division has long worked to enforce the law to fight monopoly power, but these attorneys may have been fired for doing just that," said Sen. Amy Klobuchar.
The Trump Justice Department has removed two of its top antitrust officials amid infighting over the handling of merger enforcement, conflict that came to a head with the DOJ's strange and allegedly corrupt settlement with Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Juniper Networks.
CBS News reported that Roger Alford, principal deputy assistant attorney general, and Bill Rinner, deputy assistant attorney general and head of merger enforcement, were fired for "insubordination" on Monday after being placed on administrative leave last week.
"There has been tension over the handling of investigations into T-Mobile, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, and others," the outlet reported, citing unnamed sources.
The Wall Street Journal subsequently reported that the two officials—both deputies of Assistant Attorney General Gail Slater, the head of the DOJ's antitrust division—were terminated "after internal disagreements over how much discretion their division should have to police mergers and other business conduct that threatens competition."
News of Alford and Rinner's firings came amid growing scrutiny of the Justice Department's merger settlement with Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Juniper Networks, an agreement that reportedly divided the DOJ internally.
The Capitol Forum reported last week that Justice Department leaders including Chad Mizelle, Attorney General Pam Bondi's chief of staff, "overruled" top antitrust officials who raised concerns about the settlement, Slater among them. HPE hired lobbyists with ties to the Trump White House to push for the deal, which allowed the merger to move forward pending a judge's review of the settlement.
MLex reported over the weekend that Mizelle placed Alford and Ginner on leave last week following "disagreements with higher-ups over a recent merger settlement in HPE-Juniper."
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), who serves on the Senate Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust, and Consumer Rights, called the firings "deeply concerning" and demanded answers from the Trump administration.
"The antitrust division has long worked to enforce the law to fight monopoly power, but these attorneys may have been fired for doing just that," Klobuchar wrote on social media.
Faiz Shakir, an adviser to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), wrote in response to the firings that "more and more people [are] taking notice that Trump is using his power to coddle the oligarchs."
"Major cases being settled, rather than fought out in trials," he wrote. "Nothing new being filed to fight major monopolies. Things like non-compete bans and click-to-cancel rules being overturned."
The American Prospect's David Dayen described the internal turmoil at the Trump DOJ as an apparent "effort to hijack antitrust powers on behalf of large corporations."
"This mess is about more than just a wireless back-office infrastructure merger," Dayen wrote, referring to the HPE-Juniper deal. "The antitrust division is actively overseeing cases against Google, Apple, Visa, Live Nation, RealPage, and more."
"If Slater is functionally not in control of the division, then cash and favor-trading will determine the outcomes for some of the biggest companies in the economy," Dayen added. "We're already seeing lenient enforcement at DOJ, with a deal between T-Mobile and UScellular approved. The precedent appears to be set: The right consultants paid the right amount of money can get you a sweetheart deal."
"President Trump's deal to take a $400 million luxury jet from a foreign government deserves full public scrutiny—not a stiff-arm from the Department of Justice," said the head of one watchdog group.
With preparations to refit a Qatari jet to be used as Air Force One "underway," a press freedom group sued the U.S. Department of Justice in federal court on Monday for failing to release the DOJ memorandum about the legality of President Donald Trump accepting the $400 million "flying palace."
The Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF), represented by nonpartisan watchdog American Oversight, filed the lawsuit seeking the memo, which was reportedly approved by the Office of Legal Counsel and signed by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, who previously lobbied on behalf of the Qatari government.
FPF had submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for the memo on May 15, and the DOJ told the group that fulfilling it would take over 600 days.
"How many flights could Trump have taken on his new plane in the same amount of time it would have taken the DOJ to release this one document?"
"It shouldn't take 620 days to release a single, time-sensitive document," said Lauren Harper, FPF's Daniel Ellsberg chair on government secrecy, in a Monday statement. "How many flights could Trump have taken on his new plane in the same amount of time it would have taken the DOJ to release this one document?"
The complaint—filed in the District of Columbia—notes that the airplane is set to be donated to Trump's private presidential library foundation after his second term. Harper said that "the government's inability to administer FOIA makes it too easy for agencies to keep secrets, and nonexistent disclosure rules around donations to presidential libraries provide easy cover for bad actors and potential corruption."
It's not just FPF sounding the alarm about the aircraft. The complaint points out that "a number of stakeholders, including ethics experts and several GOP lawmakers, have questioned the propriety and legality of the move, including whether acceptance of the plane would violate the U.S. Constitution's foreign emoluments clause... which prohibits a president from receiving gifts or benefits from foreign governments without the consent of Congress."
Some opponents of the "comically corrupt" so-called gift stressed that it came after the Trump Organization, the Saudi partner DarGlobal, and a company owned by the Qatari government reached a deal to build a luxury golf resort in Qatar.
Despite some initial GOP criticism of the president taking the aircraft, just hours after the Trump administration formally accepted the jet in May, U.S. Senate Republicans thwarted an attempt by Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) to pass by unanimous consent legislation intended to prevent a foreign plane from serving as Air Force One.
"Although President Trump characterized the deal as a smart business decision, remarking that it would be 'stupid' not to accept 'a free, very expensive airplane,' experts have noted that it will be costly to retrofit the jet for use as Air Force One, with estimatesranging from less than $400 million to more than $1 billion," the complaint states.
As The New York Times reported Sunday:
Officially, and conveniently, the price tag has been classified. But even by Washington standards, where "black budgets" are often used as an excuse to avoid revealing the cost of outdated spy satellites and lavish end-of-year parties, the techniques being used to hide the cost of Mr. Trump's pet project are inventive.
Which may explain why no one wants to discuss a mysterious, $934 million transfer of funds from one of the Pentagon's most over-budget, out-of-control projects—the modernization of America's aging, ground-based nuclear missiles...
Air Force officials privately concede that they are paying for renovations of the Qatari Air Force One with the transfer from another the massively-over-budget, behind-schedule program, called the Sentinel.
Preparations to refit the plane "are underway, and floor plans or schematics have been seen by senior U.S. officials," according to Monday reporting by CBS News. One unnamed budget official who spoke to the outlet also "believes the money to pay for upgrades will come from the Sentinel program."
Chioma Chukwu, executive director of American Oversight, said Monday that "President Trump's deal to take a $400 million luxury jet from a foreign government deserves full public scrutiny—not a stiff-arm from the Department of Justice."
"This is precisely the kind of corrupt arrangement that public records laws are designed to expose," Chukwu added. "The DOJ cannot sit on its hands and expect the American people to wait years for the truth while serious questions about corruption, self-dealing, and foreign influence go unanswered."
The complaint highlights that "Bondi's decision not to recuse herself from this matter, despite her links to the Qatari government, adds to a growing body of questionable ethical practices that have arisen during her short tenure as attorney general."
It also emphasizes that "the Qatari jet is just one in a list of current and prospective extravagant donations to President Trump's presidential library foundation that has raised significant questions about the use of private foundation donations to improperly influence government policy."
"Notably, ABC News and Paramount each agreed to resolve cases President Trump filed against the media entities by paying multimillion-dollar settlements to the Trump presidential library foundation, with Paramount's $16 million agreed payout coming at the same time it sought government approval for a planned merger with Skydance," the filing details. "On July 24, the Federal Communications Commission announced its approval of the $8 billion merger."
"The Trump regime just handed Christian nationalists a loaded weapon: your federal workplace," said one critic.
The Trump administration issued a memo Monday allowing federal employees to proselytize in the workplace, a move welcomed by many conservatives but denounced by proponents of the separation of church and state.
The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) memo "provides clear guidance to ensure federal employees may express their religious beliefs through prayer, personal items, group gatherings, and conversations without fear of discrimination or retaliation."
"Employees must be allowed to engage in private religious expression in work areas to the same extent that they may engage in nonreligious private expression," the memo states.
Federal workers "should be permitted to display and use items used for religious purposes or icons of a religiously significant nature, including but not limited to bibles, artwork, jewelry, posters displaying religious messages, and other indicia of religion (such as crosses, crucifixes, and mezuzahs) on their desks, on their person, and in their assigned workspaces," the document continues.
"Employees may engage in conversations regarding religious topics with fellow employees, including attempting to persuade others of the correctness of their own religious views, provided that such efforts are not harassing in nature," OPM said—without elaborating on what constitutes harassment.
"These shocking changes essentially permit workplace evangelizing."
"Employees may also encourage their coworkers to participate in religious expressions of faith, such as prayer, to the same extent that they would be permitted to encourage coworkers participate in other personal activities," the memo adds.
OPM Director Scott Kupor said in a statement that "federal employees should never have to choose between their faith and their career."
"This guidance ensures the federal workplace is not just compliant with the law but welcoming to Americans of all faiths," Kupor added. "Under President [Donald] Trump's leadership, we are restoring constitutional freedoms and making government a place where people of faith are respected, not sidelined."
The OPM memo was widely applauded by conservative social media users—although some were dismayed that the new rules also apply to Muslims.
Critics, however, blasted what the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) called "a gift to evangelicals and the myth of 'anti-Christian bias.'"
FFRF co-president Laurie Gaylor said that "these shocking changes essentially permit workplace evangelizing, but worse still, allow supervisors to evangelize underlings and federal workers to proselytize the public they serve."
"This is the implementation of Christian nationalism in our federal government," Gaylor added.
The Secular Coalition for America denounced the memo as "another effort to grant privileges to certain religions while ignoring nonreligious people's rights."
Monday's memo follows another issued by Kupor on July 16 that encouraged federal agencies to take a "generous approach" to evaluating government employees who request telework and other flexibilities due to their religious beliefs.
The OPM directives follow the U.S. Supreme Court's 2023 Groff v. DeJoy ruling, in which the court's right-wing majority declared that Article VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 "requires an employer that denies a religious accommodation to show that the burden of granting an accommodation would result in substantial increased costs in relation to the conduct of its particular business."
The new memo also comes on the heels of three religion-based executive orders issued by Trump during his second term. One order established a White House Faith Office tasked with ensuring religious organizations have a voice in the federal government. Another seeks to "eradicate" what Trump claims is the "anti-Christian weaponization of government." Yet another created a Religious Liberty Commission meant to promote and protect religious freedom.